Dear Editor,
I’ve a terrible secret: my hearing is bad and getting worse due to three combat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. I was too petrified to admit it so I ignored it and distracted myself.
However, a few days ago I was on a train in France. Everything was quiet. The train was quiet. No music or television was playing, no passenger was talking. It was dead quiet, and it was so peaceful.
And then, it dawned on me how is it so much different than riding on the mini-buses in Guyana. The music is always playing and always loud. It’s never quiet or peaceful.
Editor, riding on the buses in Guyana is making my hearing go from bad to worse. For example, the last time I went to Lethem by the bus, the driver played the music loud for over 12 hours.
Editor, if the government doesn’t ban playing music on public transportation, it’ll be morally responsible for the citizenry going deaf.
Yours faithfully,
Anthony Pantlitz