Dear Editor,
Permit me, please, the space to announce the courtesy of extending my public service to our beloved and revered Members of Parliament, every one of them, with a free and unlimited offer of lessons in the refined use of the English language to suit every occasion. I revisit what happened in the makeshift parliament on Monday only for context, and not to regurgitate what took place; or to lash out, though it is tempting. I seek to help to make our MPs better, our listening and reading experiences much more embraceable.
Before proceeding, I must say this: in no way or to any degree do I condone or would support what was hurled from both sides of the aisle with such visceral venomousness. I just can’t go near to such vicious malice, which I credit to my training and upbringing, and which I think that many of our parliamentary grandees utterly lack. Might have been their environment; or I would go so far as to say traceable to pedigree. But I look at what was said, and think that the same could have been uttered, but with this one caveat: though it delivers the required sting and punch, it is sheathed in the sophistications and nuances of our dear mother tongue. I thank the British for that; and I refer to the example of the House of Commons. Editor, I think that most of them don’t know better, have grown up with the coarseness of the crude commodity that needs some refining. Lack of the appropriate schooling. Lack of personal pride. Lack of that indefinable something that commands: don’t go there. Not now, not ever.
Sincerely,
GHK Lall