Dear Editor,
Some good Guyanese folk think that I come down too hard on local political presences. I disagree, and make a case for why and how I see what I say, write, and do to be not only different, but also well-intended and with the best results harboured for all concerned.
As strange and unbelievable as this may sound, I love Guyanese political participants like brothers, and where such is operable, like sisters. I mean it, for it is part my upbringing and learning, my teachings and belief system, and my own internal makeup. Hence, I do love them-government people, opposition people, and those who fall somewhere on either side, but pretending to be of neither – like brothers and sisters. It goes without saying that such love comes at a price. It is a steep one, and it has no meaning to me whether it is accepted or not. What matters to me is that this is how I am, and of no other can I be. To say another way, even when pathetic attempts are made to drag into the gutter with them, I avoid or resist, and will be no part of that, with no spite for spite, or hate for hate. Just can’t be that way. That is for them, I just gotta be me and that is my unchanging melody.
Editor, the genuine love of a genuine brother for his own – be they PPP or PNC or CCC (craven corrupt, and condemnable) – means that when hard calls have be made, they will be made. That is, through calling things as they are, and even when that means there will be brothers or sisters on the sharp and unsparing receiving end. It is best known as drawing the line, and laying down the law; and, if this means that there has to be occasional knocking of heads then, though most unfortunate, so it must be. That is caring, that is real loving, that is working to bringing about authentic changing. For those multiplying in the disbelieving ranks, I think there will have to be a sit-down with my biological siblings, who can confirm with as many details as needed regarding what I put before the wider Guyanese public today.
To be sure, it has caused more than soreness, lots of coldness, and much picking up of pieces. But, at the end of it all, learning comes, and the humility to accept, if not welcome, sincere and much-needed correction. It goes without saying that this is a two-way street, with what is good for the goose must also apply to this gander. So, when I initiate and launch scorching, or less than silky, sorties against president, Vice President, this or that minister, on the one hand, and the Leader of the Opposition, and one or the other former ministerial overseer on the next, I gave everyone assurance that there is absolutely nothing personal involved. It is my way of caring, engaging, and correcting. Tough love, it is.
Sincerely,
GHK Lall
