Latest update March 19th, 2024 12:59 AM
Jun 24, 2016 Editorial, Features / Columnists
Whenever a new administration is elected to office, as was the case in this country last year, it is generally assumed that it brings with it change of habits and attitudes that should inspire and refashion the behaviour and perspectives of people. It is not a case of being impractical or trying to be unreasonable; it should in essence be a reality.
It is true that when access to one’s comforts and even necessities has become limited, he/she will have to adjust as well. It is clear that the consequences of greed and corruption by some in the previous administration – which have in no small measure contributed to the current state of the economy – are now the responsibility of this government.
It was the hope of many that commonsense would dictate a radical change of the priorities and value systems of some in the new leadership and a reshaping of the previous administration’s dealings with the people, but this has not been the case.
Scandals and acts of alleged corrupt practices, though on a smaller scale, have re-emerged. Many in authority are acting greedily and selfishly like their predecessors because they apparently believe that there will not be enough for them, and for all those who are in competition with them, for the country’s resources.
Protocols are being ignored, and systems and structures established to preserve order are being bypassed, because some in the upper echelon have become power drunk.
Most politicians knowingly make false promises, because they see themselves as the only ones who matter. And many of them live off the people rather than for the people. They have to change their habits in order for this generation and those coming after us to have a life with dignity and respect. They have ignored the fact that everyone feels the need to be treated fairly and seen as having value. In fact, love and compassion represent the very nature of our existence. Everything else cascades from that fact. We are created to be productive citizens to serve our communities, which no single person, politician or otherwise has all the answers to make them fully developed.
Our richness, diversity and admirable tolerance have provided us with the will to peacefully share in the country’s wealth and resources – despite the avarice of the all-powerful among us.
If our politicians could only recognize and act out of that realization, they would not need to be greedy and grasping, because they would know that there is indeed enough for all.
Rampant corruption and theft of the country’s resources and finances were the hallmark of the last administration, which had abandoned the idea of equitable distribution of the goods necessary for everyone to live a dignified life, especially the weaker and most vulnerable.
Those self-seeking and covetous acts, which should by no means be part of the agenda of good governance, were the norm for those who governed the country in past years. Even though it may prove to be more difficult than expected, the incumbent administration must make every effort to end the evil practices that have stagnated the nation’s progress, and clarify which needs have priority in our multi-racial society.
In collaboration with those who have political authority, every citizen needs to work for the common good, that is, the sum total of the social conditions which allow people, either as groups or as individuals, to reach their fulfilled desire in life more easily.
Until and unless we, all of us, undertake to radically change our habits and attitudes for the upliftment of our society, we will predictably continue on the downward spiral to irrelevance, which no forward-thinking people can afford.
Listen to the man that is throwing Guyanese bright future away
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