Time TT gains political conscience

As we are living in the information age with the Internet which has become a threat to today’s politicians, one of my wishes for 2005 is that the poor and under-privileged Afro- and Indo-Trinbagonians — the vote basket of our electoral system — develop their awareness in order to form independent opinions rather than allow other opinion agents of the privileged class to make decisions for them on important issues that affect their lives. They must strive to practise and develop independent thought that will eventually help to produce knowledgeable leaders within their community of the less-fortunate who will speak with one tongue. Believe me, as a community they have a lot to learn about politics and politicians. For the many years I have been tracking politics I have heard numerous speeches from Trinidad and Tobago political leaders and as I recall, Dr Eric Williams was the greatest. He was the master blaster of politically correct talk on any issue from national budgets to morality in public affairs. He was the Godfather of maximum leadership skilled in the art of manipulation.

Yet, notwithstanding his broad influence, there was no real and meaningful movement in the interest of the common man and woman until the Black Power movement took to the streets in 1970 demanding social and economic change. Neither did his laudable public relations technique prevent the evident corruption scandal involving the PNM and its removal from Government in 1986. History is our greatest teacher. During the 1970s oil boom there was more talk than prudent spending of the oil money. Good governance is not intellectual talk wrapped in promises. It is about performance in the interest of all our citizens and we need politicians who will promise less and deliver more.

History is repeatedly telling us that we need “new politics” not slogans likened to “massa day done” and “money is no problem.” That is the kind of talk you get from loose lips that sink ships. We have come a long way from the 1930s when politicians were closer to the people. Those were the days when the Grandfather of the nation, Uriah Butler spoke about “my people” we knew he was referring to the poor, under-privileged and the dispossessed people of Trinidad and Tobago. Today, “my people” is perceived to mean either people of African or Indian descent, depending on the race or party to which the leader making the statement belongs. The perception is now a reality that divides the country at the expense of the poor, the under-privileged and the dispossessed Afro- and Indo-Trinbagonians.

To the benefit of the young readership of Newsday who may know very little of the past, I will venture to give a bird’s eye view of the leadership style of a people’s grass-root politician named Uriah Butler — assuming that in his time he was opposed to legislation for a Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ). Long before it reached parliament, Butler would have left San Fernando and gone into Woodford Square and told the country: “I am here to tell the nation and the hard-headed powers that be, that the oppressed people throughout the Caribbean archipelago have no faith in the Caribbean culture of justice because the so-called scales of justice weigh heavily against the poorer class in the Caribbean. And in the name of God and Uriah Butler, there will be no support for any damn Caribbean Court of Justice in this land, unless my people, the ordinary men and women of the working class are given the assurance, through constitution reform, that there will be equality in the justice system of this country. “Justice must not continue to be a commodity available only to the rich and famous, and I Uriah Butler, Chief Servant of the dispossessed people within the borders of Trinidad and Tobago, am calling on this Government to listen to the cries of the little people for justice.

“I speak in the name of God and democracy when I say that no self-serving and over-ambitious elite minority in the Caribbean must decide for the majority without their consent. And if those people in that Red House over there insist on passing legislation to support a Caribbean Court of Injustice, they better prepare for a referendum, or so help me God, as long as there is life in the body of Uriah Butler as I stand here before you, there will be fire and brimstone in this blessed land of ours called Trinidad and Tobago.” That is what it was like then for leaders on the ground. Today, the Ivory Tower politicians who perpetuate the tribal politics of division come to the electorate (we the people) begging to manage the affairs of Government, waving their hands and bowing their heads like programmed robots. To win our favour and consent they make promises, tell little white lies, kiss dirty face babies, climb the highest hill, go into poverty-stricken areas, eat poor people’s food and rub shoulders with the good, the bad and the ugly.

However, from the time whichever party gets the electorate to say “the Treasury is yours,” and they raise their right hand for the President — while making more false promises — to legalise their hold on the Treasury, the employees become the bosses and they start calling the shots. From the time they take the oath, they get stiff neck and cannot recall some of the promises they made to the electorate. The first thing they do is to hire some arm-chair politicians through the Senate — many of them being dependable agents of the invisible Government who do not seek election — to help them manipulate the minds of the citizens to keep us confused and ignorant of their dirty politics and programmes. It is time our seemingly helpless civil society realise that TT has two basic destabilising problems. One is our “don’t care a damn” attitude that manifests themselves in lawlessness. The other is our rotting political culture that encourages indiscipline, intolerance and division in the society. Our citizens should also be aware that our tribal divisive political culture was born and nurtured in the late 1950s long before Messrs Chambers, Robinson, Manning and Panday became Prime Ministers.

The evil culture has matured strong enough to breed a new element — the politics of fete, apparently managed through the Ministry of Culture (the mini carnivals throughout the year are increasing). The new element in the culture does severe harm to productivity and perpetuates the lawless attitude of our citizens. Our political culture is the nation’s greatest enemy.