I AM concerned about the mental health of Mr. Ruel Johnson because of his blinkered vision (SN May 17). He is obviously an educated man of some seniority who has become like a vanquished giant in deep despair.
He bemoans the fact that the middle class of Guyana sits idly by whilst Guyana is being destroyed:
‘The middle class in contemporary Guyana has blindfolded itself to the

increasing indecency in this place, its voice silent against the din of baleful idiocy that emanates every hour from Freedom House, all responsibility abdicated , surrendered to the moral and intellectual peasantry to those in power’.
He selectively cites cases of persons (e.g. Mark Benschop) who flagrantly violated the laws of the country and he conveniently overlooks the likes of Mayor Hamilton Green- a shameless individual who was once the Prime Minister of this country and who has, through his indefatigable and valiant efforts, became Mr. Green, the Garbage Godfather of Georgetown! The Mugabe Mayor of Afro-Centric tradition!
How does it make you feel, Mr. Johnson, to see white diplomats cleaning our stinking capital city, telling our school children about cleanliness?  What message does that send after 47 years of Independence? The ‘idiocy’ and ‘indecency’ Mr. Johnson ought to be condemning are those actions which sully the image of our country and impede its progress.
What could be more ‘indecent’ than the people of Linden refusing to pay their fair share of electricity bills whilst the rest of Guyana have to pay up? What is more ‘immoral’ than to witness disaffected and jaundiced leaders of opposition parties goading and manipulating naïve Lindeners into actions that led to deaths, destruction of property and hardship for other citizens? Even after a Commission of Inquiry no charges have been laid against those responsible, why?
I ask Mr. Johnson what can be more ‘idiotic’ than the cutting of funding for a Specialty Hospital? Can rational men and women even contemplate cutting funding for the Amaila Falls Hydro-project or the Low Carbon Development Programme? Apparently so! Where on this planet does the Opposition in a Parliament have the right to force through legislation thereby usurping the prerogative of the executive arm of government? Our Constitution bequeathed to us by Former President Burnham enshrines the centrality of the notion of ‘plurality’ which has, to the chagrin of Mr. Johnson, placed the ‘intellectual peasantry’ (his words) in charge. Mr. Johnson’s own intellectual paucity is incapable of grasping this essential fact- or maybe he wishes it to go away because it is an inconvenient fact!
What the ‘blindfolded’ Mr. Johnson speaks of is not over the eyes of the middle-class but sadly over his own eyes! He deliberately distorts reality to fit in with his own predilections- an all too common case of self-deception.
Meanwhile, the middle-class, Mr. Johnson, like the other classes in Guyana, is going about its business as usual- building houses, paying their mortgages, driving their cars, educating their children, following sports and yes, having fun!
Finally, Mr. Johnson, things may not be that bleak as you imagine. In one recent USA university report it was stated that over 70% of Guyanese are satisfied with their lives – more than in Trinidad and Tobago- despite the fact that the disparity in per capita income is huge. Dave Martins and Ian McDonald would endorse that finding as being decent and fair-minded commentators.