CULTURE, whether advanced or backward is the self-consciousness of a society. It contains the works of art, literature, scholarship and philosophy that establish a shared frame of reference among peoples who give to it their particular character. This can be varied and multifaceted as we see in multi ethnic societies such as Guyana. It endures only if it is anchored by a sense of tradition and broad endorsement of the surrounding social norms. Whether we have what can be termed a Guyanese tradition is another matter for the more cerebral to pursue. However, when those things evaporate what remains is a culture of fakes – imitators with no originality, even though originality in itself may be a misnomer. This epitomizes a reality in Guyana. We tend to become fixated with differences rather than commonalities.

There is an apparent penchant to tear down and destroy instead of develop and build. Everything under the sun is taken to the extremes, most of which become so mired in subterfuge, deceit and outright fabrications, it is almost impossible to separate facts from fiction. Everyone from political nincompoops to certified societal actors, all become overnight experts on every conceivable thing under the sun. In true Guyanese political style, everyone wants to cash in on the opportunity to gain cheap publicity. If we are keen observers, it would become apparent that many of these people do not have a clue of what they are talking about! Hence, the necessity of resorting to untruths, half-truths, deliberate distortions and fabrications which are always the refuge of mediocrity irrespective of how it attempts to don the garb of intelligence and respectability.
Let us take for example the Amaila Falls project. The combined Opposition virtually waged a propaganda; parliamentary and financial war against it. They cried corruption, questioned the financial arrangements, costs and benefits, feasibility study, environmental study, the Chinese and the Americans, the water flow, water reservoir/holding pond, etc. They lambasted the Government about secret deals and lack of transparency. President Ramoutar invited them to Office of the President on a number of occasions where they were given full access to all aspects of the project. What happened next was almost comical. One of the plank men openly admitted, they, meaning the combined Opposition, do not have the technical capability to study or understand the plans! These are the same people who criticised the project to its death!
Here it is you are admitting you do not understand but you are still criticising! More is yet to come! While they were busy nailing the lids on the coffin of the project, they stumbled on the discovery that Nigel Hughes and his wife Cathy Hughes were been handsomely rewarded for their services as Company Secretary and publicity agents respectively for the same Hydro-Electric Company! In Parliament and in the public they were criticising, while in secret they were drawing fat financial rewards! Does it smack of greed?
Conflict of interest? Let us see. When Mr. Ramjattan, leader of the AFC awoke from his Rip-Van-Winkle slumber, apparent drowsy and unsure of what to say, he declared a lack of knowledge. He was not aware that his two side-kicks were involved at such high levels with the company. However, true to form, he circled the wagon and defended his side-kicks again declaring no conflict of interest. He had to because he too was also in the same boat. While using his Parliamentary privileges to advocate for a company which had retained him, he was criticising the Government for not awarding that company the contract! Soon after Nigel Hughes took to the press and apologised, an act which suggests it was a conflict of interest indeed! It is our God given right to criticise. For heaven’s sake let’s do so, but let it be based on facts and not political subjectivism. Let criticism be the baptismal fire from which we emerge collectively refreshed and educated. Put Guyana first. Is this too much to ask of ‘wannabe’ politicians, politicians and leaders?
For most Guyanese it may even be worst because we are quick to take sides blinkered by race or political allegiance. This kind of misguided ‘loyalty’ disallows us from arriving at informed positions by our own thinking processes. We like to hear! We like to gossip! We rather be led by our noses and suffer the indignity of losing our self-identity than be empowered by our own minds. And this is exactly where those who aspire for political stardom wants us – to remain as dummies. Because when we are in this state they can dupe us by emotional and racial blackmail and their ‘kit and kin’ calls. That is why they can get away with the dishonesty and hypocrisy that we see every day untouched by the scathing criticisms which they deserve. Some of these people should never be offering themselves for public positions. They are too tainted. Some would have been disbarred from the legal profession a long time ago. Anyone can lie. One need only have the requisite motive. As we see in both cases, Power and Money are indeed great motivators to deceive.
But this kind of a deception depends on a measure of complicity between the leaders and their followers, in this case the perpetrators and the victims. Together they conspire to believe what they don’t believe and to feel what they are incapable of feeling –fake beliefs, fake opinions, fake kinds of expertise. Then there are the faked emotions which are stirred up on which followers act and which render them incapable of distinguishing between facts and fiction. They simply allow themselves to become cannon fodders and political pawns.
To fake things you have to take people in, yourself included. People can pretend to be remorseful when lies are exposed. They can apologise. But when it becomes a pretense, it is only a continuation of their deceptive strategy. Remember the issue of the disappearing tape in a brutal murder of a gas station owner in Buxton! The person who is a fake is really shocked when exposed, since he or she would have created a community of trust around themselves. Understanding this phenomenon is integral to understanding how a ‘high’ or ‘low’ culture works, and how it can become corrupted. It is what allows us to see the true nature of the beast in all its inglorious forms.