WORLD-famous Guyanese actor, Letitia Wright advised Guyanese school children to keep chasing their dreams. In paraphrasing her presentation, she urged them to feel they have worth and although there will be hard times, they must persevere.

I did not see in the reporting of her speech, Ms. Wright pointing to the specific area of criticism and how the human must deal with it. But I assume that feeling is captured when she told the children she faced adverse situations with people telling her she cannot and will not make it.

I believe in any address to your fellow humans, it is important to advise them how to handle derogations, vilifications, bad-mouthing, adverse publicity, deliberate character-assault, among other negative things.

People must be advised that the human mind is a problematic proposition that cannot be studied with scientific instruments. The closest we have come to understanding the mind is the work of Sigmund Freud.

Like all the other great thinkers gone by, Freud’s body of work has come in for deep, analytical scrutiny. But the essential foundations of his outlays on how the mind works has not been questioned by any philosopher that I know.

Freud’s description of the make-up of the mind is in my opinion a great contribution to the body of knowledge that begun from ancient civilization in Egypt, India, China to early Greek philosophy right up to the 21st century. Freud has taken his place among the world’s greatest thinkers.

In understanding how the mind works, we comprehend the meaning of our purpose in life. I think no other philosopher has delineated the way we can make our existential substance valuable to us than the 20th century German philosopher, Martin Heidegger. His book, “Being and Time” is the greatest philosopher book I have read.

Against this background, it is important to digest what Ms. Wright has said and to believe in yourself and do not succumb to the subjective minds of others. The reading of the philosophical output by Arthur Koestler should remind all of us that humans are a flawed species.

When we emerge from obscurity and take our place on the ladder of civilization, we must adhere to self-belief and keep climbing and do not look down. When you look down you will see voices, pens and eyes that want to shake the ladder to make you fall.

Do not let them pull you down. If you do, then your existence is doomed and no reading of the philosopher books by Heidegger and Sartre will enable you to put your life back together again.
I did not see the exhortation of ignoring the insults and ignorance of others in Ms. Wright’s presentation but it is there in her sub-text. It is there when she told them she was subjected to ridicule by people telling her she would not make it. She obviously did not let it infect her outlook on her own life.

We live in a world of countless flawed minds. We must thrive to exist by ignoring the instincts of others that are harmful, prejudicial, racist, and envious. To add to Ms. Wright’s outline, we must know that once we step out from the dark into the light and we are willing to talk about life, we will invite enemies. There should be no role in our life for the perceptions of those who do like us.

People are going to be nasty and insulting. That is the way of the world. You can do something about it. Confront them, speak your mind and let them know they will not deter you. Tell those that accuse you of stealing chickens that they have not an ounce of moral credibility to lecture you because they sing praise to others who steal cows.

Tell those who think you should be forthcoming, tolerant and democratic that they should be the last to speak on those values since they carry none of it in what they do and say.
Ms. Wright’s word should resonate with all those young people who listened to her. They were the words of someone who is not a politician, editor, lawyer, scholar, journalist, businessman, but someone without any axe to grind.

When those who feel threaten by the spoken and written word because their behaviour, action, conduct and character thrive in the flow of a stagnant stream then we must expect to see the negative side to humans. We must never let others determine our friends when we cannot determine who their friends are. Charrandass Persaud is my friend. Anil Nandlall is a politician I admire and respect. I am unapologetic in the use of those words.