SOME days ago, I called a taxi, but it took so long that, while I was outside waiting, another family member called another service, and it turned up in good time. I then, while seated, called the other base and cancelled the previous request.
The driver, as we drove off, asked me while I was seated if the other Taxi had come up what I would have done. I told him I would have, on principle, had to pay him no less than five hundred dollars. The young man smiled. I asked him if he thought that I shouldn’t have paid him at all. He responded, “No, that is not it, yuh seh on principle!” Yes, because I called them, and though he turned up later than indicated, I was still waiting, and I use them regularly. As he drove, he continued, “Wuh ah mean is that people ent really got principles no more”.

I really didn’t expect that response, so I threw an intended stopper at him, “Bro, this is your generation, yuh know?” He smiled and responded, “I’m close to my father; he grew up in the 70s and he uses that word, sometimes he says that people ent got principles no more. I try to pattern my way based on understanding what is right or wrong by his standards.” The only thing that I could respond with, honestly, was to congratulate and warn him, “You’re a different youth, be yourself, but understand that we’re in the age of pretenders, so be cautious with who yuh trust, always do your serious business with the right paperwork.”

The above experience inspired me to ask the question that is the masthead of this article. We exist now and witness our society with too much fatal confrontations, both domestic, exchanged vexations and ‘Street Crime” that lead to lethal outcomes, and the age of the perpetrators is surprising. This is social discord, and it’s not just a Guyanese thing. Personality news, conflicts and tragedies guide society worldwide.

Some issues beyond Guyana are generated by the loss of the entitlement syndrome of groups. What we have to recognise is the fact that platforms like social media cannot be controlled. Social media crosses borders. One doesn’t have to be literate to get a ‘TIK TOK’ message or definition commentary on any issue. Every item is vocalised. A few years back, research had shown that just 18% of Guyanese were on social media podiums or had smartphones. It’s beyond that now.

Many still read the papers, but the fact is what you don’t see, someone else will call, inform you and guide you to “See fuh yuh self”. Whether it’s wrong or right, it’s there. To the public it’s a definitive new world we’re in. To the parents and leaders of tomorrow, it’s worrisome to determine what is right or wrong. Religion reveals characters and characteristics of distrust because of the silence about the fallen angels in their midst, which the public used to whisper about, and now they talk aloud among themselves.

There will always be challenges in the labyrinth of ‘Talking Culture”, but regardless of how we anticipate on the shadows, awareness of its potential is awakening. The challenge is where the task begins, both the conversation and the counteraction, out of which an antidote can be – with courage – reasoning and effectiveness become the popular choice.