STORM IN A TEACUP
P. Polar 7/04/04
Published as: we need real exemplars Trinidad Express 18/09/04
The Editor: Discipline, Tolerance and Production and the watchwords of the nation. The alleged teacup throwing incident in Parliament demonstrates that the current crop of politicians lack both discipline and tolerance and the only thing they produce is controversy. Violent “free for alls” have occurred in Parliaments of other countries, and make the current incident between Mr. Rowley and Mr. Sharma seem like a “storm in a teacup”. However, the implications of their actions could have far reaching effects, particularly among their support bases.
Trinidad and Tobago has avoided mass political violence, like we have avoided hurricanes. We live in the belief that such a thing could not happen here, but occasionally, the weather changes and we are reminded that we are not immune. While neighboring countries are devastated, blessed as we are, the storm blows over.
We keep finding ourselves ashamed our Parliamentarians and by extension ashamed of ourselves for putting them there. Politics, it seems, has become a term which justifies indecent behavior and corruption. The word “representative” is the most appropriate term as they are indeed representative of our society, which day by day is becoming morally bankrupt. If our leaders exhibit such hooliganism, how can we expect discipline from the rest of society?
I sincerely believe that there is hope for our nation but we need to take a closer look at the nature of the people we put to lead us. Perhaps we should look to the NGOs and charitable organizations to find those persons who exhibit the qualities which we would like to see reflected in our society. While many of us rally in times of crisis, there are people who struggle every day to make the lives of others better. These people often exhibit a unique combination of intelligence, morality and compassion have made themselves worthy of respect. Clive Pantin makes an excellent example. Although, these persons, by their nature may shy away from politics, this nation needs them now more than ever.
Author's note: This article was written in response to a brawl in Parliament by PNM’s Keith Rowley and UNC’s Chandresh Sharma.