There was a time when those who took part in the political arena were, if they were not members of the “black elite” and endowed with the rare mantle of having achieved the blessing of a tertiary education, regarded as “sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal” and not permitted by virtue of prejudice to proceed beyond the height of a certain political rung.
Some may wish to call it prejudice against non-education. Call it what you may, but what in essence prevailed was a party-imposed bar on non-education or sheer ignorance.
We will agree that the good book has declared that “Righteousness exalteth a nation.” It never made any claims for “Ra**ishness” for, we feel that encapsulated in that word is a concept of instability and unpredictability and plain stupidity upon which the very root of the word is based.
The very nature of the upcoming vote contains within it the very concept of survival. Political survival. When a constituency elects a representative, it confers upon that representative the power to act in such a way that at all times the optimal interests of the constituency are being taken into account.
In our view, it confers upon that elected representatives a direct categorical imperative to act. Such action demands of the elected a positive approach that ensures the carrying out of the original mandate upon which the candidate has been elected.
We do not have in our constitution a “built-in system of recall” or a “built-in system by which the fortunes of the elected representative are being closely monitored” with a view to the taking of corrective action mid-way in the term.
The UPP has fought too long and too hard to obtain and maintain a total suzerainty in this political system and in this guava-crop of inherited economic uncertainty, for any seemingly confused representative to be scratching his lame hind-parts and declaring “Ahm! Ahm! … Ohm“ and all that inconclusive nonsense.
Neither should any member of the UPP be halting between opinions and saying arrant nonsense about “I will have to consult my constituency.”
If those involved do not know, we would remind them of Cato on the floor of the Roman Senate, after the Second Punic War, who ended every speech with the words “Delenda est Carthago” (“Carthage must be destroyed”).
Perhaps we can come nearer and make reference to Alice in Wonderland orAnimal Farm and ask about Mice and Men. If yet, the reference still remains beyond the ken of those to whom reference is wont to be made, perhaps a reference to the Mighty Sparrow who declared in his calypso, “Be a man, not a mouse. Put some pepper in she souse. Is man like you does mek good ooman turn bad!”
Mister, is man like you does mek good, political party lose!
And, if you don’t understand yet, let us go back to de licckle games you used to play when you was small. You remember “Hoop! Hoop! Dardee Ketcher”? Even now there are forces plotting and saying “Delenda est UPP-o, Delenda est UPP-o” They are capable of manufacturing any incriminating evidence.
You are not too young to remember “Hoop! Hoop! Dardee Ketcher.” Do you remember “Biddee! Biddee! What’a henging over you?” “No confidence vote!” “Mek no confidence vote stap till 1735 come!”
This is not Latin but plain hold-on-to-your-seat-and-
