The Choice is Ours – Do we have the Courage?

by Peter R. Ramsaroop

For several decades there have been two significant forces to be reckoned with in Guyana – the PNC and the PPP.

Often with a note of indifference and very little regard for the people, these two forces have decided the fate of hundreds of thousands of Guyanese and more times than not, that outcome has been devastation and destitution. Over the same period, both parties have attempted to reform themselves but have kept reverting to their old style politics.

Can we count the number of people who fled our shores to escape poverty and daily autocratic rule? Can you remember the lives that were cut short because of racist politics? Do we remember the faces of those who died, and continue to die, at the wicked hands of rampant crime that cannot be controlled by the very ones we trust with our safety?

With each election we hope for change. We hold tightly to our optimism, so tight that our knuckles turn white, with the anticipation that maybe – just maybe - this time will be different. Maybe this time the government will do something drastic that will help our country. Maybe this time they will stop the blame game and act responsibly with their power to build a future for our nation.

We grasp at any minuscule morsel of hope these two forces have to offer and try to trust them with our lives one more time because we don't have any other choice. In the end, if one is presented with two choices that are equally vile in their own right, there really is no choice at all.

What is left for the Guyanese then? Are we to continue down this same road of poverty and death? To perform the same act over and over and expect a different outcome is nothing short of insanity. Even more, we feel we are acting honourably in this insanity because these two forces have led us to believe that we must align ourselves to one or the other and to do otherwise is betrayal of country, character and even race.

We have been led to believe our race determines our vote and any departure from this predetermined supposition is a betrayal of race – and how can one betray his/her own race? Is not the betrayal of race the same as the betrayal of self? And how can the treachery of self be noble or honourable?

This is all pure drivel. No, it is more than rubbish - it is manipulative and controlling. We long so desperately to believe that something good is going to happen someday that we are willing to listen to the calculated promises of the same forces over and over, even when we know full well that the outcome will always be the same – more desperation.

Our naivety is not noble or honourable - it is pathetic and shameful. We are not so simple that this fact escapes us, yet we continue on because there has never been another choice that seemed to be a true alternative to this wretched cyclic state. Then why have we not created an alternative?

If the product of these two dominant forces has been a wrecked country and families torn apart by thousands of miles, then why have we allowed them to continue in their roles as leaders? So they can lead us to more destitution and desperation?

People everywhere are asking about the Guyana Third Force. They want to know what it is and who it is. In practicality, there is a group of Guyanese coming together to form a solid alliance to stand up against the other two forces. However, in theory the Third Force is so much more than that.

Simply put, the Third Force is you and it is me. The only way to finally rid ourselves of this wretchedness created by these other two forces is to do it ourselves by creating a viable Third Force. We are each a part of the Third Force.

Every Guyanese who has realised the insanity of the last 40 years is a part of this Third Force. Every citizen who wants to see significant economic progress is a part of the Third Force. Every family that works long hours just to pay for after school education because of the failing school system, who cannot afford to buy a car or find a decent paying job is a part of the Third Force.

Meanwhile these long dominant forces are saying the new Third Force is no threat to them. This may well be right now, but the force grows stronger by the day as more and more Guyanese recognise that this is their chance to stand up for their country and to protect it from the same forces that have ravaged it for so long.

The Third Force is a new force that wants to turn our national naivety into an intelligent and strategic plan for growth and progress. It is not that we have given up on our dreams; we have just decided to stop waiting for the other two forces to make our dreams come true.

The Third Force is made up of Guyanese who have chosen to accept their responsibility as citizens and are decidedly moving in a direction that will reshape our future into something of which we can all be proud.

There will be some who still feel they must continue to honour that misplaced loyalty demanded by the other two forces, and this is understandable to some degree because it is hard to make the necessary mental shifts that will help them move beyond the current ideology and believe there is a better life for Guyana .

However, there are so many who have already made that shift and are biting at the bit to stand with their fellow countrymen and women to proclaim the start of a new era in Guyana.

Therefore, the real question is not who or what is the Third Force. The real question is whether enough of the nation can come together in unity to fashion a new, strong force for the good of the nation. The next question is whether you are a part of the Third Force. The other is, “Why not give ourselves a chance in 2006; simply, why not.”

Why not Guyana , the one who truly deserves our loyalty. We have the courage to move our nation forward. God Bless.