LIES AND COVER-UPS

The political soap opera in the United States is now beginning. Former President Donald Trump now makes the kind of historythatheshouldrelish; he stands as the central figure of attention, a leader enmeshed in scandal. Only in the good ole USA, for all its warts and faults, can a former White House occupant be indicted, tumbled this low I look on and wonder if something of this nature could ever happen in Guyana. The a n s w e r c o m e s instantaneously: never Certainly,nottoday

On its face, hush money for sex shouldn’t be such a big deal, rise to further poisoningoftherawpartisan passions in already sharply polarized America. But it does; there is this indictment. The stormier undercurrents are about coverups, campaign financing sleights-of-hand, falsification of records, and shellcompanies. Thesteam ofsexissufficienttopushall those worrying practices into the background. Who cares? InAmerica, there is care about political leaders getting embroiled in violations of the law, less about matrimonial transgressions, individual morality

In1973,sittingPresident Richard Nixon learned that the hard way, and had to go his way under duress. The Watergate coverup was not about a simple burglary, as first made out to be. It had allthoseotherfeloniesabout whichwehavegleanedfrom so many revelations since then:aleaderknowing,then lying, and next shrinking into a ball to make himself small. I direct attention to that forgotten smoking gun, the tapes and that lengthy piece suspiciously missing, inexplicablyblankedout. A handful of principled men fired on a Saturday night added grist to the mill, but thanks to the Washington Post anditstwodoggedand versatile reporters, history changedcourse. Howabout such here, rather than scurrilous social media posts?

Presently, history is being made again with another American President

(a former one), who entangled himselfsomuchthathe would have difficulty differentiating himself from snakes in full mating ecstasies. What a web he has coiled around himself…. Thestrangestof bedfellows (allegedly, obviously), willing lackeys (lawyersinattendance)todo dirty biddings leading to dirtier deeds, and a baying crowd (politicians, press, andpartisans)alllinedupfor or against, with intensifying rancorouspassions.

We have seen someperhaps, all-of this, right here. I would say most likely more, and we only know a quarter of it. It is a solid enough quarter In Guyana, our political soap opera did not involve the muskyaromaofladiesofthe evening, but the peculiar scent of a gentleman of fortune. He came from the Far East, and did he engage in the Guyanese versions of funandfrolic? Didheenjoy thelocalpoliticalleadership gamesandtheextensionsof grand gestures? Without being titillating, there was petting, stroking, and panting using the people’s assets. Largetractsofland, business deals that scream smokefirst,thenmoltenfire. Some people like their desires in the flesh (sex), others are rapturous with cash. There is no stain to track,norumpledlaundryto wash, though a different kind of laundering had to have taken place, given all the allegations and confessions now residing in the public domain.Those were only the first snowflakes of Guyana’s politicalwinter.

When Americans show theirhand,onlyafewfingers are first visible, from the wristupiskeptinreserveto deal with later situations. Americans dangle over the head, and hold to ransom. The usual result is that leaders can’t move, can’t flinch,can’tblink. Isn’tthis what Guyanese live with today? After all the sound andfuryaboutdoingthisand that about binding legal instruments reigning supreme over national patrimony?

Nobody has said anything about blackmail (keepingonashortleash)to thispoint,butthetrumpcard is that a great many of the Guyanesepeopledon’tcare. As frequently said, it is nothing personal; only the enduring permanency of interests that always aces any friendship. Check with Burnham Leaders in Guyana Governments should also remember that little lesson from history, 1956 more precisely, which involved some French and British parachuters in the Suez Canal area The British were shocked when their sworn ally, America, said get the hell outta there, andrightnow!

Guyanesemayprefernot to remember a mysterious Oriental fellow who was here, and who has since disappeared. It was about whowasfingered,whatwas possibly covered up, and who stood up for whom. Some Guyanese in high officialpositionsareplaying a dangerous game, while walking a precarious tight rope. What is covered up and lied about today eventually sees the light of day I point to the identification parade in America and its star attraction, Donald Trump. Because it represents a little of me, I extract from Pastor Parker’s1853sermon:“Ido notpretendtounderstandthe moral universe. I can divine it by conscience. And from whatIsee,Iamsureitbends towards justice.” Indeed, it does.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of this n e w s p a p e r a n d i t s affiliates.)