Notes to Self...

'If it is not right do not do it; if it is not true do not say it' - Marcus Aurelius

'Good moral character is the first essential in a man' - George Washington

When we set aside our integrity and ability to make right choices we become what we hold in contempt. Or, to put it another way, we cannot have it both ways; we cannot speak to idealism and good governance and be a party to anything that would make a mockery of those principles.

There is no longer a wolf waiting outside the door; Patrick Manning's Government is no more.

Dr. Rowley's New PNM is in rebuilding mode, as is the still hobbled and corrupt UNC.

The Congress of the People and its members must face reality, that while the UNC was a vehicle to high aims and a means to an end, that end has been accomplished. We justified uniting with people of questionable virtue to accomplish this important goal, and it has been definitively done.

Now is the time for the Party to establish systems and personnel to prepare itself to contest for governance, leading ALL the people of this country to a better day if it is to be seen as something other than a reaction to Basdeo Panday in the long run.

The only thing that separated the Congress of the People from Manning's PNM and Panday's UNC was the party's Declaratioon of Principles, its hold to moorings of integrity and its steadfast resistance to abuse at the people's expense.
Were these principles to be thrown overboard now, the Party would be hard pressed to justify its existence to the members who answered the call to those ideals.

Rest assured, there will be no second act for the Congress of the People, and the Party must be minded that it risks missing its date with destiny.

I for one, ever the idealist myself, still believe in the principles that the Party espoused and hope that I am not just fooling myself into believing something that was never there.

There can be no gain for this country if the COP were to be a part of a deceitful and corrupt administration and the Party would lose its claim to the moral high ground and its chance at greatness.

Step back and look at the big picture.

Do you honestly want to be a part of Jack Warner's UNC?

The man is on a crusade of destruction and consolidation of personal power.

This international icon of greed and corruption had the testicular fortitude to go on TV and disrespect Basdeo Pandy, who, if it wasn't for him, most East Indians in this country would STILL have no future but planting land.
I am no apologist for Basdeo Panday and the abuses he allowed or engaged in during his term in office, but I do know that Jack Warner is not worthy to tie his sandals.
To all my East Indian brothers and sisters who are peddling Jack's 'gobar', i advise you to go sit with mummy and daddy, granny and grandpa, tanty and nen nen, and ask them what Mr. Panday's legacy really is.

Mr. Warner has taken advantage of every opportunity to enrich himself without virtue and by whichever means necessary regardless of the victims.
Never in History has a member of our Government been such an international embarrassment and we have had some despicable characters hold office here.
We are the ridicule of every nation who KNOWS what this man is capable of, and the laughing stock of all who are watching.

I am again calling on the Leadership of the Congress of the People to revisit the terms of this accommodation, and decide if continuing any partnership with the UNC is worth the stress.
I fear we will not be able to wash the stink of this partnership off of the Party and will not be able to justify the Party's existence when it collapses.

It is a much better idea that, having done what was necessary to remove Patrick Manning from Office, to take the seats the Party now has in Parliament and use the opportunity to establish itself as a viable option and to light a better way for ALL the people of Trinidad & Tobago.
There is much we can accomplish by just cutting the UNC adrift, even if it means temporarily forfeiting the trappings of Office for the greater good.

The country desperately needs the Congress of the People to live up to its Declaration of Principles, and the people of Trinidad & Tobago need evidence and examples of community spirit, national sacrifice, ethical behavior, integrity in Public Office, and more importantly, that there are people who deserve to lead us because they represent the best we will ever be.

As far as possible, and mindful of how short life is, we all leave a legacy - how people remember us, whether we want to or not.

In a world of justified deceit and rationalized banditry, we still have a choice as to who we are and how we want to be remembered.

Wrong does not become right because someone else did wrong before.

We alone get to choose, at the end of all the talk, who we really are.

Something to think about...