The People's Business...

When he was President of the United States, George W. Bush was famous for what some would call his 'dim-wittedness,' yet he demonstrated a mastery of the human condition by forcing people into choosing his side in his war with his now famous 'If you're not with us, you're with the terrorists" campaign.

Brilliant in it's ability to corner everyone into the camp of those 'supporting' his position (because who wants to be known as being 'for' terrorism except, well, terrorists), the people had nothing but a fool's choice, which some say was ironically apt.

The problem was though, while it advantaged the obvious in the good against evil parallel, it laid waste to the relative and the freedom to think and to choose, and there were many more subsets or grouping options to be discussed before one got to the bottom that never got media play. Positions like 'I am against the terrorists, but I am also against war.' That option was not given anywhere on the post 9/11 document.

Life being what it is, is not so simple, and even George and his spinners knew that; but people, generally lazy in their own defense (and those agitating for war were more than willing to take advantage of that weakness) were ripe for the herding and the powers that 'were'  had no difficulty parlaying it into something that looked like popular support for what would eventually be seen as a made up war. People found themselves afraid to voice a dissenting opinion, because that option was cleverly not offered and they never saw themselves as having a right to demand more choices.

Do you support the attack on the World Trade center, abuses against the people of Iraq, weapons of mass destruction? Of course you don't! Well then, you're on our side, because we don't either. Here's your flag, your patriotic fervor and your button, please surrender any dissent or freewill here.

At that moment, by accepting only the options proffered, America slid into something like a pseudo dictatorship without even realizing what they had agreed to.

Succinctly put in Revenge of the Sith -  "So this is how Democracy dies...with thunderous applause."

In an almost run on sequel played out right here, by May of 2010 few people wanted to be seen as supporting Patrick Manning, for to support him, one would then by extension be supporting all of his excesses and abuses and no one wanted that. For all his brilliance as a leader (and give Jack his jacket and Jim his gym-boots, Patos was brilliant), he demonstrated a remarkable ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, and appeared to be on a campaign purposely designed to foster public discontent.

The last time the people were so outraged with a Leader that it was willing to choose 'any other option other than what currently obtained' was in 1986 when the country begat the NAR experience, and even that was not easily accomplished. For the seeds of that movement to germinate it required a stalled economy, an empty treasury, and an oil price so low it was actually costing us money to drill. None of those symptoms were occurring now, and while the rest of the world were struggling with a recession, the resilience of the Trinidad economy allowed us to sail through it almost totally unscathed. Our problem was a Prime Minister who seemed so complete in his madness that he was making some incredulous choices and even more ridiculous decisions.

WIth complete arrogance to the voice of the people, Patrick Manning was prepared to do 'as he damned well pleased' and nobody was going to tell him otherwise.

Calder Hart, Church In Guanapo and a two million dollar flag later, the rest is now history.

Seizing on the people's desire for a savior from this 'beast,' the UNC machinery, fresh with new Leadership and awash with FIFA money threw everything onto the table, and by the time the bell was rung there was a 'Partnership' in place to contest the battle of all battles, with Trinidad being given our own 'either or' option, Manning and his excesses or Princess Kamla and the Knights of the Wrong Table.

As if taking their cue from Bush's success in getting to wage his war on his terms, the marketing machinery behind the newly minted Partnership waged a war on Patrick Manning for and on behalf of the people, and went on to demonize anyone foolish enough to support him and the Party he led, the PNM.

With the noose firmly in place around the voters necks come election morning, people were left with our version of a fool's choice: Do you support the church in Guanapo, Calder Hart, the two million dollar flag or looming Dictatorship? Of course you don't. Well then, you're on our side, because we don't either.  Here's your Jersey, your flag and your opinion, now 'Do So.'

In other words, the people had no choice.

At that moment, by accepting only the options proffered, Trinidad slid into something like a pseudo dictatorship without even realizing what they had agreed to, but unlike the people in America, we Trinidadians don't suffer fools for long despite the continued efforts of their highly paid 'talking heads'. If it is one thing we are good at is seeing a fake from a mile away. Somebody told me jokingly once 'if Moses had led Trini's out of Egypt we would not have wandered for no forty years; By the third week in the desert someone would've said 'Moses, leh we see that map nah, yuh sure yuh readin' it right?'

I knew this 'fanatacism' was going to end bad (it always does), as Kamla had not earned the pedestal some were willing to put her on.

She still hasn't.

In a move that began it's momentum on the idea of removing an unpopular king from his throne, 'thinking' people swept along with the tide of 'popular' opinion Coronated a new Queen.

Now, barely three months later, many People's Partnership supporters (especially Congress of the People supporters) are left stunned by what has been happening since 'victory' and are scrambling to find ways to justify still supporting an Administration Gone Wild.

From the highest to the lowest, the educated and the barely informed are all asking questions of this Government, and the people, in trying to save the thing from collapse have more or less 'sent' the Government on retreat to get their house in order. The much anticipated Promised Land has not materialized and the people have already grown weary of the wilderness. With the threatened apocalypse of 'Manning for Life' over and far behind us now, the electorate is starting to look around for a third and even a fourth option as the people of Trinidad & Tobago still want change.

What is playing out on the news night after night is not what we bargained for, is not what we were promised, and it is time others made themselves known to the electorate and offered themselves for service.

The people of this country know what they are due, and are rightfully asking for more.