Genuine Fakes & Other Misrepresentations...

Some time ago I went to a mall branch of a large and reputable chain of clothing stores to purchase a belt, found one that fit my needs perfectly, bought it and went on my merry way. In a few short months my beautiful belt began to crack from use, far out of character for the quality of what I thought I bought and, thinking myself 'gypped' by the supplier and incensed that I had been taken advantage of until I turned over the belt and read, engraved into whatever fabric it was made of, the words 'genuine belt.' Read that again. Yes, like most of you my mind completed the equation at first glance and I saw what I wanted to see, a word that was never there. I believed I bought a genuine 'leather' belt, turns out all I bought was just a genuine belt, clearly written and plain for all to see.

Why am I telling you this? Because it is surprising how many of our substantial decisions are made based on these little judgment calls that are just within the margin enough to be accepted as reality all during our lifetime. Scientists tell us that our view of reality is hardly ever based on what is really there but is in fact a product of an advanced function of our brain called perception. A 'quickening' of all our senses, perception skims the surface of our complex data collection arsenal to offer up the most likely conclusion, to arrive at speedy decisions in an increasingly fast paced and hostile world; perception is why reflexes work, is what instinct and premonitions are built on, and is relatively easy to fool. Perception is the reason misdirection works, is why card tricks continue to astonish and amaze us, is the 'magic' and 'illusion' behind magicians and illusionists, and is what politicians rely on perpetually on the platform – what the eyes see and the ears hear the mind believes.

Here is a classic example of the misuse of perception and a clever case of misdirection from our national experience. Kamla Persad Bissessar's elevation to leadership within the UNC had little to do with her being Hindu and more to do with the fact that the people of that party were fed up of their then leader Basdeo Panday, and their first choice to replace him – Winston Dookeran – turned out to be too weak to claim the leadership. Her ascension to the Office of Prime Minister had nothing to do with her being Hindu but everything to do with the people of the country being completely fed up of then Prime Minister Patrick Manning and had no other choice. Everything that has transpired since, every victory speech, every campaign, every triumphant battle cry has been built on the lie that Kamla was anyone's first choice. History reminds us differently and perhaps we will deal with that at another time. Kamlamania was as much a hoax as was 'Rise,' simple ideas designed to fool, to make you believe that you thought something that you didn't. Yet when the Prime Minister climbed on the Divali stage to use her religion and its principle celebration to pour scorn on her political adversary, it was designed to appeal to the 'Hindu-ness' of the audience and to paint his attendance at their 'Hindu' celebration as some sort of attack against Hinduism and for that she ought to be ashamed, and for which she should be made to apologize to the Hindus of this country and the entire nation.

The people who sold me my 'genuine belt' remain blameless as they never misrepresented themselves, but they ought to be ashamed of their business practices. If anyone is to blame it is me, for seeing what I wanted to see and believing what I believed based on that. The lesson here for me is to be more discerning, not to take anything for granted, that things are rarely as they seem so pay closer attention. There's an old saying -  'there's a sucker born every minute.' There's another one – 'fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me.'