Serving Me, Serving you... (Are You Being Served?)

In a Twilight Zone episode a race of 9-foot tall aliens land on Earth. Their leader immediately addresses the United Nations to allay fears, vowing that his race's motives are solely to be helpful to humanity. Initially wary, skeptical world leaders begin to be persuaded of the aliens' benevolent intentions when they use their advanced technology to put an end to many of Earth's greatest woes. Hunger is wiped out, energy becomes cheap, nuclear weapons are rendered harmless, even former deserts become fertile fields. Trust in the aliens is further justified when Patty, a US government cryptographer and her boss Michael Chambers, decipher the title of a book the alien leader left behind at the UN, a title which, when translated, reads as - 'To Serve Man.'

This of course put all remaining fears to rest and the world settled down to a happy and contented co-existence while Patty continues her work, trying to decode and translate the rest of 'To Serve Man.'

Soon humans are offered trips to the alien's home planet which is portrayed as a paradise, and Michael gets an opportunity to go. On his departure, just as he mounts the alien spaceship's boarding stairs Patty appears waving frantically. Smiling, he waves back while being pushed forward by the throng of eager, excited tourists, as she runs toward him in great agitation. She shouts at him to be heard above the din: "Mr. Chambers, don't get on that ship!

“What? Why?” He shouts back confused.

“The book” she says, “To Serve Man.... it's... it's a cookbook!"

The old people in T&T have a saying, not every skin teeth is a smile. Roughly translated it means be careful of your interpretation of events, you may not be seeing things as they really are, or worse, seeing them how you want them to be.

There's a sad movie entitled “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas,” about the ten year old son of a high ranking German Officer charged with the responsibility for one of the extermination camps carrying out Hitler's 'Final Solution' for the Jews. On one of his wandering adventures the young boy stumbles upon the 'camp' where he meets and befriends a boy his age through the fence that keeps them apart.

Both are too young to fully comprehend what is going on or why the fence exists, but when the little Jewish boy complains to his friend that he has not been able to find his uncle for a couple days, the little German boy offers to help. They break him into the camp, and together they go searching everywhere until, finally, they find themselves ushered into a holding room with a crowd of adults who are all made to disrobe. They are then herded into the gas room and are put to death, much to the anguish of his parents who are forced to realize that they have killed their own son.

That story makes the point. Many of us believe that the end can justify the means in our own life regardless of the hardship it may cause to others, failing to see that life is a circle, that every ripple we make in the collective pond eventually comes back to find us or someone we love.

I keep saying that we cannot poison our own well at the expense of others and not be harmed, yet this is precisely what we have been doing politically ever since the Queen departed.

When have we ever elected a government to Office who was concerned about the welfare of all the people of this nation? How can that be possible when in the main, we have been choosing from two political entities that are built on advancing the predominantly ethnically driven interests of one half of the population against the other?

The question that begs to be asked is, why is it so easy for us to switch off critical thinking in the face of glaring evidence that what we are being told differs so starkly from reality?

Ask the leaders of all parties to justify their organization's existence in one concise sentence. Do you think they would dare do that? Do you honestly believe that Kamla is interested in any notion of national unity or that rumored billionaire Jack Warner is really concerned about serving you? Can you genuinely accept that Prakash gives a damn about new politics or any notion of morality in public Office, despite failing every opportunity he has had to demonstrate that since achieving Office? What about Keith Rowley? Outside of the naked pursuit of power, do you think he has a plan? A policy? An idea? A clue?

Politics is difficult sport that requires a team of like minded individuals dedicated to a common agenda simply to survive. If you are not part of the process that sets that agenda in motion you can rest assured that your perception of reality may be very different from those you think exist to serve you.