Striving for neutrality in a country as polarized as this one (T&T) is an almost impossible task. You are bound to offend one side or the other or could even end up offending everybody. There is an old saying about wise men fearing to tread where fools seldom differ. But I have always looked with scorn upon those persons who are unwilling for whatever reason to give their opinion and not back it up with facts, just as I look with the same amount of scorn upon those persons who try to argue a point without frontally dealing with the matters raised by "the other side". Frequently they tend to revert to insults and avoid the particular point or points raised in the particular argument.
But I had promised to say whom amongst the three contenders for the PNM leadership that I would prefer. As I see it, the race for the leadership, the PNM, being one of the two main political parties in this country, ought to be approached by every single citizen, whether he or she is a member of the PNM, as recognizing that whatever happens in that political party affects us all, whether we are PNM supporters or not. In other words, which of the three do you think, Rowley, Teishera or Boynes, is the best pick for the country? Your opinion matters.
In deciding on my choice I took a very hard look at all three candidates. Let's deal with Dr. Rowley first , probably because he is the easiest one to deal with. Frankly, I think that of the three he is the worst possible choice for the country. I honestly don't trust him and I believe that he doesn't tell the truth, or, put another way, tells the truth only when it suits him. He hasn't got the brightest "sparks" around him (with one or two exceptions) and the economy has gotten worse and not better over the last seven years. Indeed, most people will say positively that they were better off seven years ago than they are today. The buck must stop with the leader and he has to take responsibility not only for the good, but for the bad as well. But he is notoriously ever unwilling to confess his mistakes.
Then let's take a quick look at Karen Teishera. Her claim to fame is that she was a Minister in the Ministry of Finance under Patrick Manning. But her stint there was unremarkable and she has no real feats, whether good or bad, that she can point to as claiming solely that she was the one responsible. She wasn't even THE Minister, for crying out loud. Further, she seems to have adopted a "top down" approach in her campaign. What I mean is that she seems to be placing more emphasis on talking to the establishment media than in talking directly to the people. Put another way, she does not appear to be connected to the people at all and does not appear to really understand and empathize with them or their problems. While this may or may not be true, in politics perception is reality, and that is the perception.
And finally, we turn to Ronald Boynes. Boynes is a self-made man from very humble origins (his father was a policeman) growing up in the East and has a track record of putting the country first. He has built a rather successful law practice and has "dipped his toes" quite successfully in business, although, to be fair, he has made some mistakes along the way. But (and it is a big "but") he has always learned from his mistakes and has worked hard to correct them.
Trinidad & Tobago needs a political leader who is not afraid to admit that he is human and, more importantly, who genuinely cares about making the country a better place for all and not just for a few. We need a leader who can inspire us and hold out hope for a better tomorrow. Without that hope we are all :spinning top in mud". My money is on the person who gives me that hope. I think that he is Ronald Boynes.
No comments:
Post a Comment