A GUY'S VIEW: Image and truth – the curse of the contest

I love America. It is not the paradise with streets of gold that they like to sell the world, but it is an exceptional country in some ways.

It is not guns, bombs and money that make a country great. That power might scare others and buy deference, but all countries that were materially rich and militarily powerful eventually caved, whether through external or internal forces.

The great ones have something more. There is a certain character that makes greatness, and not all have it. Historically, European countries have built their economies on the resources of other nations. Their superior ability to despoil others has made them comfortable, even now, but this has not necessarily brought them greatness.

A few days ago, a journalist asked the President of the United States of America if he at all regrets all the lies he has told Americans over the last three and a half years. The President did not answer the question. Kid Site sang a calypso in which he listed a number of things that would only occur in Barbados. Only in America would a journalist ask the leader of the country a question that would be regarded as disrespectful elsewhere.

For many people, politics is synonymous with lies.

If this is not true, it is difficult to find many people that would make the opposite case. Those politicians who stand above such a label are ignored when the mud is being splashed. But it is not every day that a journalist would pose such a question to a leader. Whatever it is that empowers an American journalist to confidently ask such a question of the President, is part of the source of America’s greatness.

Both the President and the journalist knew that that was not so much a question as it was a statement.  It was also a declaration of enough is enough. That a regular citizen was prepared to say so and not fear any consequences was a thing of beauty.

There is probably no nobler desire in man than the proper motivation to be a politician. If one were to look back at the political history of Barbados, the evidence of this noble conviction is obvious. Maybe, not until recent times, most of the black men and women that went into politics were not in pursuit of wealth. This is certainly true of those who stepped up towards the end of the colonial period and during our early years of independence. While it would require too much space to list names, one example that fits this discussion is Wynter Crawford. I chose him because of his declaration, “I speak for the people.”

This example also characterised many of our politicians long after Barbados claimed independence. Few would doubt that there are still good motives in some of those who serve in modern times. Unfortunately, the weakness of character that forces some into a mindset which tells them that they need to pull down their opponents in order to lift themselves up, destroys, not just their targets, but them as well. It is akin to standing in a circle and shooting. The result is that the entire band of them is painted as liars, thieves and everything else that is wrong or nasty. They probably have themselves to thank for the negative image that now pervades the class which they have created for themselves.

Adversarial politics will always throw up divisions. Whether real or artificial is immaterial. What is important is the establishment and nurturing of a mature culture which is shared and understood by those involved in it and affected by it. This is not always captured in small states.

Prior to the advent of Barack Obama, Americans seemed to have a clear understanding of that country’s political culture. Obama’s election brought a dynamic that cracked that bowl. Trump broke it. If Joe Biden is elected, there will be a return to the mainstream culture, even if only temporarily. The metronomic timing to which they are accustomed in their system will return.

However, if the Trump policies are rewarded with his re-election, there may never be a return to political stability there.

The Caribbean, for the most part, has had a similar political history, having, like America, inherited a form of their Westminster parentage. It should not be assumed, however, that prevarication is necessarily inherent in the Westminster system. True Westminster politics see the back of many a political figure in circumstances that have never been the case in this region.

The security that allows a journalist to freely exercise the duty of the fourth estate and draw attention to the lies of the head of state is an excellent demonstration of democracy in action. Maybe there needs to be a way to take the next step and hold those who lie accountable for their fictitious statements and deeds.