The Meaning of Democracy

“Democracy is a device that ensures we shall be governed no better than we deserved.” [George Bernard Shaw 1856 - 1950: Nobel Prize for Literature 1925].

Mr. Shaw’s assessment of the value of democracy is intrinsic in and of itself. Many hold the word or system “democracy” as sacred and perhaps the best system ever devised by man to govern himself. History has taught us, however, that even “democracy” is a failed system, one used as a disguise for dictatorship by those who possess wealth, and subsequently seek power, over those who are poor, the plebiscites, the disenfranchised, the powerless.

The term democracy indicates a form of government where all the state’s decisions are exercised directly or indirectly by a majority of its citizenry through a fair elective process. The elective process in Trinidad and Tobago is not fair, and as such, democracy, in its pure form has failed the people of this great land. The latest example of this failure comes in the allegations made by an ex- U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency Associate who pointed fingers at some high ranking PNM officials in an attempt to manipulate the outcome of the 2002 general election. This accusation is by no means a new one. It just begins to skim the surface of a system so corrupt and so void of social responsibility that it is amazing that citizens still believe politicians when they say that “The voice of the people is the voice of God.” A gross misconception if ever I have seen one.

Democracy is when political officials are allowed to get away with tampering with ballot boxes on election night. It is also the coincidence of electrical blackouts in marginal constituencies during the counting of votes on election night. Democracy is about Gene Miles being screwed to the cross after “outing” a very corrupt PNM administration in the 1960s with the “Lockjoint Scandal” and the “Gas Station racket.” It is about allowing her to die as a mental wreck and virtual vagrant. Isn’t democracy great! We know that some people will do anything to attain and retain power. Some of our leaders, loverboys in their own right, have taken to engaging in spiritual activities to give them protection and guidance. It’s also amazing that democracy allows us to sneak out to the Hanuman Mutri in Orange Village whilst professing to be a devout Christian, yet maintaining the utmost belief in the Holy Trinity.

Democracy is also successful when high officials of government could meet with high ranking “insurgents” in an unregistered room at a very posh hotel in Port of Spain, two months before the arrest of the leader of the group. Clearly, when you are no longer useful, you are dispensable and that my dear friends is democracy.

According to Potter Stewart 1915 - 1985 [Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, “Fairness is what justice really is.” It begs the question – Is democracy fair? Is it fair when 40% of the population is forced to live below the poverty line when there is so much wealth within this country? Thomas Jefferson 1762 – 1826, the 3rd President of the United States said, “A democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where fifty one percent of the people take away the rights of the other forty nine.” Jefferson may have been wrong in his assertion. First to be begin with, Trinidad and Tobago have been ruled by governments more often than not that had attained less than 50% of the votes in the election. Was it fair to the Organization for National Reconstruction in 1981 when it got 91 000 votes in the election, but no seats. That can’t be fair.

In the Westminster system of government, we have a winner take all policy. Is it fair to all those who support the UNC and other opposition parties to be denied the right of employment and contracts in the public sector due to their political affiliation. East Indians in Trinidad and Tobago were fundamentally correct to feel alienated over the years from the political process because they witnessed victimization first hand. Now, the Africans are beginning to feel the same way. Even though “their own” is in power, the wealth is not reaching the masses, and that my dear friend, is democracy.

Democracy is when a government can thwart the application of the Freedom of Information Act, and introduce amendments to repeal the effectiveness of the Judicial Review Act. It’s interesting to see in a democracy how the PNM spin doctors will get out of this latest controversy. Bet your last dollar that some diversionary tactic will be used to move the public’s attention away from the current allegations. They will first attempt to discredit the ex- DEA agent, saying that he is a bad seed, that he is manipulating the system and that it’s all lies. Next, the Prime Minister’s Office will issue a statement saying that the matter will be investigated to the fullest, and then, we may even have an attempted assassination for good measure. It always adds flavour!

Winston Churchill 1874 – 1965 [former British Prime Minister] said it eloquently, “The best argument against democracy is a five minute conservation with the average voter.” In our case, you will hear “PNM till ah dead” and “Panday is meh God.”

Over the years, there have been several debates over the meaning of democracy and its effectiveness. Ancient Greek Philosopher Aristotle [384BC – 322 BC] stated that, “In a democracy, the poor will have more power than the rich, because there are more of them, and the will of the majority is supreme.” His counterpart Plato [428 BC – 348 BC had a countervailing argument. He suggested that “Dictatorship naturally arise out of a democracy, and the most aggravated form of tyranny and slavery out of the more extreme liberty.” Have we thus become slaves to economic forces, the market place? Do the rich still control the destiny of the nation?

Edward Dowlin described democracy in his country in this manner: “The two greatest obstacles to democracy in the United States are, first, widespread delusion among the poor that we don’t have a democracy, and second, the chronic terror among the rich, lest we get it.” Alain Badion in a more cynical tone states “Our democracy is not perfect. But it’s better than the bloody dictatorships. Capitalism is unjust. But it’s not criminal like Stalinism. We let millions of Africans die of AIDS, but we don’t make racist nationalistic declarations like Milosevic. We kill Iraqis with our airplanes, but we don’t cut their throats with machetes in Rwanda.”

Politics has taught me a great many things, and I believe in some tenets of democracy, but the system does not protect itself against abuse, and thus, has proven to be ineffectual, somewhat a masked dictatorship with an oligarch instead of a sole king or despot in charge, but it comes down to the same thing. We still lack confidence in the judiciary, because some judges have been known to take bribes; your confidential financial information is leaked to the public when you go up against the authorities [ask Occah Seapaul – former Speaker of the House of Representatives]; your telephone conversations are tapped; prime agricultural lands are taken from farmers and used for building houses; politicians consort with known elements from the criminal underworld to achieve power; getting a job or getting something done is about who knows you, not your qualification.

Many people are under the assumption that decisions are not made by the politicians who are elected. Besides being a rubber stamp for the Prime Minister, the Cabinet is not even representative of the people - a significant amount of its members are not even elected. Some believe that America’s Central Intelligence Agency is calling the shots, or that some lodge [Free Masons] or cult has rested control from the people. Whatever it may be, one thing I am sure of: Democracy in Trinidad and Tobago is not what you are brought up to believe and if we want a better life for ourselves, remember that the revolution begins with one.

Psalm 2006(SATIRE)Manning is my shepherd, I shall be in want.He leadeth me to see higher food prices at the groceries,He maketh me to lie down on park benches,He restoreth my doubts about the PNM party,He guideth me onto the paths of CEPEP and URP for the party's sake.I do fear him, for thou talk about the evildoers constantly.The kidnappings and murders
They do discomfort me.Thou anointeth me with never-ending fear,And my savings and assets shall soon be gone.Surely poverty and hard living shall follow me,And my jobless children shall dwell in my house forever. –AMEN