Prayer for Guyana
Michael Vishnu Singh
I
see a huge billboard with the prayer “Where the Head Is Held High’ and full
size pictures of David Granger and Rupert Roopnarine on each side in different
parts of Guyana.
Here
is the prayer which is taken from “Gitanjali.”
This poem was written by India’s most prolific and talented artist. He was the
first non European to win a Nobel Prize—the Prize for Literature in 1912.
Where
the mind is without fear and head is held high
Where knowledge is free
Where the world has not been
broken up into fragments
by narrow domestic walls
Where words come out from the
depth of truth
Where tireless striving stretches
its arms towards perfection
Where the clear stream of reason
has not lost its way
into the dreary dead sand of dead habit
Where the mind is led forward by
Thee into ever-widening thought and action
Into that heaven of freedom, my
dear beloved God, let us all awake.
Each line speaks of the
Guyana I yearn for. First –people should be able to walk with dignity and not
be cowed with fear. Look at how the average person walks in Guyana—with head
down, with watchful eyes. They speak not directly but with some caution.
Where knowledge is free. I
wish that we had a more adventurous and dynamic educational system. I treasure
APNU’s hope that we will soon have an educational system where learning and
teaching is a respected and purposeful activity.
Where the world has not
been broken up….narrow domestic walls. For many Guyanese we feel pain that our
national fabric has been torn up by people who play on our fears. We must truly
embrace our national motto –One People, One Nation, One destiny. The 1953 political
movement was the embodiment of this ideal.
Where words come the
depths of truth. Like Tagore we dream of moving away from the deception and
lies that dominate public discourse. We dream of more positive communication.
We look forward to being treated with honesty. We are tired of being treated
like unthinking fools.
Reaching for perfection is
an ideal our nation needs to set. We are being trained by the ruling elite to
accept less than the best. We no longer urge our young to aim for the highest.
As a nation mediocrity seems to be what we are told to accept. Let us show the
world that we want our nation to be seen as bold, visionary and talented by
voting in a leader who represents these ideals—David Granger.
Dead habit seems to be the
motto of the ruling clique. There is no clarity about policy or action. They
shamelessly follow what has been done before. The ruling party’s administrative
structure remains the same as it was sixty years ago. That party has foisted a
candidate on the electorate using that dreary dead mentality. And amazingly
they want the voters to behave in a dumb way—unthinking, not applying any
reason of their own.
Finally Tagore asks that
our minds be linked to the divine creative source. He asks that our thoughts
and actions be guided by that divine force. He envisages a heaven of freedom
into which we all awake. Guyana is an idealistic society. We were blessed with
two outstanding leaders Dr. Jagan and Forbes Burnham who taught us to think
outside the boxes that our colonial masters wanted us to think in. We have paid
a high price for that consciousness. The ruling elite of the world punished us
by turning us against each other.
Our new leaders in APNU
are bringing us back to where we were in 1953—a vibrant, united nation with
clear thoughts of creating an outstanding society. Guyana has donated many
brilliant people to many countries. Like ancient Greece, though we were small,
we have reached out across the world and created meaningful change. In 2012 the
new government lead by APNU will finally fulfill our national destiny to be a prosperous,
successful nation working together with all groups.
If you share my dream send
this prayer to all those you love. Just say this is my prayer for Guyana in
2012. To make these ideals a reality in Guyana— believe in the vision, support APNU,
vote for APNU.
God bless Guyana
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