Stella Says…Play Nice Children or You’ll Get No Vote

(Originally published in the Kaieteur News on 11 Oct 2005)

What is the most important item on the agenda for the next few months? For Guyanese, there is a very important decision to make about the future. Therefore, until this time next year we will all be carefully watching the party in power, the opposition and the formation and juxtaposition of new groups. This is going to be a lot of work!

Sometimes, it seems like all of this “watching” it is like being a babysitter or a mother. Actually, come to think of it, these groups often act like children too. One party blames another party for breaking the country’s economic stability. Almost daily one party is pointing an accusing finger at the other party and pouting over how they have to do the so many chores because of the other party. It really is so childish.

All of this childish behaviour meshes together in one’s mind until a year (or 13) has gone by before you know it and although that teenager is suppose to be acting more mature and preparing for adulthood, the childish behaviour still prevails. That child needed some good stern discipline years ago and now it is becoming very difficult to teach even the basics of good behaviour without getting a jutting chin of rebellion for a response.

All of these years Guyana has had two big babies that actually need a stern hand instead of a pacifying pat on the shoulder. It really is time for them to grow up and start acting like adults. The citizens are the ones who have to keep cleaning up after these kids every time they make another mess and refuse to take the responsibility for their own actions.

There should be a new rule in the house, if you can’t clean up your mess after you are done playing – then you don’t get to play. This would apply to the new children too. It seems Guyana has given birth to at least two more kids for the next election. One is named Guyana Third Force and the other is Alliance For Change. Who ever named these babies should be ashamed of themselves.

Therefore, we have new babies who want to start playing with the already immature children. The big question is whether they will all be able to play nicely together to make Momma Guyana happy. I’m not holding my breath. We all know how selfish children can be and I’m willing to bet the farm that the older children are not going to want to share their toys.

The PPP (with this name there is bound to be a lot of diapers) has been able to play all it wants without so much as a murmur from Momma because she is just happy that the older child, the PNC, isn’t around to be mean anymore. Even when the younger child is acting atrociously, Momma just shrugs and says, “At least things are better now than before.”

I suspect things may change very soon though with the addition of the new children. Mothers tend to give a lot more attention to the brand new babies with their cute smiles and their fresh personalities. Where will that leave the PPP? Mark my words on this one folks, that stubborn, childish teen will do anything necessary to get Momma’s attention back. Just wait and see how much the PPP will act up in the next few months if Guyana starts to give more attention to the new babies.

In fact, this jealous behaviour already started a few weeks ago when Smart and Sharp Robert Persaud threw a fit about other “politicians” being able to write in the same paper he was allowed to write in. And what a temper tantrum it was! Poor baby! Momma had to gently explain that it was okay for the other children to play too and the PPP needed to be a good kid and share their toys.

I guess kids will be kids. I do have a couple words of advice to give the new Third Force though. I noticed you didn’t have any girls playing with you. Tisk, tisk, tisk. You need to take that “No Girls Allowed” sign off of your tree house right this instant boys. Girls don’t have cooties. In fact, they have the sharp minds that you need if you really plan to navigate your way through the playground.

The second piece of advice is that you play nice with the other new baby. If you two play nice together and make cute cooing sounds, Momma will forget about that rebellious teenager and give you all the attention you want. But if you two can’t play nice, she will treat you with the same disregard as she does the other children.

My primary interest is to make sure these children are not toying with the emotions of the people. Though these politicians act like children, Guyana’s future is no game. It is time for all of the players involved in this game to grow up and get to work. While we are still in our infancy stages, the rest of the world is growing up fast. We just can’t be babies forever.

stellasays[at]gmail.com