We must all hold steadfastly to the anchors of acceptable behaviour

Dear Editor,

Like the rest of the world Guyana has been changing as indeed it must to avoid being left behind in the globally competitive environment. In this context it is easy to lose sight of certain fundamental principles of decent human behaviour and become entrapped in the proverbial rat race or dog fight or survival of the strongest as the media has been reporting to be the case especially among various groups of Guyanese leaders.

In this regard I am reminded of an address given by His Holiness the Aga Khan in Pakistan many years ago in which he warned about changing the anchors of acceptable behaviour; I quote the relevant paragraph below:

“I have observed in the Western world a deeply changing pattern of human relations. The anchors of moral behaviour appear to have dragged to such depths that they no longer hold firm the ship of life. What was once wrong is now simply unconventional, and for the sake of individual freedom must be tolerated. What is tolerated soon becomes accepted. Contrarily, what was once right is now viewed as outdated, old-fashioned and is often the target of ridicule”.

I thought of bringing this to the attention of my Guyanese compatriots having regard to the distressingly unmannerly, uncouth and unconventional behaviours Guyanese in all strata of our society from manual workers to Members of Parliament as reported in the daily media.

In our search for solutions to the apparently endemic, backward divisiveness in our society it is incumbent on all of us to hold steadfastly to the anchors of acceptable behaviour and like the Aga Khan, the Mahatma Gandhi, the Rev Martin Luther King and the indomitable Nelson Mandela have demonstrated over the years all across the world, call upon our own leaders, our own comrades to reflect on the counter-productiveness of finger-pointing and strive to work together in search of cures for our self-inflicted wounds. Yours faithfully,

Nowrang Persaud