Dear Editor,
The allegory of the cave is one of the dialogues recorded in Plato’s Republic, published around 375 BC. The allegory of the cave between Plato, his brother and his mentor, Socrates offers insightful lessons to understanding a society like Guyana.
Briefly, Plato’s allegory imagines a group of prisoners chained in a cave since childhood. Behind them, is a fire and between the fire and the prisoners are people carrying various objects which, with the help of the fire cast shadows on the cave’s walls where the prisoners are chained. The prisoners watch these shadows, believing them to be real. Suddenly, one prisoner escapes from the prison. He sees the fire and realizes the shadows are fake. He discovers that there is a real-world, not of shadows that they were not aware of. Out of care, the escaped prisoner goes back to the cave to free the other prisoners.
Upon his return, he is blinded because his eyes are now accustomed to actual sunlight. The chained prisoners would see this blindness and believe they will be harmed if they try to leave the cave. They would rather remain chained in the cave than try to see light (knowledge) outside the cave. Editor, the concept was developed by Plato to advance the nature of belief versus knowledge. In other words, one’s beliefs, coupled with fear, however baseless, could overpower knowledge and rational thinking.
This is the condition that individuals like Freddie Kissoon and the ‘guardians of democracy’ are in. The marauding neocolonialists know this and they used it to topple the stubborn David Granger. Editor, democracy is not simply about elections. It should consider other aspects of governance i.e., how resources are distributed, how laws are upheld and governance. Mr Ali dismantled the PSC, Freddie and other ‘guardians of democracy’ are quiet. In Haslington, roads in Indian neighbourhoods have been paved. Black neighbourhoods have blatantly been left out. In industry, the COVID-19 cash grant was given to all Indian households. A friend of mine in that area told me how his house was skipped. Is that democracy? And where is Sarah Lynch’s voice who was so vocal? This is the light that the congressmen, Hakeem Jeffries, Hank Johnson and Albio Sires are trying to shed for individuals like Freddie. All that these men are asking for is a fair society where every Guyanese, regardless of race benefits. Sarah Lynch has failed miserably in this aspect. Unfortunately, the PPP has chained Freddie and others in a cave of ethnic loyalty to the extent that when the light is shed by the congressmen, they are simply blinded. The PPP is a communist outfit. Communists are good with propaganda. The other day, one of the PPP propagandists wrote a letter in the press insinuating barefacedly how the PNC supporters during Granger’s presidency raped Indian women. All this is part of the chaining process.
Editor, the imprisonment is so serious that even the would-be independent media houses have not been spared. We all saw that the March 2020 elections had various irregularities which seriously undermine democracy. The dead and thousands of migrants outside the country voted; there were cases of polling materials from one polling centre being found in another such as in Diamond. There were over 47 boxes without any supporting documents but simply merely votes. Stabroek News, Kaieteur News and Freddie never wrote anything about these irregularities. The reason is simple: they are chained in the PPP cave. Editor, Freddie in his attack on Hakeem Jeffries said that a monument should be built for Sarah Lynch. I would like to use this opportunity to inform Freddie that we shall never allow anything that invokes the memories of Willie Lynch to be built on our land. if Freddie cares so much about Sarah Lynch, he might have a sculptor make an image of Sarah Lynch and have it in his house for worship
Regards
Tom Linden
