a job for the losers
(former House Speaker) C.B. Hyde: “Both sides of the House can propose Bills.” Sat. June 4, 2022
Sunday, June 5, 2022
A former Belize minister of government, an experienced lawyer, and albeit with good intentions, invested in two full pages of commentary/philosophy in the Reporter newspaper this past weekend, where he delivered an impressive summary of the development of human civilization from its earliest beginnings to where we are in the present day. And all to draw the conclusion that the tragedies and tribulations resulting from human behavior, even the Armageddon-type effects of Global Warming now coming upon us, are all inevitable because human nature is driven by greed. He offers no hope of a possible solution to this dilemma, except that, even though “man will destroy himself, including all of us,” the Earth itself “will recover as it has on many occasions after cataclysmic upheavals.” Perhaps this inevitability attitude is a clue to the failings of our governance system, where the said lawyer-politician enjoyed over a decade in one of the highest seats of power in the past administration, with little impact to show against this torrential flow of human greed that has characterized our supposed “government of, for, and by the people.” Perhaps the current cry from opposition members in the House that the government side is dragging its feet on enacting campaign financing legislation, is a cry of “crocodile tears,” while they await their turn at the “feeding trough” of government. If not so, then prove it.
Our esteemed lawyer-politician took us from the earliest establishment of “hamlets, villages, towns and cities” over 10,000 years ago, through the eventual conflicts and wars caused by “competition for food and space,” which soon saw the emergence of great empires and civilizations that rose and fell, including along the way the exploitation and even enslavement of people, and with the recent advent of the industrial revolution, the escalating decimation of the earth’s forests, leading us to the current phenomenon of Global Warming, because “the forests are the ‘lungs’ of the earth,” and are critical to maintaining “the temperature balance of the earth.” Because of their massive consumption of fossil fuels that has led to the destruction of the ozone layer protecting the earth from overheating, the “Developed Countries” are the major culprits in this existential crisis that most immediately faces small islands and low-lying coastal towns and cities due to rising ocean levels and other climatic calamities, including more frequent and intense “droughts,” “tornadoes,” “hurricanes,” “floods” and heat waves, which have begun to affect us with increasing intensity each passing year.
Having analyzed the essential driving force behind all the great civilizations and empires throughout human history to the present, with all their ups and downs, triumphs and tragedies, good and evil endeavors, his final conclusion is that “The fundamental problem is GREED and it is now in the very DNA of man.” And he offers no solace to those who are troubled by what appears to be our impending doom, because he is resigned to the fact that “The greed of man knows no bounds.” And his only positive view seems to be in the hereafter because, “The thing is, man will not destroy the Earth; the Earth will recover as it has on many occasions after cataclysmic upheavals. Man will destroy himself, including all of us!” So it looks like we better all just grab our holy books and start praying.
But while our esteemed and learned friend invites us all to indulge in the inevitability of doom because of “The Culture & Philosophy of Man’s Greed,” he has not bothered to explore the immense potential of hopes and dreams of which the human intellect is capable, and which can and does, as has been observed by more optimistic minds, allow man to periodically reassess his situation and chart a retreat before falling off that final precipice.
Indeed, as he observes, it is “the Developed Countries” that are “causing the problems, but it is the Developing Countries that are feeling and suffering the negative effects most!” And so, the attitude of developed countries is that the “various peoples” of developing countries “must learn to adapt to the situation. Imagine!” But while the “DNA” of human greed may be always in effect, we would like to suggest that the more pressing and visible human trait being exposed here, as elsewhere, is selfishness, which is usually accompanied by shortsightedness; because, to those not blinded by that greed, there is immense wisdom in the immortal words of poet John Donne: “No man is an island entire of itself…” It is only with the connivance and encouragement of shortsighted selfishness that human greed has been allowed to cause us to start to self-destruct upon the rocks of nature’s order; and if developing countries cannot find the logic to convince developing countries of the folly in their greed, perhaps their energies would be better spent in trying to reach their human soul where the true knowledge-of-self resides. But such a venture starts “at home,” because unselfishness can best be taught by example.
And so we come back to our own “House,” where our good friend once resided, and which has long resisted the people’s constant cry for “good governance,” starting with the demand for campaign financing legislation. Over the years, and after many changes of government, Belizean voters have slowly come to the conclusion that much of their frustration with lack of good governance stems from the wide open field of un-regulated and un-documented campaign financing of our political parties when election season comes around. And so they are left to add one and one and come up with two, when certain decisions by their elected government seem to be at the behest of a suspected individual or entity known or suspected to be a major financier of their election campaign.
While in office, our lawyer/politician friend was most aptly situated as Attorney General to accomplish some legislation in this vital area. But the tone of his recent essay might suggest that there were restrictions placed on his hand by the forces of “human greed” elsewhere during his administration.
Well, if the driving force of greed is anywhere near as strong as our friend implies, it can hardly be considered a blight on the current administration that campaign financing legislation has not seemed a priority for them. After all, there is much to accomplish “for the people” in many areas of government that demand urgent attention. And we must admit that, despite some mistakes, they are getting a whole lot done. So, it should be no surprise that drafting and enacting legislation that would restrict their own hand at election time, is not high on the priority list of any government. But if our out-of-office lawyer-politicians are true to their proclaimed desire for good governance, they can prove their sincerity by putting in the work on drafting campaign finance legislation now, and discussing it with the people, before presenting it to the House for the government side to publicly say “yea” or “nay.” Indeed, besides criticizing the perceived wrongs of the governing party, those in opposition have a job to do also; and this is one area in which the people need them to take the bull by the horns—if they are serious and not themselves choking with human greed—and start drafting campaign finance legislation for political parties in Belize.