Saturday, July 20, 2024
Hon. Shyne Barrow and President Joe Biden have a few things in common. They are both living in a state of denial, and they are both intransigent. Like King Belshazzar, they refuse to read the writing on the wall, which predicted the ending of his reign. In the case of Biden and Shyne, the polls and public opinion are the writing on the wall. Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, Saddam Hussein could not read that same writing. There is something about power that makes it very difficult to relinquish, gracefully.
In my opinion, Joe Biden has been one of the better presidents in modern times; he has accomplished a lot in his very short period as president. But again, time and age and mortality step in and slow you down. There is nothing one can do to delay the process, except to step down and hand the reins over to someone with qualified exuberance, who will try to fulfill the needs of a nation in crisis, the crisis being the fate of American democracy! Hopefully, Mr. Biden will heed the writing on the wall and step down with his honor and his grace, intact.
Shyne, in my opinion, has been a disaster ever since he wrestled for control of an almost defunct political party. His indecisions and revisions and decisions regarding the future of the UDP have been haphazard at best, and incompetent at the worst! I don’t believe anything can change that. When an organization is in a tailspin, you need an experienced pilot to take over and lead it into the promised land. Like Biden, Shyne does not understand the limits of his capabilities as a leader. They are both turning a blind eye to a reality that will surely lead them and the country (tries) into unmitigated disaster!
Meanwhile … Prime Minister Briceño is quickly and efficiently consolidating his power, in Putin-like fashion, insulating himself with loyalists in the Cabinet, no matter the origins of their birth! Insulating himself against the inevitable attacks by the young Turks in the offing. People like Alan Pollard and Elvia Vega and others have felt the sting of rejection, for the greater good of the PM. What a ting!
It’s alarming to me that people in the diaspora can’t vote; we, weh baan deh, but we can have foreign-born representatives in our government! And as usual, we the people, just take it. Just like the way we accept a very politically biased and ineffective Commissioner of Police! Like Biden and Shyne, it is time for a change at the top while Chester still has some semblance of respect from his own, and from the population in general. Let ole Belshazzar be a lesson, or the consequences will be worse than we can imagine, in my opinion.
It is such a beautiful morning, yet here I am, causing trouble, speaking my truths as I see them, uninhibited, unvarnished, because we still have the right to express our undiluted opinions without fear of retribution. See? I ended on a positive note.
Glen
Note: Since the writing of this article, President Joe Biden has announced that he will not be seeking re-election.