Trinis, instilled with etiquette as we are, well know the proper public postures to adopt as arising circumstance warrants.
Therefore, in accord with the courtesies of our leadership's entitlement, I expected the outpouring of prayers and loud wishes extended to, and on behalf of, Mr Manning during his recent, major surgery. Nonetheless, I still sceptically wonder if it all came from the nation's heart. Despite the infectious gestures and the tenets of upbringing, mine was a feeling of indifference. Que sera sera! Whatever God wills! I simply could not bring myself to prayers and good wishes; or share any small part of expressed public sentiment.
I have not grown to be mean-spirited man, but my pathos at the enduring national state of play is so overwhelming, that granted ten wishes by the genie in the bottle, PM Manning's health and well-being would not be a remote consideration. More so, in light of the number of ailing children; old and infirm family and friends, with little recourse but to suffer and die, in the unconscionable absence of an adequate, national healthcare system.
That covers the good-wishes aspect. If, on the other hand, I were a praying man, the fate of the incumbent PM would hold no prominence on my pecking order: Not even as an after-thought. Prayer to the maker would, instead, engage a single-minded focus, beseeching Him to deliver our nation from its litany of woes; inflicted by a clueless and uncaring leadership. My read of Patrick Manning's evangelical zeal tells me that this recent brush with death would further concretise in his head belief that he was divinely anointed to lead us "down the road". Finally, driven to prayer, I now exhort, "Heavenly Father, help us all"
?Carl Dedier
Diamond Vale