To thine own self be true

“To thine own self be true.”

The advice that we should not engage in self deception is one of the unforgettable lines from Hamlet, Shakespeare’s great tragedy, and cable TV offered up a New Year’s holiday treat of a classic film version of it with a star-studded cast to remind us of Shakespeare’s genius.

The play contains many pearls of wisdom, including that well known one. It should be a motto for us Trinis who excel in masquerade and thrive on living in cloud cuckoo land, along with the second part of the line, spoken by a father to a son and which is every bit as important as the better known part of the entire line, because it has a consequence – “This above all, – to thine own self be true; And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man,” ie, by not fooling ourselves we cannot run the risk of fooling others.

The reason we should not fool others is open to interpretation but, essentially, self deceit and lies harm us more than they do others because it is the duper who ultimately loses all sense of what truth is and loses faith in everyone else who comes to be perceived as equally dishonest and unreliable. Trust is forfeited, which is necessary for peace of mind and can lead to misguided actions. The play bears it out, and it is not going too far out on a limb to say that this is an affliction we suffer from here in all walks of life. The disease has taken hold and contributed to the deterioration in the fabric of our state and our society.

Another well-known line in Hamlet resonates for us: “Something is rotten in the State of Denmark,'' where the corruption at the top has filtered all the way down and the body politic stinks. It also refers to the festering of Hamlet’s mind because of his loss of faith in those around him. The Bajans say, “the fish rots from the head.” And so it does, and corruption is perceived to exist at every level of our society. As a result, nothing our political or executive and judicial leaders say or do rings true to us. It has become self-fulfilling.

The ugliness surrounding the imminent retirement and judged poor service of our current President Paula-Mae Weekes is a testament to that. Our Prime Minister’s fragmented explanation about how the President accidentally became involved in a meeting that never happened between him, her and the chair of the Police Service Commission was rejected and President Weekes was left with her slip showing, leading to the Opposition attempting to have her impeached. The public vitriol against her handling of the issue is breathtaking. Those seeking to destroy her reputation must know they are being unjust and are not motivated by the best intentions.

This pertinent question follows – what sort of person would consider serving a public that has so little regard for the position of president and trust in the person holding it? The president should be above the political fray and must also have the skill to lead from the front while appearing to be engaged only in matters about which we want to hear. The incumbent is hamstrung because the leadership role is mainly honorific and ceremonial, very much as the British monarch’s is. Is that appropriate for our new republic? That is the next question. Such a discussion is a tall order among our fractious citizenry and polity.

There have been comments about each president having his/her own style but it is more than that. Sir Ellis Clarke enjoyed a certain largesse and had great confidence as one of the authors of our Constitution because he knew its crevices and could work around any issue. ANR Robinson also had an advantage as a former prime minister, party leader and international influencer. He was sure footed when required to choose a government in the election dead heat of 2001.

The president of our republic needs savoir faire but it is an important fact that politics is not as it was in the era of Presidents Hassanali or Maxwell Richards. As President Weekes said in her New Year’s Day speech, we have descended into a kind of savagery. Underpinning the savagery is our loss of faith in our leaders and institutions. It is not that our politicians and public servants are all bad but rather their framework is inadequate to the task. There is always danger in rewriting constitutions but how the president is elected and what sort of presidency we should have is as important a matter as how our institutions work. Both require addressing.

As things are now, identifying someone for the role of our next president inevitably is the PM’s task. Whoever the sacrificial lamb might be, and we know there is one in mind, that person will be at a huge disadvantage because the terrain in which they operate is disputed and difficult and no fig leaf will cover that basic problem. Let them not fool themselves or us.

Editor's Note: The Prime Minister on Friday announced Senate President Christine Kangaloo as the nominee to be the next President.