How politics divides culture

Multi-ethnic societies produce enduring challenges for equity, justice and political management. Today’s electronically-driven democracy helps keep the divisions and “cultural accidents” alive, as now evident in our own “every creed and race” society.

During the last two weeks, the country witnessed noisy political clashes between government and opposition over the Constitution, tassa and steelpan, crime, health, etc, and the strategies used towards the next elections. The ethnic division was restlessly evident.

After last Sunday's PNM convention, at last Tuesday at La Horquetta/Talparo constituency meeting, PNM political leader Dr Keith Rowley loudly came out as an angry “political badjohn,” severely blasting UNC Opposition Leader Ms Kamla Persad-Bissessar for ‘bringing race” into the coat-of-arms change.

She replied as sharply as he. In all this both Dr Rowley and Ms Persad-Bissessar must take care about their roles in this multi-ethnic society.

Dr Rowley lashed some UWI lecturers for “misleading the population,” saying they should be “fired for not doing the research.” He criticised other commentators who felt he should not have presented the PNM’s own proposals for constitution reform while the proposals from the Cabinet-appointed Barry Sinanan Advisory Committee on Constitution Reform were still in the air. He attacked Kamla’s 2010-15 PP government for having CoP Stephen Williams just “acting” for several years. He now plans to reform the appointment process.

He then gave lecturer Dr Jerome Teelucksingh a lesson about the difference between tassa and steelpan. Dr Teelucksingh suggested that a referendum be called for the coat-of-arms change and added: “Yes, we use the steelpan but couldn’t we have used the tassa also?”

Rowley instructively replied: “The steelpan is the only instrument that is indigenous to us.”

Constitution Advisory Committee member Dr Terrence Farrell explained that the committee “did not specifically recommend any change in the coat of arms.”

And so speculation grew as to why, really, Rowley proposed this change?

Then, warming up the cultural controversy, the Tassa Association of TT gave us this cultural tip: “No part of the steel drum is from TT as it is a fully imported metal container while the tassa is fully made with no imported material.”

What! The association added: ”The skin is from our local goat, sheep or deer, sticks are made from TT wild sugar cane, the bowl is made from TT clay,” making tassa “more indigenous” than the steelpan. Culture Minister Randall Mitchell and Pan Trinbago president Beverley Ramsey-Moore disagreed. Is it artistic skill or materials that count?

So once more, this “every-creed-and race” country appears to sit uneasily on a cultural seesaw. It now seems the country needs a three-day convention on multiculturalism and nationhood. We have to move from just tolerance and sympathy to fuller understanding of each culture and empathy for each grievances.

The PNM Constitution Committee rejected a fixed election date, proportional representation and a two-term PM. Rowley chastised the Opposition for “not taking part in the consultations” (loud clapping). That was Rowley at his platform best – using offence for defence. It was licks all around.

Kamla’s first “firecracker” blast was to describe the government’s Constitution Advisory Committee as a “PNM political gimmick,” a “distraction” from the very serious issues facing the country and in which her UNC party “will not take part.” We will stick to the issues, she thundered. “If not handled properly” she warned, the historically-embedded coat of arms change “could ignite racial tensions” in the country. She presented no proposals for constitution reform but emphasised her two flagship policies - no property tax and stand your ground.

Kamla accused Rowley of “following the playbook of former politicians to use the threat of ‘White Man’ and ‘Colonialism’ to detract from this county’s internal issues.” Hitting back at Rowley, she added: “These emotionally sensitive issues should not be misused as political propaganda for any electoral success.” These issues remain ”sensitive” because they are linked to buried grievances.

Sharing more licks last Wednesday against Rowley at her last “pre-budget consultation” down in Siparia, she declared: ”Rowley and the PNM want to keep you talking about steelpan, Columbus, tassa” and “not about five-year-old Anika Guerra who was murdered along with her father last night, missing $3 billion, murders, food process, home invasions, HDC corruption.” She didn’t spare “fence-sitting commentators.” Placards at the back had signs such as “Kamla, save this nation, “Captain, the ship is sinking,” “Deyalsingh, the biggest joker.”

The ethnic-driven electoral background is that in 2015, Dr Rowley brought her PP down from 29 seats to 18 with PNM 23, then in 2020 the UNC won 19 to the PNM's 22 seats. She now sits with hopes to recover. Can she?

Look, these troubling ethnic issues we now face existed in different ways a long, long time ago. Even attempts by Butler, Cipriani, Dr Williams and some “jahaji bhai” calypsoes brought half-way remedies, lacking the required emancipation.

For one thing, as long as our political and parliamentary systems remain as they are, so long will the suspicions and mutual mistrust flourish and exploited by elected shadow boxers, fighting for things that will never materialise.

The protracted controversy over changing the coat of arms is just a symptom of neglected causes. The country’s cultural diversity, as beautiful as it is in some respects, will experience political exploitation mainly because the political system thrives on it.