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Bruce's agony of the soul
Raulston Nembhard
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
PRIME Minister Bruce Golding is resolute in his decision that the time has come for him to go. He has said that much to the nation and between now and the end of November he would have packed his bags to make way for a new occupant at Jamaica House. I did not for one moment believe that the prime minister's decision was a testing of the political waters. When he announced it that fateful Sunday afternoon, I had no doubt that he meant it. I felt that he had agonised over the decision and thought that this was something he had to do.
It is not prudent for anyone to second-guess the prime minister's psychological state in coming to the decision to resign. But it seems to me that there was a great deal of reflection on his part as to whether he could really continue to be prime minister. This "agony of the soul" began from he had to publicly apologise for being less than forthright about the government's involvement with the Manatt law firm. It picked up in earnest during and after the Manatt/Dudus enquiry. He did not come out a shining knight in that enquiry. He knew that he was damaged, quite apart from KD "Star Boy" Knight calling him "pathologically mendacious". He knew he had to move on, not just in the interest of the party, the country, and his family and friends, but in his own personal interest to heal his own internal wounds, many of which were self-inflicted.
GOLDING... has shown moral strength
GOLDING... has shown moral strength
#slideshowtoggler, #slideshowtoggler a, #slideshowtoggler img {filter:none !important;zoom:normal !important}
1/1 
And this is where the prime minister demonstrated great courage, for he knew that to himself he had to be true. He could have dug in and even carried the party to an electoral victory. In fact, the announcement of the resignation came as a shock to many, precisely for the reason that people were beginning to think that after the Manatt Enquiry the party had started to put the matter behind them and were now turning to the important matter of governing the country - creating jobs and dealing with outstanding issues with the IMF. Internal party grumblings and disaffections could be dealt with. It would not have been beyond the party leader's capability to deal with these and hopefully build a solid platform going into the next elections.
But this was not to be. For the prime minister there were greater matters at stake which had to be dealt with. He could no longer evade coming to terms with a prodding conscience. Part of the agony of his soul no doubt derives from a pernicious sense of personal failure; the belief that he had failed his people, that he had let down his friends and family. Perhaps more important is the sense that he had failed to carry out or complete the lofty assignments he had set himself in government, and that he announced with such passion and eloquence at his inauguration as prime minister. The sad thing is that he knows that he has it in him to do well, even excellently, but when he was given the opportunity of a lifetime he failed to do so. This has to weigh heavily on him as he makes his exit.
There comes a time in a person's life when he has to make his rendezvous with conscience. That time came for Mr Golding and he has acted bravely.
He took a long look in the mirror and concluded that he could not continue the illusion of dodging from his own shadow. This is a demonstration of moral strength, a quality that is sadly lacking in many areas of leadership in our society. When we have a sense that we have trespassed on the sacred space of others, then we can only come to the position that this must stop. There are things in our lives about which our consciences should be afraid. But for some people their consciences are afraid of nothing and so they continue in their amorality hurting people and messing up situations from which they should withdraw themselves. It is this amorality, this failure to distinguish between right and wrong, that is at the core of the financial crisis that is still gripping the world. It is certainly this moral insensibility and ambivalence that landed Jamaica in the soup that it is in today.
I applaud Mr Golding for demonstrating the moral strength to move on. I wish that others in Government and the Opposition would come to similar conclusions and step aside for the good of the country. Hanging on to power because you have nothing better to do or because you do not want to return to a life of poverty outside of Parliament is hardly a demonstration of the moral character we need in our leaders. And this is not about adolescent or geriatric leadership. Moral probity is neither age-specific nor gender-specific. Neither is a high and positive self-esteem that makes you determined to do the things that are right, that are noble and that redound to the common good of those you serve. With all his flaws, Mr Golding has set a good example in taking the hard decision to move on. I wish him well as he takes the long walk into the future that lies ahead of him.
stead6655@aol.com
www.drraulston.com
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/colum...#ixzz1acA0y2L2
Raulston Nembhard
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
PRIME Minister Bruce Golding is resolute in his decision that the time has come for him to go. He has said that much to the nation and between now and the end of November he would have packed his bags to make way for a new occupant at Jamaica House. I did not for one moment believe that the prime minister's decision was a testing of the political waters. When he announced it that fateful Sunday afternoon, I had no doubt that he meant it. I felt that he had agonised over the decision and thought that this was something he had to do.
It is not prudent for anyone to second-guess the prime minister's psychological state in coming to the decision to resign. But it seems to me that there was a great deal of reflection on his part as to whether he could really continue to be prime minister. This "agony of the soul" began from he had to publicly apologise for being less than forthright about the government's involvement with the Manatt law firm. It picked up in earnest during and after the Manatt/Dudus enquiry. He did not come out a shining knight in that enquiry. He knew that he was damaged, quite apart from KD "Star Boy" Knight calling him "pathologically mendacious". He knew he had to move on, not just in the interest of the party, the country, and his family and friends, but in his own personal interest to heal his own internal wounds, many of which were self-inflicted.
GOLDING... has shown moral strength
GOLDING... has shown moral strength#slideshowtoggler, #slideshowtoggler a, #slideshowtoggler img {filter:none !important;zoom:normal !important}
1/1 And this is where the prime minister demonstrated great courage, for he knew that to himself he had to be true. He could have dug in and even carried the party to an electoral victory. In fact, the announcement of the resignation came as a shock to many, precisely for the reason that people were beginning to think that after the Manatt Enquiry the party had started to put the matter behind them and were now turning to the important matter of governing the country - creating jobs and dealing with outstanding issues with the IMF. Internal party grumblings and disaffections could be dealt with. It would not have been beyond the party leader's capability to deal with these and hopefully build a solid platform going into the next elections.
But this was not to be. For the prime minister there were greater matters at stake which had to be dealt with. He could no longer evade coming to terms with a prodding conscience. Part of the agony of his soul no doubt derives from a pernicious sense of personal failure; the belief that he had failed his people, that he had let down his friends and family. Perhaps more important is the sense that he had failed to carry out or complete the lofty assignments he had set himself in government, and that he announced with such passion and eloquence at his inauguration as prime minister. The sad thing is that he knows that he has it in him to do well, even excellently, but when he was given the opportunity of a lifetime he failed to do so. This has to weigh heavily on him as he makes his exit.
There comes a time in a person's life when he has to make his rendezvous with conscience. That time came for Mr Golding and he has acted bravely.
He took a long look in the mirror and concluded that he could not continue the illusion of dodging from his own shadow. This is a demonstration of moral strength, a quality that is sadly lacking in many areas of leadership in our society. When we have a sense that we have trespassed on the sacred space of others, then we can only come to the position that this must stop. There are things in our lives about which our consciences should be afraid. But for some people their consciences are afraid of nothing and so they continue in their amorality hurting people and messing up situations from which they should withdraw themselves. It is this amorality, this failure to distinguish between right and wrong, that is at the core of the financial crisis that is still gripping the world. It is certainly this moral insensibility and ambivalence that landed Jamaica in the soup that it is in today.
I applaud Mr Golding for demonstrating the moral strength to move on. I wish that others in Government and the Opposition would come to similar conclusions and step aside for the good of the country. Hanging on to power because you have nothing better to do or because you do not want to return to a life of poverty outside of Parliament is hardly a demonstration of the moral character we need in our leaders. And this is not about adolescent or geriatric leadership. Moral probity is neither age-specific nor gender-specific. Neither is a high and positive self-esteem that makes you determined to do the things that are right, that are noble and that redound to the common good of those you serve. With all his flaws, Mr Golding has set a good example in taking the hard decision to move on. I wish him well as he takes the long walk into the future that lies ahead of him.
stead6655@aol.com
www.drraulston.com
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/colum...#ixzz1acA0y2L2
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