THE EDITOR, Sir:
YOUR HEADLINE 'Seaga exit a plus', which appeared online in your July 29, 2004 Gleaner, brought me back to Mr. Shearer's funeral two Sundays ago. As the glowing tributes were moved, two pieces of anti-Seaga rhetoric resonated in the hallowed halls of the Holy Trinity Church. One came from Rex Nettleford and the other from Bruce Golding.
With great oratorical acumen, Nettleford made reference to Shearer being a Don Juan, and Seaga a One Don. With characteristic candour, Golding described Seaga as one of the contentious persons in Shearer's government. The utterances came after Mr. Seaga's own awe-inspiring tribute to Mr. Shearer. I wondered if the utterances were appropriate over Shearer's dead body, bearing in mind the intensity of the turmoil within the JLP at the time, and the chequered relationship that existed between Shearer and Seaga. These utterances to me, were the final nails being driven into Seaga's political coffin, at Shearer's funeral.
As the death knells clamoured, I reflected on the man who could have been. But, something went wrong along the way. Most of what went wrong is partly as a result of Seaga's own doings. For he possesses a tongue as sharp as the sword of Damocles. The media too have a part to play. Yes, Seaga has been vilified and demonised by the media, especially by writers and journalists who claimed they have benefited from Manley's system of 'free education' in the 1970s. I too remember the 'free issue books' we got regularly. But, were they actually free? Freeness comes with a price.
While I hold no brief for Mr. Seaga, I believe he possesses, more than any other politician in Jamaica's post-1948 political history, the ability to create economic success. But, alas, history and politics have their own twists and turns. Mr. Seaga, unfortunately, got strangled by such and is now lying in the political garbage heap of life. So, as darkness descended upon Shearer's funeral, I reflected upon the work and contribution of another political giant, a man whose time has long past, sadly, and a single tear rolled down my right cheek.
I am, etc.,
PAUL WILLIAMS
bludums@yahoo.com
Kingston 5
St. Andrew
