"Mahabir warns new Govt to be wary of arrogance."

I am reading with interest anything relating to the new government's managerial style. In today's Guardian, Mr Errol Mahabir's advice to newly-appointed Energy Minister Carolyn Seepersad-Bachan and the People’s Partnership Government is that they not to fall prey to the disease of arrogance.

Mahabir warns new Govt to be wary of arrogance.
By Reshma Ragoonath
Published: Trinidad and Tobago Guardian | 2 Jun 2010

“The arrogance of people who attain office; they seem to believe when they attain office they have no responsibility to the people and that is why so many of them have paid the price that they have paid,” Read more...

The thing about arrogance is that is usually comes from thinking that you are the superior of, or have some power over, those to whom it is directed. You hardly find arrogance being shown to people who are highly respected or who you consider your equals or betters.

Politicians are given so much power and unless something in their natures or in the way in which they were nurtured provides them with immunity from its many temptations, power can and will seduce even saints.

So, yes, the politicians must be cautioned to monitor their own attitudes but the citizens are also responsible. We are the ones who empower them and allow them to take liberties and then when they are made to understand by our subservience that they can walk all over us, how can we be worthy of anything more than their disrespect and their arrogance towards us.

This is why I pause whenever I hear the talk about Father or Mother of the Nation or find myself falling back into the comfort zone of delegating responsibility for self. It was repeated recently in this piece by Wendy Fitzwilliam where she addressed our new Prime Minister:

"I am confident you will govern with the love of a mother as you stated. You won't spoil us like granny does, you'll love and discipline all of us when we deserve it but you'll also distribute praise in equal measure when deserved."

WE ARE NOT CHILDREN. We are meant to be the co-authors of our destiny as a nation.