By Max Sterling
If you were asked to define the word dictatorship how would you start?
It is the word used to reflect the style of leadership for example: "absolute power of authority!"
Obviously, the word dictatorship comes from the word dictator which simply means a ruler who has absolute power and unlimited authority like both Eric Gairy and Maurice Bishop were perceived to have had in their day.
Who gives such power and authority to one man thus contributing to dictatorships? The answer may shock you: We, the people, through our negligence and mindlessness.
Why would people for the most part knowingly or unknowingly contribute to dictatorships?
Greed, corruption and bribery all emanating from the lack of personal integrity, weakness of character, poor upbringing, lack of education as Aristotle defined it: "Constant association with right things and right itself".
We might ask ourselves why are dictatorships so common in Africa, the Middle-East, the Far East, and here at home in the Caribbean under the guise of democracies?
Our recent history showed us up as having two tyrannical dictators Eric Gairy and Maurice Bishop.
In the case of Gairy, he tolerated no dissention in his camp and ran his administration single-handedly not paying much attention to his colleague ministers while it was a lot different with Maurice Bishop and his revolutionary approach.
In fact, it was the system which was dictatorial and not one man. Do you recall the terms "onemanism", "principle is principle", and "joint leadership"?
It was the system's intolerance to what they were afraid was becoming a one man show that hastened its demise. Having used the charisma and charm of Maurice Bishop to ride the crest of the wave to an easy take-over, it was time to replace him with the Central Committee and or "Politbureau".
I say all of this to elaborate on the difference in style between Eric Gairy's dictatorship and that of Maurice Bishop's.
It is difficult for people of stable democracies to understand the nature of dictatorships. Regardless of the perceived ruthless nature of the current Republican Regime in the United States, that mighty democracy is blessed with so many checks and balances to stabilise its democracy that the growth of a dictatorship does not stand a chance.
Great Britain, Australia and Canada are among the most stable western democracies. Their own political systems have contributed to the peace and economic progress of their peoples and so it should be in the entire world.
Many of us out here seem to consider strongly that poverty is a major cause of political instability, but I hold the opposite to be true that is, political instability is a major cause of poverty.
Many of us in these parts love to hypocritically state as if it were a true reflection of our lifestyle that we are a Christian nation/society when in truth and in fact many who tout this are a bunch of thieves, crooks, 'jessibels', and infidels for the most part.
If we are really Christians we would be able to tap into our source (scriptures which many of us love to quote when it suits us) for our refuge and not lean on our own thoughts and ideas about prosperity.
If we really are Christians, we would not surrender our dignity and integrity on the altar of expediency for a mess of pottage. We would instead walk by faith and not by sight. We would continue to be associated with right things and right itself so as to manifest our genuine level of education.
The Jesus Christ many of us love to say we are followers of took the opportunity to teach a new concept of governance one built on a solid foundation of serving others.
Rather than trying to get the top position to benefit one's self, the approach that is all too common in the world today.
Jesus' emphasis was the opposite: Realise that the higher your position in society, the greater the opportunity you have to serve and help others.
He emphasized that true leadership was based on giving rather than receiving. Hence Sir Winston Churchill's famous and profound words: we make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.
In case many of you did not know or realise it, service is the rent we pay for the space we take up on earth.
One of the lessons learned living in a dictatorship is that absolute rulers are generally corrupt. When they assume power, they typically have had little or no governmental or administrative experience and are often from the lower ranks of society as is our case with the current pseudo-dictatorship we are saddled with in Grenada since 1995.
Then when they assume office, they put on the pounds very quickly as they begin to enjoy the advantages and spoils of their newfound power. You can hear of large sums of the people's money stashed in foreign bank accounts even in the name of their close relatives.
The biblical book Eccleasisstes warns of this: "Woe to you, O land, when your king is (like) a child, and your princes feast in the morning! Blessed are you, O land, when your king is the son of nobles (educated, and well brought up), and your princes feast at the proper time for strength and not for drunkenness!" (10:16-17)
Babylon's King Nebuchandnezzar was the foremost leader in the world of his day, with absolute power over the greatest empire of the time.
Nebuchannezzar is the classic example of what the 19th century British historian Lord Acton wrote of rulers: "Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely."
Dictators are used to giving orders. They are usually surrounded by sycophants underlings afraid to criticize or even to make any suggestions.
When the man in charge is perceived to have absolute power over whether they make a profit or not, or whether they eat or not, nobody wants to upset him.
This means that dictators are usually out of touch with reality. In turn this leads to greater oppression because the only way to maintain power is to lord it over everyone.
Afraid of being short-circuited, they then start diverting the contents of the national treasury into foreign bank accounts, planning an escape route in case of a coup or popular uprising they can rush off well off and comfortable.
Such leaders can be characterised as a bunch of squatters who have taken over a house and are waiting for the police to arrive. Having attained power through foul means or under a cloud of suspicion, those in charge would always have a constant fear of being overthrown or replaced in similar manner.
The problem with that though is that most dictators control the police. Dictators usually yield to a force stronger than themselves. Today many nations giving lip service to democracy are far from being democratic.
Having a Parliament does not make a country a democracy. Look at our one time lovely quaint Grenada and the state of what we call Parliament. A true reflection of our state and level confirming that a people indeed get the representatives they deserve.
Nebuchannezzar's vanity led to the kind of incredible abuses of power that we regularly read about and even see reported on television to this day. Absolute power even affected the nation's religious observance.
Do you see a kind of similarity here with the leadership of the political party in office not the government of Grenada - going as far as to congratulate a Roman Catholic priest on his promotion within the church on behalf of the people of Grenada and not on behalf of his party?
The same party leader finding it necessary to have a spiritual advisor to the point where his last one ended up in jail on death row for the rape and murder of a minor?
People help to create the atmosphere for rulers to think of themselves as having absolute power. When they respond in a frightened manner to the command/demand of the ruler to desist from doing business with anyone who is seen to be opposed to the inferior ruler and his gang, they contribute actively let alone condone the establishment of a dictatorship.
Absolute power certainly does corrupt. Leaders can start to see themselves as gods whose actions and words are beyond question.
How many times have you sat in the comfort of your homes and while viewing television see the current dictator and/or his messengers lie out rightly at you? Too many to count, I guess!
This is the level of disrespect and contempt he and his underlings have grown to hold for "you" their subjects.
Interestingly, the most successful democracies in the world are those that were greatly influenced by the Judeo-Christian tradition in their formative years.
We see for example, that the King James Version of the Bible, translated and first published in Britain in 1611 by order of the King, contributed greatly to the development of constitutional government in Britain in subsequent years.
Parliamentary institutions were set up throughout the colonies to include Canada, the English-speaking West Indies, the original thirteen American ones that later became the United States.
The recent revelation of Grynberg going after the Resteiner video tape must have the Grenadian dictator wetting his pants as Grynberg is serious.
What about that letter Bowen had requesting some sort of accommodation with Grynberg that was mentioned in Parliament? I thought Grynberg was wanting to pull back.
The dictator and his gang continue to take the Grenadian people for a pack of fools and so continue to treat all of you with contempt. But I can hear the jail door banging for those who can't escape it.
