I found it amusingly ironic that within the same week in which yet another self-proclaimed PUP champion of the poor, Dickey Bradley, was promoting the allegorical novel “Animal Farm” in his show, a writer from Toledo was using Orwell’s same poignant style in the Guardian to describe the man called Ch’oc. What I did not find amusing was the accusation that the latter is living the life of the rich and famous, while promoting the philosophy of communal land ownership for his fellow Maya people.
I myself have read “Animal Farm” about four times, the first being at Muffles as a literature course taught by the late Fred Martinez. It is one of the best novels I have ever read and the greatest example of unethical leaders imbedded within the different local organizations today. And while Bradley was quick to use the story to point fingers at the UDP, I think he should have first looked at the man in the mirror, and then at the rest of the PUP administration between 1998 and 2008.
Coming back to Ch’oc, I will always recall the arguments of a PUP Party Leader on Channel Fox stating that a land title is a powerful financial instrument for the poor, in that one can use such document to better one’s life through a mortgage, by first putting a roof over his/her head and later on moving up to better things for his/her family.
I rarely agree with the PUP, but in this instance I will endorse this position. I hold firm that the Maya should own private titles to their land, rather than having some sort of lordship in the communities to lend homage to. As to Ch’oc and Coc, if indeed they own personal properties and are standing in the way of others in benefitting from the same privilege, then “Animal Farm” is a must-read for them.
I will now proceed to the second half of this discourse.
With my wife being a Seventh Day Adventist, I get to view several religious programs on 3ABN, especially the sermons by Pastor Doug Batchelor. The other day the renowned Pastor was speaking about education, and it brought to mind the actions of a former member of the House of Representative from OW East, Senor Cardona.
This latter gentleman organized a protest in Orange Walk Town on the very same day of the State funeral for Ambassador Fred Martinez. Cardona and his group wore placards demanding swift justice for the late Ramon Cervantes, and misguidedly believed this path was the best to have his demands aired.
Now really, everybody in OW is insisting that there be a thorough and timely investigation into this double homicide, and in fact to all unsolved murders, but to stage a protest at the funeral of someone who served our country with dignity, and who had no connection whatsoever with the death of Mr. Cervantes, was an act of poor taste and of total disrespect to the family and friends of the departed. Which brings me back to the words of the Pastor on 3ABN when he said that not all those who are schooled are educated.
