Castor oil treatment
GEORGETOWN - The older folks among us still swear by the good old castor oil treatment. Nothing, they will tell you, is as good as a regular dosing of castor oil to knock out the `poisons' from the human body. They will tell you about the regular Sunday morning ritual kids should have to go through to give the body a good `clean out' (the old time term for an effective purgative). And the king among these purgatives is the castor oil treatment - a combination swallowing of castor oil, epsom salts, senna pod and other equally bitter items even the hardiest of kids would be hard put to contend with. I don't know how it works these days but as a youngster I had my share of these castor oil episodes, complete with not being allowed to eat anything until after a `good motion' in the toilet. Even though such a treatment often left me a little dazed, the older folks swore that after such a `clean out' there was little chance of anyone falling prey to common ailments. And those who shared that kind of treatment with me in our village as we grew up were united in saluting its virtues. It seemed that we all felt somewhat better after the ritual `clean outs'. In spite of the flood of modern medicines that have swept the world, many still swear by the castor oil treatment, or its equivalent. The body should have regular purgative workouts, the experts say. That's why I do not agree with those who advocate that Guyanese should forget the past. On the October 5 anniversary of the restoration of democracy, there were some who argued that there was little value in recalling what went before that, suggesting that that chapter of the country's history should be closed or somehow wiped clean. Some are even attempting to rewrite or recast the almost three decades struggle that led to the historic events of October 5, 1992, trying to put a different spin on what really happened. That would be more than a little difficult to achieve because far too many people are around who know what happened and who experienced the trials and tribulations. I also do not agree with those who want to keep harping, constantly bringing up the issue. But remembering, at regular intervals, like anniversaries, is like the ritual castor oil treatment - giving the national body a regular cleansing. Something like `confession is good for the soul'. If people forget the past (and Guyanese are good at that), they are likely to make the same mistakes and the progress of the nation would be stultified. Remembering is like stocktaking - recalling what happened and trying to learn from the experiences. That's why history is such an important subject and why archaeologists spend so much time, energy and money digging into the past. They want to find out what happened in the past to learn how to cope with the future and trying to cover up the past will not help them much. The brilliant Guyanese historian-politician, Dr. Walter Rodney, used his learning and talent to pull the wool that the rulers of the day were trying to drag over the eyes of the nation and he was assassinated when he became a dangerous threat to the scheme of things. (There are still efforts in some quarters to put a different spin on this dark period of the country's history.) Knowing what has happened before would enable a people to detect the signals of a drifting back to the dark days and they would be able to avoid the trap. The other thing is that people steeped in a certain way are not likely to undergo a swift, complete and sincere conversion. They may adopt different attitudes to suit the time but they would always bear a close watch until they have passed all the tests. And they cannot be tested if there is no knowledge of what they were up to in the past. There mustn't be too much bitterness, recrimination and a constant dwelling on the lows in a nation's history. But these must be reflected upon in with seriousness and sincerity even as grand celebrations are put on for the high points and significant milestones. Confession is good for the soul and there's much to commend the regular castor oil treatment for the national body to help rid it of the poisons that could cripple it.
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