By Michael Benjamin The old belief that all men are born equal may be deemed sound thinking until one arrives in Guyana. A friend once proclaimed that all Guyanese are equal but some are more equal than others.The late Executive President, Forbes Burnham, once spoke of creating opportunities for all Guyanese within the context of egalitarianism. After one such pronouncement, it is rumoured that a smart aleck had piped up, “It is impossible for the small man to view his existence within the context of egalitarianism when your ministers are driving Laurels (luxurious cars in those days) and living in posh houses while the proletariat could hardly afford to own a bicycle.”The story goes on that Mr. Burnham had listened to the man’s concern then in his usual affable tone responded, “You fail to grasp the true concept of the theory because you perceive the absence of egalitarianism in the face of functional superiority.” That was Burnham’s way of pointing out that while all of us are equal some are definitely more equal than others.Today, some 26 years since the founder leader passed on to the great beyond, Guyanese are still being bamboozled that they are existing in a society that is egalitarian in every sense of the word.In the face of all arguments, the concept of functional superiority may seem far fetched especially when the debate involves sections of the proletariat. At the risk of incurring the wrath of members of this group I would argue that seniority must be exemplified not only by rank but by the privileges bestowed upon the individual that bears the rank.To this effect, it is acceptable for elected officials to enjoy special privileges uncommon to those enjoyed by a large percent of the citizenry at the expense of the very citizens over whom they are elected to serve.Problems arise when those officials enrich themselves while ignoring the plight of the citizenry. Unfortunately, history is replete with individuals of such ilk that have enjoyed special privileges by dint of their respective offices but abused these very privileges at the expense of the people that bestowed the power upon them to govern.Third World countries are replete with political leaders that have promised much in order to attain office and when they succeed, promptly ignore the needs of the very people that have voted them into office. We have witnessed such excesses during Idi Amin’s rule over Uganda.His tenure was characterised by human rights abuse, political repression,Wholesale NFL Jerseys, ethnic persecution, extrajudicial killings, nepotism, corruption, and gross economic mismanagement and we are not speaking of Guyana’s situation least readers notice a pattern or similarity here.Fortunately, those individuals that would have chosen their political leaders and then had those choices backfire, being condemned to poverty while these very politicians live luxuriously, are still able to seek redress through the ballot boxes albeit every five years.Years ago, when I enrolled at the University of Guyana to read for a Diploma in Public Communication, I was a bit chagrined when I realised that I was required to take, not one, but two courses on Politics. As a Communications major I just could not fathom the rationale for delving into such issues as consociation democracy (power sharing), pluralism and micro/macro policies among other issues.Later,Wholesale Jerseys China, subsequent to the completion of the Diploma programme and the commencement of the Degree I grudgingly admitted that my exposure to such political intricacies was indeed worth every ‘boring’ lecture that I had endured.Other than the lectures that discussed the pros and cons of power sharing I found those that discussed cultural pluralism interesting and insightful. The lessons helped me to appreciate the other ethnicities and their cultures within the Guyanese society.Naturally, the cultures and myths endemic in the respective groups baffled me but I realised how much these rituals meant to the respective races and based on that understanding,NFL Jerseys China, developed a healthy respect for the various groups.Further, as a man of African descent, I was exposed to the rituals and cultures of my group and expected that even if other groups were baffled by such beliefs and rituals they would at least respect those cultures.Years ago,Authentic Jerseys Cheap, during adolescence, I grew up on a healthy diet of rice flour products. Those were the days of restrictions of certain food items and woe to the individual caught with the banned products. I remembered the ban on wheat flour and other food products like corned beef, sardines and lots more.I was then a member of the now defunct Guyana National Service. Cassava bread and jam became the common staple t