A QUESTION OF TRUST

by PAUL AMATIO
 
What is trust? We cannot touch it or feel it let alone see it. Yet it is one of those intangibles that form the core of the animal psyche. It defines who we are, what we are, how we take or enter into relationships, the commitments we make and indeed how we live our lives. Every relationship and interaction in the animal world involves some degree of trust (or mistrust).


 Trust is born from deep within an animal. Some kinds of trust are instinctive and automatic. Like that of a child to a parent or teacher or religious leader. Others are developed over time based on observation and acknowledgement of capability and are conditional. 

Yet others are based on shared experiences, either good or bad which gives a person an appreciation of whether the other person can be depended on and in what circumstances. And then there is the trust of a husband and wife or a man and a woman on their mutual relationship which forms the basis of human procreation. And finally we have that “public trust” which we give as a collective to one or more persons who we see or perceive as leaders. People whom we believe will take that trust on a personal level and use it to OUR benefit. Yet this the trust is so very often abused to the detriment of those who appointed and anointed them who are left holding the bucket. The betrayal of this trust affects not just one household but indeed the entire nation.

Trust is not something given by God or any other divine being. Hence I personally find the justification that “leaders are anointed by God” to be repugnant and an assault on the intelligence of a human being. Trust is given at a personal level from one person to another. When that trust is abused, it creates a feeling of anguish, pain, helplessness and yes, sometimes hatred. But there is a paradox in this, especially in Papua New Guinea, the country that is said to be a mountain of gold floating on a sea of oil (cushioned by gas?). PNGeans have a tendency of choosing to believe in the impossible.


We trust and continue to trust people who have clearly and continuously break our trust. We uphold those who continuously and repeatedly let us down. We see very clearly and visibly signs of those we trust getting rich overnight from a background of nothing. We see the “services” they provide which are temporary in nature and poor in quality and poor in thought and execution and continuance. And yet we continue to trust them and mandate them to be our leaders. 


We continue to see the people make laws in Parliament which are clearly designed to circumvent existing processes and procedures for their benefit and we accept their excuses that it is all in the name of speedy delivery of services. We keep our mouths shut when we see that there are a plethora of laws that are overdue for review and updating which continuously get ignored because it is not in the interests of those vested with the authority to change these laws and we do nothing.

I have long pondered why we continue to accept this as the norm? I have been shocked when people say that is okay because it is their chance so let them have it. What chance? How is it ok? Others have the gall to tell me to stand for parliament. I wish I could but I cannot find two ten toes to rub together so where will I find the K10, 000 from?


So who are we going to trust to do the right thing for the country and by extension, for us the downtrodden? Shall we continue to accept the current situation where our guaranteed freedom of expression and public demonstration are continuously denied us by those we trusted on the excuse that they cannot trust us? Why can’t people see that we have already come to accept that we cannot demonstrate our guaranteed freedom of expression and public demonstration in this country? Why are we sitting back and allowing that to happen? Why is it that we have allowed those whom we have endowed with our trust to turn around and betray us by depriving us of some of our very basic rights? Like the right to a good quality education, the right to decent health care, the right to collectively voice our protest at what we perceive to be injustice or unjust dealings or illegal dealings that implicate them? Is it the fact that because the majority are so ill educated, they just cannot properly and logically reason things out? Just why are we so lazy that we cannot get up and fix what is wrong with us? Why do we celebrate and bow to those who have clearly acted dishonourably?


There are a few voices in the wilderness calling out and I urge those who can see and understand what is going on to start taking note and stock of what is going on and seriously look at changing the way this country is governed. Let us do away with the old stock and try to open the windows and let in some fresh are and clean out this foulness that we have been forced to endure. Let us try to get back something for the trust we give freely and see if we can get something more than promises and poor quality services and poor laws and poor governance.


When your trust is misplaced and the person you have trusted turns against you, that is called BETRAYAL. It is the act of a Traitor. Do not trust a Traitor. Once a Traitor, always a Traitor. We are given one opportunity only every five years to do away with all those who have turned traitor and betrayed us. So come 2017, Let Us Make It Happen. Give our trust to someone Trustworthy and Honorable.

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