Guyana Chronicle
April 13, 2001

ONE of the most sacred and universally recognisable symbols of the Christian religion is the Cross. It is a symbol that has its origins in the Crucifixion of Christ on a cross, commemorated each year on 'Good Friday'.

The word cross comes from the Latin crux, which means cross. A series of related words have developed both from the word itself and the symbol its represents. Crux is now an English word which means the 'the essential part or difficult part' or 'the heart of the matter'. Both are figurative meanings of the importance of 'the cross each person has to bear'. Crucial is another popular word which has developed from cross and means 'decisive or critical', for example. 'This is a crucial period for the survival of Guyana as a nation'.

Crucible and excruciating are two other words that closely mirror the trial, pain and purpose of the crucifixion. Crucible is a severe trial, under almost unbearable conditions, which usually tests the mettle of an individual. The implication is that if successfully borne, the crucible can then lead to a new stage of one's development. Excruciating underlines the pain or torture of the experience of the cross. It means 'torment acutely or torture mentally'.

The simple crucifix which some wear for ornamentation and others for protection is, of course, the cross, often with the figure of Jesus stretched out upon it. It is a powerful icon of the Christian faith and is used in the everyday ceremonies of the church as well as in the more esoteric and mysterious forms of ancient Christian rites and rituals.

QUOTE FOR TODAY

THERE are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle - Albert Einstein.

Viewpoint Time to look seriously at influence of television Pull Quote: "There is a cancer eating away at what decent people believe to be the basis of civilised behaviour. This cancer is spreading simply because of the uncritical and unguarded way in which we are absorbing what is being served up on certain local television programmes." By Bishop Randolph George

TODAY is Good Friday. Good Friday is a lesson about the use of power. Jesus Christ, whose death Christians all over the world recall today, is the supreme example of one who, although he possessed the plenitude of power, voluntarily gave it up in order to rescue us and open to us the possibility of being saved from total estrangement from God.

We live in an age that is very conscious of power and is particularly skilled in the use of power against others. The widespread influence that violence against others has in our culture is of deep concern to many. That people have always acted that way does not lessen the concern. In fact, from the beginning of creation people have tried to play God to take power and appropriate it to themselves. Perhaps at no other time in our history is the use of power so much the centre of our concern as it is today.

Speaking about power, the time has come for us to look very seriously at the influence of television on our present efforts to build a peaceful and united Guyana. There are people who appear regularly on television and openly advocate violence as a means of attaining certain political objectives. In doing so, they really illustrate Darwin's notion of the survival of the fittest. In that context, people's power becomes a tool in man's hands for achieving his goal at any cost. And high on the list is the immediate fulfilling of our particular wishes. We put all this together and the myth that pervades much of our society stares us in the face. Get what you think you ought to have by whatever power you have.

This is a frightening thought. We do not dream of saying plainly to our children and young people "use what power you have to get what you think you deserve and you must get what you want now". Any parent, I am sure, would shudder at the prospect of doing that. But are we not actively contributing to that conditioning through our condoning of what is taking place daily under our very eyes. There is a cancer eating away at what decent people believe to be the basis of civilised behaviour. This cancer is spreading simply because of the uncritical and unguarded way in which we are absorbing what is being served up on certain local television programmes. Much of it is a blatant misuse of power even if that power is people power. And let us not forget, even the marginalised possess power, be it only the power to overthrow and destroy. If power is the name of the game and if whatever power we have is to be used to get our ends regardless of the consequences, then by that standard Jesus was a total failure, a wash out, a reject. But by choosing a different way, Jesus opened for us a new way to live. Notice that the use of power in Jesus Christ is not the renunciation of power, but it is the channeling of power in such a way that all benefit, and no one is intentionally hurt. When we use power simply to gratify our needs or to attain certain goals without any thought of the common good, all we are doing is trying to play God and that is the certain road to self-destruction as a people. Our own local history provides us with a memorable example of the right and responsible use of people power. Let us cast our minds back to June 23, 1980. This was the day on which the assassinated Walter Rodney was buried.

The funeral procession attracted a massive crowd and they were expressing their solidarity in condemnation of an act of the gravest injustice, not only to a leader, but to the cause he championed.

The atmosphere was highly charged. Emotions had been stirred up to boiling point. A signal from the leaders of this huge body of people and the most horrible mayhem could have resulted. The leaders, I am sure, were conscious of the vast power, which that crowd represented. They chose to use that power by commending to the assembled multitude the slogan, "Organise in Peace". How we need such leaders at this time.