Republic Day

“I like to see a man proud of the place in which he lives. I like to see a man live so that his place will be proud of him” – Abraham Lincoln

Despite being the shortest month on our calendar, February certainly seems to be one of the busiest. We have Valentine’s Day and then right on its heels, we have Republic Day coming up next week. (Then for me, my brother’s finally going to be a teenager. It may be easier dealing with him now rather than with the kid who was six going on 20!)
Regrettably, Republic Day falls on a Saturday this year. So those of you (like me) who anxiously comb the calendar for the next extra day-off from school were probably devastated. I moped around for a while in protest. But you know, seeing as Republic Day is such a massive holiday – it’s the day Guyana became a republic – doesn’t the holiday deserve to be celebrated on Friday as well? No? No takers? Sigh. I guess I’ll be off to school on the 22nd after all.
But Republic Day really is an important day. I certainly wasn’t around way back in 1970, to know personally what it must have been like to live in a country still under the rule of another. But I do know that it feels better to be in control than to be controlled. And we won that right on Republic Day, to elect our government, to make our own decisions. It’s like an ultimate version of becoming an adult.
My favourite hero in WI history was Toussaint L’Ouverture.  To have a man – born a slave – take on the full might of one of the greatest European powers of the day, for the right to be free, was awe-inspiring. He was indeed an “Opening”: the eventual independence of Haiti showed the path that every other colony had to walk.
So on Republic Day at least, we should make a point of being proud to be Guyanese. On that day we commemorate the earlier rebellion of our own Cuffy, in our own Berbice, for that same struggle to be free. I know some people try to raise some Guyanese pride on Republic Day, but unfortunately for most, it’s just about the Mashramani parade.
Granted, everyone has different ways of celebrating, of showing joy. Some people express themselves by parading down the streets in various states of undress in honour of Republic Day. Other people have more demure gatherings to celebrate the day.
But the problematic thing about it all is that most people don’t parade because of national pride. They parade to dress up (or undress) in costumes and ride on floats. Because it’s all about Mashramani – the celebration.
We’ve gotten so caught up with the celebration festivities, that we’ve completely forgotten why we’re celebrating in the first place. Who thinks of the meaning of Cuffy or Toussaint in the definition of what ‘freedom’ means?
And that’s a shame, because for a country with quite possibly half of its population living abroad, national pride and identity is something we desperately need to see being expressed by the Guyanese still living here. So this Republic Day, if you’re going out, wave your Guyana flags. Wave them to show love for your country, not just love for whatever artiste is performing on stage.