Think again, Mr President Originally printed at trinidadexpress/commentaries/Think-again-Mr-President--281010392.html October 30, 2014 There seems to be no good way for President Anthony Carmona to fix his unfortunate faux pas in threatening to sue comedian Rachel Price. Should he pursue the matter, the criticisms of his action will only be that more prolonged. Most citizens have already expressed disapproval of the President expending time and taxpayers’ money on such a trivial matter as a joke about his wife’s attire, even though President Carmona has not specified the basis of his threatened lawsuit. Still, this action has created the perception he is indifferent to more important matters of State. On the other side, the minority of voices raised in his support have mainly argued “high office” needs to be respected. But this argument has little merit. Respect for an office means only that the customs, regulations and powers of that office should be adhered to—nothing less, and certainly nothing more. So there is a distinction between due respect for the office and the more important need to hold office-holders to account. After all, in our society, more ills are probably caused by kowtowing to authority instead of standing up to those who abuse their office. In this context, the role of comedians like Rachel Price becomes especially significant since, unlike mere joke-tellers, she uses comedy to hold up a mirror to the faults and foibles of our society, which, inevitably, means challenging the dignity of those who wield power and influence. So those who disapprove of her bacchanalian style are hardly likely to even perceive the serious commentary behind her humour. In this particular case, it is President Carmona, not Ms Price, who embarrassed the Office of the President by elevating trivial chatter about his wife’s dress into a national discussion about the priorities of the President. And, given the triviality of the matter, it is worrisome a Senior Counsel should have advised the President a lawsuit was a wise course of action; and even more worrisome, as a former judge, President Carmona could have seen this action as possessing legal merit. Moreover, even if the legal reasoning were sound, the President clearly did not understand public relations is a major part of his role as a ceremonial president. In other words, whatever legal powers the President possesses must be exercised in a manner which elevates the dignity of the office. Since he is not an ordinary citizen, that may often include overlooking personal criticisms of himself and those close to him. In that context, the least worst option for President Carmona is to withdraw this ill-advised lawsuit, and perhaps invite Ms Price to tea to discuss his concerns in a civilised manner.
Posted on: Fri, 31 Oct 2014 12:32:56 +0000
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