“Participate in your Government” – US Ambassador encourages

United States Ambassador to Guyana Perry Holloway is encouraging all Guyanese to participate in their government, even if their candidate does not win.

In observance of fifty years of diplomatic relations between the United States and Guyana, Ambassador Holloway shared a bit of advice to the Guyanese populace on moving its country forward.
He was at the time delivering remarks at a reception organised by the US Embassy in Georgetown to mark this milestone, which coincided with the 240th Independence Anniversary of the United States of America.
The Ambassador explained that freedom is something people often take for granted until some aspect of their freedom is restricted. “Then we jump into action often screaming bloody murder and sometimes in extreme cases resort even to revolution,” he stated.
Holloway said in the United States, just as in Guyana, citizens enjoy a tremendous amount of freedom and in this regard, he implored every person, Guyanese and American, to do the right things every day so that the next generations will enjoy the same freedom.
“This means vote in elections, participate in political campaigns, engage in debate, and write letters to editors. Don’t be caught standing on the side of the road as your country moves forward. When your candidate does not win, continue to participate because it will only make our country better,” he stated.
Ambassador Holloway pointed out that US elections are often 50-50 affairs, and if 50 per cent of the US were to stop participating if their candidate did not win, then the country would not move forward.
He advised that in such cases, persons should still participate at the local and national levels of the country’s development and push harder for their candidate and issues next time around.
Holloway went on to encourage persons to educate themselves and those around them about everything and anything possible.
“We live in a complex world and our access to information, wrong and right, is greater than it ever has been. Figuring out how to access that information and how to impart it to our young people is our challenge…we must put emphasis on education if we want to remain free and continue to advance as a country and as individuals,” he stated.
The Ambassador also encouraged both government and the people alike to invest in the future: “We cannot live in the laurels of our past nor accept the reality of our present. We must invest in education, infrastructure, and government to protect our freedom going forward.”
In this regard, the Ambassador urged everyone to pay their taxes and then hold their government accountable for using them.
“We all want our government to do everything, but a government cannot turn water into wine. It needs funding to function and funding comes from taxes, whether we like them or not,” he said.