Thursday, September 18, 2014 - As we mark the 31st anniversary of independence of St. Kitts & Nevis, my fervent prayer is that our torn and much violated nation will be healed.
And while I celebrate the fact of independence, I see no reason to celebrate the state of our nation, or the way in which its affairs have been, and are being, conducted, or the fact that, as a body politic, we, the people, have allowed this tearing up and violating to happen.
It’s lamentable that a people who boast of being independent seem to have little or no time to reflect on, and show true appreciation for the relentless and dauntless struggles of generations past.
It’s also lamentable that while we call the names of Bradshaw, Southwell, France and others, we totally ignore the philosophy and principles by which they were guided, as we celebrate independence mostly in feting and other carpe diem activities.
It’s like Christmas, which so many of us regard as a time to fete, with little or no thought on what it really means.
What are we celebrating, really? The pogrom of divide-and-fool and degradation that has been waged against us and which some of us shamelessly seem to have embraced with open arms? Are we celebrating the reversal of the trajectory of empowerment launched by blood, sweat and tears shed over the centuries?
While the Constitution of the Labour Party declares, as one of its objects, the securing and maintaining of “complete unity of the people of the State in their struggle for political, social and economic advancement”, we’re seeing the present version of that same Party, in the totally selfish interests of its leaders and handlers, and contrary to every fundamental principle and philosophy of true Labour, promote and encourage disunity.
Are we celebrating the horrid fact that we’re no longer our brother’s or sister’s keeper?
If we’re not united as a people, then we are not, and we cannot be, a nation. So how can we sensibly convince anybody, including ourselves, that we’re celebrating 31 years as a nation?
Do fleeting things like fireworks, food and drink and T shirts in Warner Park, and elsewhere, somehow persuade us that we’re a nation, as we sit back and allow people to remain in office while our largest high school, our hospitals, our security facilities, and the good people who work at them and our children and other loved ones attend them, are exposed the way they are?
The Labour Party Constitution also declares its commitment “to maintain a vigorous and conscious vanguard for removing all forms of oppression and for the maintenance of democratic government”.
But the present version of Labour has no interest in consciousness or democracy. Its leader brings little more than crudeness, deception, oppressiveness and shame to the high office to which he was entrusted. And those who choose to join with him, whether as candidates, cronies, or otherwise, if only by their association with him, are the same.
Are we celebrating that kind of leadership?
As far as I’m concerned, a citizen who isn’t politically and socially conscious (and this does not require high school and university diplomas) cannot fully appreciate nationhood, and a citizen who doesn’t fight for democracy cannot celebrate nationhood.
The Labour Party is built on a mandate to liberate, educate and embrace, while the strategy of today’s version of it, led and influenced by power-hungry and opportunistic persons, is to oppress, under-educate, to separate and to fear-monger.
That’s no good for us. And if we truly wish to be regarded as conscious and responsible citizens of a truly modern democracy, we have to understand that support for one party or another can no longer be a matter of habit. Instead, support has to be a matter of choice, born of conscience, consciousness, open-mindedness, common sense, and a commitment to the integrity and best interests of our nation.
The easiest people to fool and use are those who are fixed in their ways and their thinking. They do things because their grandmothers and great grandfathers did them. Sadly, many such persons are offended by, and even hostile to, reason, and they find themselves defending what is patently wrong, outdated, outrageous and ridiculous. And it is they who look bad for it.
Let me give you an example of such a person. Twenty years ago I encouraged a young man from a PAM home to register and to vote for me, not for PAM. He did register, and I believe that he voted for me.
Do you know what he’s saying today?
“Dwyer asked me not to vote for PAM back then, and I didn’t. And I’m not going to vote for PAM now”.
Thinking and self-respecting people and voters look at the present situation objectively, and they pick sense from nonsense to lead them to their conclusions. They’re not distracted, tantalized, fooled or intimidated by slogans, hype, and fear mongering . In fact, quite to the contrary.
And in our present circumstances, thinking and self-respecting people can easily recognize that the policies and vision of Team Unity present a balanced and exciting mix of political, social and economic elements, and the only present option of hope for real development and true democracy in this little nation of ours; and they can also recognize that Unity is the only present choice to clean up this cesspool of greed and corruption that has stunk up our nation.
And if, after one term, they let us down, then we kick them out too.
No slogans, no party this or party that. Just the facts. Examine the present and see if this is how you want the future to be in this little nation of ours. It is to your own integrity, intelligence and conscious, and to your commitment to your nation that you must be loyal, not to any man, woman or slogan.
Beloved citizens and residents of St. Kitts & Nevis, we can, and we must, do better. And we can only do better if we are together. United as families, as communities and as a nation.
I’ll end with the words of a hymn entitled ‘For The Healing of Nations’, but I will make some changes to it.
FOR THE HEALING OF OUR NATION
For the healing of our nation
Lord, we pray with one accord.
For a just and equal sharing,
Of the things that earth affords.
To a life of love in action
Help us rise and pledge our word.
Lead us forward into freedom
From despair our land release.
That, redeemed from strife and hatred
All may go and come in peace.
Show us how through care and goodness
Fear will die and hope increase.
All that kills abundant living
Let it from the earth be banned
Pride of status, race and schooling
Dogmas that obscure your plan.
In our common quest for justice
May we hallow life’s brief span.
You, Creator, God have written
Your great name on humankind.
For our growing in your likeness
Bring the life of Christ to mind
That by our response and service
We our destiny might find.
A blessed independence to all.
