Our political landscape continues to take shape base on the American Media. We might not realize this because we seldom stop to analyze what is actually at play in our everyday cultural shift. But as we become more and more exposed to the American Media messages, our willingness to challenge the status quo becomes even more prevalent. This can be attributed to the fact that we copy from or act differently based on messages that emanate from these American Media Houses. Words such as “Rights”, “Freedom”, “Democracy” and “Chance”, have become operative words that are now helping to shape our very existence. Out of these new-found social claims, have come many enquiring minds throughout the Caribbean. This new way of questioning self-rule, governance and existence has led to increased accountability in our political landscape. A new paradigm in public management has promoted accountability and transparency among those who govern the public’s affairs across the region. “Over the past 150 years the players in these fields (governments, commercial firms, and professional practitioners) have designed and adopted rules (by legislation or by self-regulation), institutions, and practices that provide limits and incentives for their conduct”, these are the words of Kamalipour in his book titled, Global Communication.

Liberalizing the information industry has broadened the scope of information dissemination among the people. The abundance of information causes those who would second guess the status quo to launch challenges aimed at seeking a more pragmatic approach so as to engage the true democratic process. Since the advent of the mass media, global powers have intertwined and collaborated on agreements all aimed at exerting measures of control on the available technologies. Intellectual property rights, Freedom of Information Acts, Psychological theories and trade agreements have been meshed to act as controlling agents on an ever-expanding information society.  Reshaping and preparing for the ill effects is a new task undertaken by regional leaders. Freedom of Information laws are enacted across the region with the idea of establishing a healthy dialogue between governments and those they serve. A plethora of trade agreements, international relations and a diffusing pop culture are some of the shifts taking place through global communication.

All of the aforementioned categories are elements that together make up our political climate, and they are heavily influenced by our media consumption, believe it or not. International governance is now a major responsibility for democratic systems. It therefore becomes increasingly important to ascertain true development in the Caribbean region if it is to clearly have self-representation. It is not enough to just simply legislate, so emphasis must be placed on attracting the vital infrastructure in order to function properly. The proliferation of radio stations, cell phone sites, e-commerce and public telephones across the region represent a definite shift in the lifestyle of the region. This pattern that is so prevalent across the region highlights the collective efforts by governments to educate the people and to free up the market. Knowledge stimulates growth, acquaint people with facts and boost awareness. This awareness has caused many across the region to view the United States of America as the “ideal democracy”.

Many in the academic community throughout the Caribbean hail the ability of ordinary people to question and demand answers from their legislative branch as vital in order to effect change. The American governments are trendsetters for a global democracy and are viewed as having a relatively good information dissemination system. Media houses tend to play into this scenario as well, serving as catalysts that help to advance such curiosities.

Whatever the outcomes of implementing proper communication structures, it is undeniable that such initiatives, wherever implemented, yield tremendous growth through economic results and consumerism. Time and space has been redefined through an assortment of media technologies and messages, and this phenomenon cannot be overlooked or understated, as being the key factor behind the sweeping changes within the social and political sphere of the Caribbean. It is heavily dependent on us the adults, the right thinking citizens and the academically advanced people, to permeate the minds of the up and coming so as not to let the Unites States messages completely erode our culture.