When adults fail, an entire nation fails

By T. C. Phipps-Benjamin

The Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis is buckling under the strain of crime and gun violence.  The carnage, in part a consequence of many of our individual and collective failures, continues to permeate throughout many of our once peaceful communities. The only winners in all of this seem to be the local morgues.
 
It is quite possible that in the minds of our leaders, solving this scourge of crime requires such sweeping measures that the entire process seems to be an unsolvable maze. Those charged to engineer crime specific solutions must sometimes feel overwhelmed as they watch this crisis spiral further out of control. 
 
Many of us adults see things we know to be intrinsically immoral in our communities and even our homes, but because we claim no responsibility for the breakdown in the moral fabric of society, things we would have taken issue with are swept under the carpet. What do we say? What do we do? Where are our men and women of influence? Where are our church leaders, our social and civic leaders? Our dilemma BEGS for their involvement. Educator and social activist Washington Archibald cannot do it alone.
 
A press conference turns into a word fest; a shouting match, not too much unlike some random youth melee on our street corners. With such a serious matter as crime, one would think egos would be checked at the door. Instead, a chance to wield the big stick of “power” overshadowed discussing methods geared at smoking out the gun havens and gang chambers that threaten our own existence.
 
We are labeled as a divisive, polarized, and politically charged lot, and the evidence is there to show it. We see red at the thought of a known political opponent photographing us in public; not at a private gathering mind you! A public event! 
 
We claim to be advocates of unity but willingly brandish our big fists in retaliation to a misunderstanding or disagreement of sort. All we can do in our angry state is shun restraint, and embrace hate. While we gripe about the things we know to be wrong, we allow time to pass, wishing the wounds away. Meanwhile, our silence and inaction help to cement our worsening fate as a nation. Today, we have slipped deeper into the abyss brought on by crime and its close accomplice, social trepidation.
 
Elections in our Federation have long past. Even with pending court cases, reservations about the election outcome, and wounded egos, we still have a nation waiting to be built and a nation of young people to mold. Yet, it is near impossible to move forward with the business of running a country with tensions running so deep for so long. But who will take the lead in unifying our nation? The state in which we find ourselves as a black people warrants a national sensitivity campaign that focuses on healing the festering open wounds, and the efforts do not necessarily have to be government-led, but government must be involved. We ought not forget that in a democracy some will choose a government that others will reject, but that government must serve ALL the people ALL the time.
 
There must be public outcry from our society's leaders when respectable individuals openly become so enraged that they hurt each other. Such display is likened unto a confrontation between two young people, who, despite the behest of adult outcry, vow to settle their score by the gun, eventually making good on a promise to put the enemy six feet below.
 
There was a time when we would tell our children, "Don't do as I do, do as I say". This radical form of discipline worked back then. The core of the family unit had such value that the wave of a finger or the sting of the adult's whip was effective. Society’s evolution has not changed our adult desire for our children to uphold values and aspire for a future that would be met with success. But how achievable are these goals for our children when time and again we the adults are failing? How achievable are these goals if upstanding citizens in our communities do nothing more than stand down?
 
Economic hardships are right on our doorsteps, the influx of crime has permeated our society, sky rocketing indebtedness begs for real and immediate solutions, the challenges in our schools are profound, health care demands continue to increase, movement of foreigners across our borders is a challenge as much as it has its benefits. With all the obstacles unfolding around us, politicians seem entwined in debating whether a “Lex Consulting undertaking” is worse than an alleged “land for cash” meeting at the Marriott. Meanwhile, party hacks and blind supporters run the full gamut of excusing wrong based solely on the party they support, and then we wonder why some of our politicians take us for granted. Wrong can never become right when it is nothing else but WRONG.
 
Certainly, a difficult 21st century is upon the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis, and the entire region for that matter. We may be known as a resilient lot, but surviving this upsurge in crime and the many social ills that accompany it no longer begs the question, “Can we all just get along? Rather, we must now ask, can we afford not to?