BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - We need to reflect on ‘Emancipation’ as we draw nearer to the date of its celebration on August Monday.
Nowadays we can often hear someone say: “I can do what I want...I am a free man!”
No one...nobody is EVER free to do whatever he/she wants. And it is the invisible rules and responsibilities we acknowledge and obey that preserve our society, validate our intelligence and foster our maturity.
When Emancipation came, it meant that the descendants of Africans, who had been brought to the West by slave traders, would no longer be owned by the master of the plantation, as if they were chattel.
Today, there are those among us who have dared to take ownership, not just of our bodies, but of our very lives. They are far worse than slave-owners who admired the strength and skills of their slaves and would put these virtues to work for them.
These young murderers of today view human life as trash and dispose of it as if it had no worth whatsoever!
They are far worse than the ‘Babylon’ upon which pulpit preachers and rebellious rastas continually call curses. “Fire ‘pon Babylon,” they often shout. Well Babylon now exists in our very homes, communities and islands.
How do we free ourselves or emancipate ourselves from this new form of bondage?
Why have our youth, who have grown up among us, taken this path that seems so inhumane, destructive and so foreign to us?
We are now living in societies where a new law or modus operandi is becoming quite acceptable. Stories of corruption are now heard with frightening frequency among politicians, the clergy, sportsmen, and also among large businesses and institutions of every kind.
And the new unspoken law that enables us to gain money or power is: ‘Do whatever you want, as long as you do not get caught’. Moral codes, ethical codes and empathy for our fellowmen are becoming obsolete in this age.
The failed person of today is the one who gets caught; the victor is the one who gets away with doing whatever he/she wants to do. Mubarak of Egypt and Gaddafi of Libya were highly successful leaders until they got caught. So are the young murderers of St. Kitts ... up to this point
The young murderers use masks so that they would not be identified and caught. The politicians use lies and propaganda to cover up the fact that they are breaking the law.
Some sinful clergymen claim they are speaking with God’s authority to cover up their greed. In business, they use ‘fine print’ which the customer cannot see easily to cover up the disadvantages of what seems to be a magic opportunity.
There is so much camouflage and cover-ups and lies that it is difficult to assess what is real or what is true anymore.
Emancipation came when it was no longer possible to deny that all men are ‘brothers’. “Am I not a man and a brother?” our ancestors asked. Nature had made this truth clear by showing that a living child could be produced from the mating of the two races.
The two races were equal in the sight of nature. Surely our freedom lies in knowing the TRUTH and not just hiding it. “Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery,” Bob Marley told the world.
Even before that we had been reading it in the Bible. “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:32
“We glibly use the expression ‘the truth will set you free’ but this may not be correct in all circumstances,” says Graham Pockett. “It isn't just the truth that sets you free, it is knowing the truth and then applying it that sets you free.”
It is clear that many of us know truths which we do not care to reveal or which we fear to reveal. This is part of what makes our young murderers so successful.
At this stage of our development, we need to understand that “The Path to Freedom is Truth”. Why do we shy away from Integrity Legislation and Integrity Commissions? When we come to know it and apply it, we will then be able educate, enlighten and emancipate those coming after us.
