Our life is made up of time.
Time passes us by as we awaken to the morning mist and bid farewell to the shimmering stars that loom above us at night.
With the passage of time, we experience the various facets of whatever life doles out: the good, the bad, sorrow, joy, prosperity, failure, peaks, valleys, births, and yes the inevitable death!
In our evolving, we typically assess who we are and what we envision for our lives once our creator allows breath to flow through our bodies.
It is the passage of time and its damming effects on the lives of millions worldwide that sparked violent protests among men and women in all corners of the globe over two years ago. The underlying trigger for many of these protests was the economic strain on families: a consequence of the global economic downward spiral of 2008. We have seen men and women, old and young with a unified outcry in developed and developing nations against big government, increased taxes, corruption, stagnant wages, and disappearing jobs.
Over time, the very same woes faced by millions across the globe landed on the doorsteps of our citizens in the federation of St. Kitts and Nevis. We too have had to reflect on our experiences as individuals and collectively as an independent nation. We too have sat on the brink of our moment to write our own history. How would the history books reflect what we did as a people in our time given the unparalleled ills that have befallen us? Where do we stand as a people on the pressing issues that plague our small nation? What are we willing to stand up for based on our beliefs?
In the sometimes very complex nature of our SKN politics, the passage of time deeply affects the lives of the very people we choose to represent us. Some politicians become deeply entrenched with their love of winning elections, irrespective of the price their constituents are forced to pay. Others become compassionate and more closely connected to the stark realities facing the common man.
For many such politicians, time and the experiences that come with time allows them to have a deeper respect and understanding of the separation of party and country. With time, the moral fabric of some of our politicians supersedes their initial will to "win a seat". Perhaps this process comes with personal and political maturity or maybe it is merely part of the evolution of the reasonable thinking human being.
In recent times, some senior politicians in our Labour Government have risen fearlessly above party politics to defy wrong despite the scrutiny they have been subjected to as a result. Amidst the political upheaval, it is difficult not to have a profound respect for these men who have clearly placed country above party and self. Given the public and private sacrifice they must now face in light of their stance, these men are the real Superheroes of our time. In fact, in less than five years, three of the federation's longest serving parliamentarians have publicly expressed their displeasure with the leadership not only of their beloved Labour Party, but particularly of the Federation's leadership in Government.
Former Government Minister Mr. Dwyer Astaphan, parted ways with the Labour Government well before the 2010 general elections. After being subject to years of covert and public alienation and humiliation by the Federation's longest serving Prime Minister, senior officials, Deputy Prime Minister the Honourable Sam Condor and the Honourable Dr. Timothy Harris have openly chastised their leader, the Right Honourable Denzil Douglas for several of his political blunders. What has resonated from their unified voices is their obvious love for the Labour party and their willingness to stand firmly in support of their party, but stand even more resolutely against the leadership of the party.
Many have suggested that their actions have come too late. Some believe that they had ample time to decry their leader but chose instead to sit quietly. It is often said that "nothing happens before its time" and herein may be such a time.
Time brought our independent nation to Tuesday January 15, 2013. Without a budget or even a speck of acknowledgment of the Motion of No Confidence filed by the opposition in early December, the four-term Prime Minister walked proudly through the halls of parliament decked in his sharply tailored suit. Armed with his political “smarts”, he continued his plea for the Increase in Senators Bill 2012 to be passed. Many waited anxiously for word on the tabling of the December filed Motion of No Confidence or some indication as to when the 2013 Budget address would be given. In the great ocean of time, it was obvious that the people would have to wait again for another time.
The nearly eighteen years of the Dr. Denzil Douglas led administration cannot be erased from our nation’s history books. History will record that his leadership style, within the walls of his Labour party and in the halls of Government has left many a Labour soldier broken. Still, many hail his political engineering as crafty and shrewd. Many regard him as the Caribbean's most brilliant leader and politician. The words spoken by senior parliamentarians Sam Condor and Dr. Timothy Harris seem to suggest otherwise.
Deputy Prime Minister Sam Condor is well aware that a parliamentary tenure is never indefinite. In time, like all else in life, that tenure comes to an end. But the “castigation” meted out to him by the man who was certainly a dear friend of his is nothing to rejoice about. It must be hurtful, and downright demeaning for him and his family. But Sam has observed, soul searched and with time allowed his conscience to guide him. We can condemn him for choosing to act only in this time but can we condemn his principled stance?
Dr. Timothy Harris probably embarked on a soul-searching pilgrimage because of his maturity. He may have well recounted some of the missteps he too would have committed over the course of his political career; one in which he was possibly blinded by the New Labour syndrome coupled with political immaturity. Still, over the course of his illustrious career where he has seen so much and attained such a great deal in his personal and public life, should he compromise his love for country and his deeply founded principles in the face of wrong? Must he not seek to be a blessing to his constituents and the people of St. Kitts and Nevis?
Time has placed countless challenges on the doorsteps of the people of the Federation and the Caribbean on a whole. The everyday citizen knows about the issues that have dominated our lives this past year and in previous years. Who better to speak on our behalf at this time than our elected representatives?
Politicians who pledge to serve their constituents had the perfect examples on display in parliament on Tuesday January 15, 2013, when several parliamentarians stood up like fearless Supermen for the people; for the federation. In our time, party politics was struck down six feet below for the good of our twin isles.
What a great nation we will become when those charged to serve us promote the ideals of our nation's motto of "Country Above Self" in the face of rejection, unpopularity and alienation!
Time will not serve our nation well if the minutes, hours, days and years pass by while we remain entangled in a partisan world perpetuating the things that break us down while shunning those things that build us up.
