On September 19, 2013, Kittitians and Nevisians the world over will join in the thirtieth anniversary celebration of the attainment of Independence from Great Britain. It will be a most fitting time in our relatively young nation's history to reflect on the challenges we have overcome as a former British colony and embrace our many successes experienced along our independent sojourn.
The celebration of thirty years of Independence will also be a timely opportunity to assess where we are as a free nation and even more importantly, ascertain from those who bear or aspire to bear leadership roles in our federation how they intend to move our nation forward. Sadly, before the dawn of Independence in the twin island paradise on Thursday, September 19, 2013, many citizens of varying political persuasions will bemoan the fact that, in many ways, we have regressed as a nation under the grip of poor leadership and as a result are fast losing the "independence and wealth" we painstakingly acquired from those who once enslaved us.
Thousands of citizens, not only at home but throughout the world surmise that part of the challenge in moving forward as a liberated people includes an acceptance of errors in judgment of the past and a genuine commitment to "move away" from those errors.
There has been a widespread discussion of a new political dispensation or a new approach to how we should manage our political affairs, not just because of a yearning to try something new but because political parties who have assumed government have successfully managed to lose favour with the electorate.
It is for this and many other reasons that has stirred the conversation of a "paradigm shift" in the federation's current political culture which will be aimed in part at abandoning the far from dignified type of politics that has become acceptable for many current and aspiring politicians. A significant portion of the nation's populace believe the federation is ripe to solidly unify across party lines for the sake of redirecting the political trajectory on which we currently find ourselves.
This shift, some insist, cannot happen with adults in their thirties and older and most definitely not with "recycled" politicians. But the shift does require a new way of thinking by all citizens, many of whom have already accepted there is need for change.
In a recent article titled, "When That Roll Is Called," renowned writer and educator Dr. Whitman T. Brown speaks to the blatant corruption among politicians that he currently sees unfolding in the Virgin Islands by suggesting, "Maybe, in the year 2013, the Caribbean area is at such a time and is searching for inspiration. Ready or not, we are moving rapidly into a dynamic, shifting, and unknown twenty-first century! Corruption and selfishness are not the way forward. There is need for something more instructive and transformational."
It is difficult to misconstrue Browne's assessment of the state of affairs in the USVI. Politicians there have run amuck and as he further suggests, "All those selfish, corrupt leaders saw as they looked into the future was what they could get and become! There was no shared vision of hope and progress with the people. There is no memory of “together for tomorrow.” What a ploy that was? In reality, it is self forever!" Many of these unfortunate realities observed by Dr. Brown in the Virgin Islands have found their place on our federation’s doorsteps as well.
Recent political developments in the federation bears evidence that a growing number of young political candidates are committed to the cause of becoming political change makers. Some of these self-proclaimed "change makers" have expressed absolute confidence in the leadership of the current Prime Minister, notwithstanding the many claims of his alleged corruption by those who unreservedly parted ways with him. If these young politicians see nothing wrong with the current state of politics from their side of the political aisle, how ready are they to stand as reliable partners in the political re-education of our nation?
The shift away from blind traditional party support to more practical visionary decision making based on what works best for the federation’s hard working citizens will not come easy. There are numerous hurdles to overcome if we are to get there. For instance, there is an ingrained acceptance by many political eccentrics who probably clamor for a political "leg up" in their respective parties that most PAM people should prosper while PAM is in power or that it is acceptable for only LABOUR supporters to prosper so long as LABOUR is in power and the same applies in Nevis where CCM and NRP are the two main parties there. Shifting away from these currently acceptable practices will not be embraced by our toddlers, primary school aged children or teenagers if it doesn't begin with US.
Many continue to speak out passionately against what they call recycled, overused politicians steering our nation on a new political and socio-economic path. Interestingly, the Prime Minister has been in public office for eighteen years not eight years with a far from spotless record, yet his long tenure is without blame by some. He too has to be responsible in re-shaping the thinking of our burgeoning youth population.
Re-educating our nation warrants that we have the “balls” to tell our leaders PAM, Labour, CCM and NRP alike where they have erred without disrespecting them. It is impossible to pass wisdom to our future generations when we ourselves are not prepared to acknowledge many of the blatant wrongs that have saddled us for years.
Do we truly believe our teenagers are oblivious to the manner in which we celebrate our independence heavily on party lines? Do we really believe they are unaware that the incumbents, in 18 years of their tenure have successfully managed to make independence a political celebratory mood for SOME rather than a collective triumph for ALL?
How do we begin to re-educate the young people of our nation when we select portions of the constitution by which to adhere and disregard that which does not suit our interest? Can a re-educated nation mean full participation of the citizenry at Carnival and Culturama and not just participation only when the political party we support is in government?
Can we re-educate our nation about the celebration of ALL workers on Labour Day when we have now turned Labour Day in May into a “Labour Massive” thing and a PAM day affair? Are we aware that we are already successfully teaching our young people how to be divisive in the one breath yet insist we have to change their way of thinking in the next? If it is the adults who have been guilty of planting the seeds of divisiveness, can we in our lifetime redeem ourselves and lead the way in re-educating our young people?
Re-educating our people, particularly our youths, begins with the leaders of our various communities who must identify the areas of opportunity necessary for enlightening our people instead of offering a barrage of mistruths.
Rather than wait for the blossoming of another generation while the moral fabric of our nation steadily disintegrates, the journey to carve out a new way forward ought to begin NOW. This will require honest introspection from all citizens but isn't part of the doctrine of an independent nation to make a better way today for an uncertain tomorrow? If this is truly the land that we love, we should be ready to positively impact the direction in which our communities and nation is steered.
The re-education of our nation requires us to break the divisive cycle that has successfully been passed from one generation to the next. We cannot allow our nation to remain in the same place after another thirty years, not when we can do so much more today.
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