Can we dare to dream in The Bahamas again

Tue, Aug 9th 2016, 12:45 AM

Growing up on a small archipelagic nation, Bahamians have a choice as to how they see themselves and the world around them. We can choose to focus on the dots that portray our chain of islands on a map of the world and limit our dreams to the invisible walls of impossibilities. Conversely, we can visualize a nation though small in size but rich in potential in which there are no boundaries to the achievement of success by our people.
In the innermost parts of the Bahamian soul is the fire of ambition fueled by our parents and ancestors; a flame ignited by the words and counsel of those who came before us. We drew inspiration from the travails of our predecessors who grew up in a society plagued by injustice and prejudice. Our motivation was pulled from their determination that generations that followed them will not be held back from being educated and aspiring to lay hold on the Bahamian Dream. We have since evolved into a country with other forms of inequities and discrimination. The challenges before us as a nation are enormous and many as we are being tested on every front. The current scenery is one in which hope is waning among the populace on a daily basis. While the cost of living continues to rise, the ease of doing business continues to decline and the level of joblessness is at unprecedented levels. Can we dare to dream again?

Footprints in the sand
The footprints of many Bahamians are being left on the sands of time daily in our nation. As this writer postulated before in referencing Charles Dickens' "A Tale of Two Cities", it appears to be the best of times and the worst times all at once in Bahamian society. Our nation is not a failure; we are a success by many standards but we stand on the precipice of uncertainty. While there are some who are disillusioned by the current political, civil, religious and corporate leadership, we refuse to throw in the towel or give up on our nation's promise of a brighter future.
Should we dare to dream again? We write our own history regardless of the oppression built into a flawed system that consumes its inhabitants. We pen the chronicles of our Bahamaland while she faces a potential credit downgrade, high crime level, high unemployment, challenged educational system and decreasing moral compass. The sands of time are calling for imprints from the feet of Bahamians that will rise up to the occasion and deliver relief to the people. Who will harken unto this call?

The political landscape
The recent developments in our political landscape provide a glimmer of hope that we as Bahamians can dare to dream again. The decision by Loretta Butler-Turner of the Free National Movement (FNM) to pursue the top leadership position in the FNM demonstrated the characteristic courage of the Bahamian. She stood up to be counted in the army of people who want to project a vision for a prosperous Bahamas. Even though she was unsuccessful in her bid, there is no doubt that she dared to dream.
The announcement that Alfred Sears, QC of the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) will be vying for the leadership of the PLP at the upcoming convention is another demonstration of the power of a dream. The reality is that both of these individuals have displayed courage in challenging the status quo against all odds. In the words of the German writer and statesman, John Wolfgang von Goethe, "Courage is the commitment to begin without any guarantee of success." The fear of failure in an endeavor should never supersede the passion for success.

Missing the mark
The criticisms and bashing of the Long Island MP for challenging the incumbent leader raise some important questions. While Sears has committed to a clean campaign based solely on ideas, it is not unfathomable that gutter politics and mudslinging may be inserted into a routine democratic process. The level of disdain we have seen in relation to persons who seek higher office is troubling. We have become comfortable with the status quo and hostile to anything that could unsettle our comfort zone. In doing so, we have become enemies of our own progress as a nation.
Pursuit is the evidence of desire and what separates success from failure is often the act of pursuing one's dream and aspirations. However, it appears that the reason for our resistance to persons who choose to challenge our idea of normality is grounded in intoxication by power and blindness by political tribalism. This is the bane of a society that opposes change at the expense of national development. While challengers of an existing system may not always be successful in their mission, we ought not to isolate or ostracize them; rather we should embrace their uniqueness and consider what new ideas they are proposing. In failing to do so, we miss the mark.

Those that dream
The late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr had a dream; Mahatma Gandhi dreamt of a new nation and President Barack Obama had the audacity to hope despite his circumstances. One would ask, who gave these individuals the effrontery to dare to dream? The ability to dream is a God-given gift that we all possess and over which no man has control or monopoly. When we dream, we remove the limits created by the existence of our realities and the chains of our imperfections.
It is this gift that encouraged a young black Bahamian boy returning home to his native country after pursuing tertiary education abroad. Appreciating the fierce urgency of now, he sought political office because he dreamt of a better quality of life for his people. Lynden Oscar Pindling was once unknown but will be remembered for generations to come because he dared to dream. A man with a little more than a dream led the charge against injustice and an oligarchy in the midst of economic, social and political disparity among Bahamians. Only in a dream could one see a boy rising from the obscurity of Mason's Addition to speak truth to power and challenge the status quo.

Who will arise?
What could possibly give this young man not hailing from the elite class or perceived aristocracy and a son of a Jamaican immigrant the enormous courage and tenacity to lead the charge to bring down an oppressive system? It was Pindling's decision to dare to dream; the ability to believe that the impossible could become the possible and the improbable, probable. Pindling lived in interesting times during an era in which citizens around the world wanted their voices to be heard in clamoring for a one man one vote system.
Sir Lynden was raised up at a time when nations desired to break away from imperialism and colonialism by taking their destinies into their own hands. He emerged from obscurity during a period when the disenfranchised black majority desired a fair share of the economic pie. The man referred to as the father of the nation embraced the burden of leadership in an era when independence and development were the watchwords. Today, who is our Pindling? What bright, courageous male or female will dare to dream and be bold enough to speak truth to power and defy the status quo? The time is now; the people are waiting and watching. However, we will not see them if our vision is clouded by personal comfort and the convenience of the normal.

o Arinthia S. Komolafe is an attorney-at-law. Comments on this article can be directed to a.s.komolafe510@gmail.com.

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