Dear Editor,
Mr. Editor, I need to say right at the outset that I am not against any political party and neither am I advocating on behalf of any. If the reader suspects partisan politics in this article they have totally missed the point, but worse, they will turn a critical eye and deaf spirit to the admonition given to advance this country, not a political party or politicians, but this country. I say, like Dr. Martin Luther King, "I love this country too much to see the drift that it has taken".
Shameocracy, the existence of an aura of brazen shame, so embedded that its bearers (people) and wearers (politicians) are both unconscious of its existence, exalts a national over the nation with the view that the nation is at the heart of the national, and concludes with the illusion that the existence of the nation is dependent upon the national.
If I did not know better I would have sworn that there was a certain prime minister who campaigned on the platform, among many other promises, that the term of the prime minister would be limited to two terms only. That promise certainly took on wings and flew into the political abyss.
It is unimaginable that after 44 years of independence, and a few years before then, that the Bahamas has only seen three leaders. What an indictment against our leaders, but more than that, what an indictment against our people. After 44 years? Is that the best we can do? Do our leaders have no shame? Do our people have no shame? Three leaders? Three leaders and now two who feel entitled to rotate, to alternate their tyranny on the masses.
Do our leaders not know that their continued dominant presence and continual pursuit of political power reflects their leaderlessness? After all these years, to not have groomed, mentored or facilitated anyone else to hold the office of prime minister ought to be a direct and indirect egg on your face moment. And our people, are they not just as culpable? In the last 44 years since the independence of The Bahamas, America has seen at least 9 presidents, and we next door continue to cycle and recycle the same archaic, burnt out political minds, minds which are so politically institutionalized that they cannot get out of their own political quagmire, minds that have lost love, passion, vision and a sense of absolute altruistic patriotism -- the sort they claim to have. They have come to internalize the office of prime minister, so much so, that they deceive themselves into believing that they are current and effective just by virtue of being in office.
Have we no brighter minds? Hear the embittered voice of Cassius in Julius Caesar to Brutus: "Why man, has Rome only space for one man?" Or in the instant case, two. And no, my voice is not embittered, it is patriotic to the core. But seriously, have we no more visionaries? Have we no more revolutionaries to revolutionize what we do in The Bahamas? And if the answer is no, then not only have our academic, vocational and educational systems failed us, but also our political mentoring system -- if there ever was one in the first place.
I urge you reader to archive my two part articles on "Bahamian Animal Farm" submitted last year. Critical to Napolean dominating the affairs of the farm was the chasing off of the farm of his most able opponent, Snowball. And so, a snowball of potential leaders, leaders with vision and brilliance, have been likewise chased off of the farm, and those who remain have been duped into patronage more than patriotism. What a crying shame!
I do not postulate the DNA in office, but at least it is a new potential leadership face. And if that displeases the masses, then how could we not be more displeased with carrying on the shameful hereditary system of political entitlement that presently exists? I cry shame on us as a people. Do we breed a political die-in-office mentality in our country? Is there no one else alive with vision, passion, devotion, leadership qualities and expertise other than those who have already expired in office? The oppressor never gives up oppressing. It is the oppressed that must rise up.
Again, Cassius' remarks to Brutus reverberate through the eons of time across the length and breadth of our islands: " Caesar would not be a wolf except that we are but sheep". Our political leaders have been made wolves, have been empowered by the passivity and complacency of our people. Our political leaders have been anointed as wolves, even by those in religious circles who have supported partisan politics to the detriment of our nation's advancement.
That is why we still have thousands of acres of vacant land that could have grown soursops, avocadoes, sapodillas, coconuts and countless other fruit and vegetables that could both sustain our economy and increase revenue through export. That is why we still import so many other items that could be manufactured or produced right here in our country. That is why the potential of our fisheries still lays dormant. That is why we are still a hospitable, service-oriented, touristic economy, rather than an industrial economy. That is why Mexico, Jamaica and India can get contracts from huge communications firms and not us. That is why we have no championship villages in this country for champions of various sports around the world to come here to rest, to celebrate, to bring millions of dollars into our economy; a village complete with Bahamian cuisine and entertainment, among other things, on islands such as Eleuthera, Abaco or Grand Bahama.
That is why there are no subdivisions built by a quasi government/private sector interest in a nearer Family Island to stem the tide of immigration into Nassau, to boost economic interest in another island suffering from economic drought. I wrote about this also a few years ago. A complete community, a pilot project. Gas stations, supermarkets, car dealerships, mechanics, public and private schools, churches, banks, clinics, courts, landscapers, policemen, service companies, shopping plazas, etc. would constitute this experimental community. Less people in Nassau and more jobs in the Family Islands may help to reduce crime and enhance job growth. Fine tune this project, work out the kinks, then duplicate it on another island more effectively. I could say more, but why can't our leaders envision more? Why can't we as a people demand more?
Our political leadership is weighed in the balance and found wanting. Dr. King said: "A man can't ride your back unless it is bent." So it is the people who are allowing their backs to be ridden. One cannot blame the politicians. It is the people who sit back and complain, who curse the darkness but won't light a candle. Shameocracy!
It is not, but ought to be, an insult to return any former/current prime minister to power again. They themselves ought to be ashamed that they have not mentored a son or daughter of these isles to lead the country forward. The leadership fruit is ripe for the picking again, because a part of their political agenda is to perpetuate the leadership vacuum. The former attorney general should have been welcomed as a successor rather than have to fight against the old regime. We call this a democracy, or so they would have us believe. Actually, it is shameocracy.
- Dr. 'B'
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