Dear Editor,

When we look at Bahamian culture, are we seeing straight or cross-eyed?

We seem to tenaciously refuse to let go of some things, while simultaneously engaging in importing and adopting other things with reckless abandon.

It goes without saying that culture, of course, is not static, but always changing; ever so slightly sometimes. Still, when we look at Bahamian culture, are we seeing straight or crossed-eyed?

Some say that it’s never too late to do the right thing, although the longer it takes to correct some things, the more difficult it becomes to do so.

It’s also said that learning some things may be difficult, but unlearning some things can be many times more difficult. And so it is with culture; especially our Bahamian culture.

A random survey on just about any street will elicit “Junkanoo” as a response to the question, “What is Bahamian culture?”

Accordingly, many middle-age and younger Bahamians cannot imagine Junkanoo without that dominant brass section, so akin to the marching band culture of “over so”.

At this point, it seems fair to say that the primary difficulty, no doubt, is identifying Bahamian culture for wider agreement. Then, the monumental task would naturally be getting the majority of Bahamians to accept and embrace these cultural mores and make them a part of their everyday lives.

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