The Editor
The Anguillian
“WE HAVE MET THE ENEMY…”
We have met the enemy and he is us, is a variation of Commodore Perry’s famous words during the War of 1812 that was fought on Lake Erie. The same seems to be in order for the leaders of Anguilla. It seems that they make one bonehead move right after another. There are so many things happening, concurrently, that I don’t know quite where to start. Let’s pick it up with the most recent – and that is the cancellation of the Leeward Islands Calypso Show, the crown jewel of the Anguilla Summer Festival for the last 16 years. They can’t see the forest for the trees. In a recent issue of The Anguillian, someone wrote, in a letter to the editor, that it’s high time that we start thinking about country first, and I agree one hundred percent – and I’ve said as much in a previous edition of this paper. As a matter of fact, I quoted the 35th President of the United States of America, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, when he made that now famous inaugural speech in which he said:
“Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.” Well folks, what have we done for our country?
Based on a series of really bad moves, one can’t say very much. It is difficult to try and understand why we are protecting pennies and losing dollars. What are our leaders thinking? The same writer that I earlier quoted mentioned that we can find money to sign ad agencies and the like, but when it comes to something for the country, there’s no money. I’ve got a suggestion to make and it is this. Let our fat cat legislators pitch in and help pay for any deficit that we might incur. How’s that for outside the box thinking? We have lost the ability to think creatively. Our forefathers knew how to make ends meet and it seems to be a trait that was lost in transition to this generation. If it’s not spelled out in black and white, we don’t get it. As my dear old grandmother used to say, we can’t see any farther than our noses. Just think what the cancellation of the calypso show would mean. For every guest that rents a hotel or villa room, there’s a 10% service charge, and what about all of the other venues, restaurants, car rentals and so on? Every time someone spends money, part of it winds up in the treasury. Did our esteemed Executive Council give this some thought before acting on our behalf? How else can I put this? These master politicians just go off and make decisions by themselves, because they know what’s best for us. Really?
It would appear that we have a bunch of Ne’er-do-wells who are afraid of their own shadows. Will anyone stand up and make the tough call? Are we reverting back to the days when we played it safe? Will someone talk some sense to these people?
Every time you pick up the paper there’s something that comes up that we have no way of dealing with. First it was the dolphins, then the breakwater, the teacher’s strike, Cap Juluca, Malliouhana, the labor laws and now this, the calypso show, all of which serve to show that as a young nation, we’ve got sooo far to go that it’s scary. And in spite of it all the cheerleaders for independence continue to bang the drum incessantly. We have none of the failsafe measures (checks and balances) in place. Thank God the Father of the Nation, Mr. Ronald Webster, had the foresight to found the Social Security Department, but he didn’t go far enough. A safety net to help those who have lost jobs and have fallen on hard times would have been the bookend to Social Security. Such a safety net would have guaranteed that no one would be left destitute. Granted, Mr. Webster faced stiff opposition from those who are now reaping the rewards from Government, but he stayed the course and was able to prevail. The hypocrisy of our current leaders is unbelievable.
I’m going to go back to something Mr. Webster said in a speech he gave back in 2011 with regard to leadership. He said that “leadership should consist of well qualified persons in terms of education, dedication and integrity, and only those with the right leadership charisma, should be selected for public office at the highest level. This holds true whether it is by ballot box or legal appointment.” So says the Father of our Nation. Can we truly say that our crop of leaders meet the criteria laid down by the former Chief Minister and Father of our Nation?
We continue to do things and behave in ways that are incomprehensible. When one reads the paper, one never knows what new misadventure will be the flavor of the week. We read of the latest wave of people being let go by Cap Juluca. We read about the long running back and forth between the Hickoxes and the Brilla Group, the Hickoxes and the Chief Minister, to where it’s gotten to the point where it’s like school kids fighting over marbles until the headmaster settles the dispute. One has to ask then, where is the headmaster? Not lost in all of this bickering: are the workers who have put in a lifetime of service and are now being sent home, which opens another can of worms, that of compensation. What’s to become of these people? Is there a package deal? Or is it just thank you and goodbye?
All of these incidents highlight the fact that we don’t have the necessary agencies or commissions in place to protect and look out for our people. We are new at this sort of thing and it would be incumbent on our leaders to admit that they don’t know it all – and surround themselves with a staff that knows how to negotiate and advise. When are we going to get down off our high horses and admit that yes we can use some help? Let them know that Anguilla is open for business and we do know what we’re talking about.
At the risk of sounding repetitious, we have a lot of things to work on, but we constantly go at each other. We will go on the radio and lambast anything or anyone we don’t like or agree with. You don’t have to agree with anything anyone says, but common decency would suggest that we respect each other. Those who think they’re qualified to critique the shows let them go ahead, but at least have the cojones to do it while the show is on. Don’t wait until after the show is over then call in to critique what was said. That is tantamount to talking behind one’s back. Sparrow in one of his songs says “who bring news goin’ carry on you too.” That sort of behavior is counterproductive. You have something constructive to say, say it!
Today, May 30th is Anguilla Day. It is a day that we celebrate our independence, oops, I said it, I mean our separation from the Tri-Island-State of St. Christopher -Nevis-Anguilla.
We will have celebrated with the usual festivities, the parade, the boat races, the awarding of the Badges of Honor and the Queen’s Certificates. It is no secret that I’ve got mixed feelings about the process of selecting and awarding honors. Last year we, on the Mayor Show, tried to get someone from the committee to come on and explain the process. We’re still waiting. My argument is this. Some candidates who were side by side during the revolution were selected while others were not. I can give examples, but I won’t. I still want to know how the process works and why some are chosen over others.
We are our own worst enemies. We are inconsistent in that we start something and pretty soon it’s no longer around. Two items come to mind right off – and you may think that I’m biased and so be it. The Walter G. Hodge Memorial Lecture was created some ten or twelve years ago to honor my father and – in so doing, highlight and report on the political and economic progress in Anguilla. Past contributors were luminaries such as the late Dame Bernice Lake, Justice Don Mitchell, Dr. Lincoln V. Lewis, Colville Petty O.B.E., Marcel Fahie, Dr. Linda Banks and an array of others whose names escape me. The lectures highlighted the progress and achievements of a new and growing nation, however, with a new administration eager to put its own stamp on government – coming in – it was decided that the Walter G. Hodge Memorial Lecture, originally sponsored by Social Security, was unnecessary and was therefore discontinued.
Another matter that comes to mind is the Tranquility Jazz Festival. Without much fanfare, it too was unceremoniously dropped. Again, the powers that be saw no further than their noses. The Jazz Festival was a good selling point that received extensive coverage on the travel channel and, in so doing, provided valuable publicity for Anguilla that would have cost thousands. Now fast forward to the present – and again we find ourselves being shortchanged by an Executive Council who doesn’t seem to know their bow from their stern. Our leaders just seem to think that they know what’s best for the rest of us. When are these guys going to be transparent? Maybe they ought to look up the definition in the dictionary. Someone needs to remind our elected officials that, at last check, we’re supposed to be a democracy. Not government of the few for the few. That’s an oligarchy. Gentlemen, it’s going to be painful at the polls in 2015.
Before I go, let me say this: Anguilla Day is upon us again and we will go through the motions as we usually do. The speeches will be made and nine worthy candidates will receive their badges of honor and Queen’s Certificates, for one reason or another, all richly deserved. Most people will not even show up for the festivities and why that is, I don’t know. Some of our leaders probably won’t even be on the island, but that does not take away from our day. At the end of this day, the euphoria will have passed and we’ll go back to business as usual. We will still have massive unemployment, our infrastructure will still be in a state of disrepair, our esteemed CM will continue his rants about independence and, as usual, it will not go anywhere. Our existing Governor Mr. Harrison will be wrapping up his tenure and will be handing over to Ms. Scott. Let us wish both the incoming and the outgoing Governors the very best in their new endeavors.
We have met the enemy and he is us. We are a remarkable people, but we’re a selfish lot.
We b—– and moan about how things are and we don’t lift a finger to help. Someone said to me, after the last Anguilla Day, that everyone will say that we should do this and we should do that, but not once will you hear that we’ve done this or done that. He was so right. You know what – you don’t deserve the right to complain if all you do is sit or stand around with your arms folded and your mouth shut. Last Saturday, Brother Lee and his Culturally Yours program awarded six deserving Anguillians, one of whom was my very own brother, Cardigan Hodge, a lifetime achievement award for their contributions to Anguilla. I’m happy to say that, in spite of ourselves, there are still some positive things happening on the island. It was inspiring to listen to the program, especially to Dr. Lana Hoyoung who pretty much summed it up.
One can’t help but reflect on where we’ve been and where it is that we’re heading. Last week I quoted James Baldwin who said, “If you know from whence you came, there are absolutely no limitations to where you can go.” It has been forty six years since we’ve been out there, and while we’ve made some progress, it seems that we take two steps forward and one backward. When we stop and think about what we’ve done, let us go back and recall what John Kennedy said: “Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.” And so, my fellow Anguillians, I ask you again, “What have you done for your country?”
I know that’s a heavy lift, but think about it. When you look at some of the decisions that are being made on our behalf, they cry out, really? It’s downright disgraceful, the way things are being done in the name of good governance. We are allowing ourselves to be marginalized by those who really don’t give a damn about us – who are really only interested in self and posterity. I’m reminded about something Ms. Hoyoung said at the awards banquet and it is this: “Our existence was born out of resilience and that we’re never to forget our past, but make use of it in our present.”
Our existence is one etched in the annals of time and this Anguilla Day, while we celebrate, let us not forget why we do so. Let us not forget those who came before us and upon whose broad shoulders we stand. Let us not forget who they are and what they did. President Obama in his Memorial Day address to the nation said soldiers are “concerned that they will be forgotten.” So just as the United States remembers its fallen, so too should we. I believe it is but a small price to pay to remember those who gave so much, and I’m suggesting that for once we put politics aside and create a museum to honor and remember those who served both past and present.
To all nine awardees, especially my former roommate and fellow band member Mr. Keith Gumbs, I say congratulations. Enjoy, it was longtime coming. Again, congratulations and may God bless you all and may God bless Anguilla.
Tyrone Hodge
