Addressing an audience in Colorado on August 17th 1962, President John Fitzgerald Kennedy coined the phrase, “a rising tide lifts all boats,” to justify his use of Federal monies being spent on infrastructure. He was of the mindset that good economic policies, spearheaded by the Federal Government, raised the living standards of all Americans. He went on to say that when the government leads the charge it becomes beneficial to all. However, today, the president’s coined phrase has taken on an entirely new meaning. It has been pointed out by Gene Sperling, writing in the Washington Post, that equity and growth have a different connotation. He goes on to say that the American economy is still rising, but it is lifting fewer boats. He lists an array of reasons for this, among them, international competition, technical advances and job outsourcing to name a few, all of which cause workers to become increasingly worried that their boats may capsize by the fierce waves of globalization.
At first glance, what appear to be the fierce waves of globalization seem to be a logical explanation for what has been happening but, upon taking a second glance, the problem seems to lie deeper than one might truly want to believe. What we’ve witnessed in Ferguson, Missouri, over the last several months, might very well serve to highlight the root of the problem. It was sad and unfortunate that the catalyst in all of this was the senseless murder of 18-year-old Michael Brown, by a white policeman, an event that not only set in motion a chain of events, the likes of which we’ve never before seen on the streets of an American city, but it also brought to the forefront the glaring problem facing most, if not all, inner cities – that of inequality and subtle racism. Right before our very eyes, we saw the militarization of local police replete with hardware seen only in active war zones. What all of this brought to bear were the decades of benign neglect of the inner cities – those mostly inhabited by blacks and other minorities.
One may ask, what has this to do with us? I’m getting there, bear with me. A perusal of the history of Ferguson and other such municipalities will reveal the reasons behind what we witnessed on the streets. When a people has constantly been subjected to less than human conditions under which they have to live, soon enough they have to stand up and take a stand. What we saw in Ferguson, over the last few months, was the culmination of the decades long struggles which finally came to a head with the shooting of a black teenager by a white policeman. Right now it is Ferguson, but there are many Fergusons out there. This one happened to stand up and say no more, we will not be treated in this manner anymore. When you’ve been trampled on as those folks have been, the only thing left to do is to fight for your dignity. The Turks have a proverb that says: “It’s not just the fault of the axe alone, but the tree as well.” When 12.3 percent of eligible voters voted in the last election, when candidates ran unopposed, the blame needs to be shared. If you don’t participate in your democracy, you can’t very well complain about anything.
Folks, does any of this resonate with us? Some of us are old enough to recall how it used to be here, when most of the conditions that now exist in Ferguson, existed in our own backyard. We remember that we were policed by men from St. Kitts and Nevis. We recall some of the brutal conditions under which we lived. We recall that we were governed in absentia by a central government. Even though we had one meager representative, we were customarily ignored and, in some cases, not even informed of a legislative session being conducted. We recall the contempt with which we were governed. We recall the way our central government looked out for us, so much so that a loading dock earmarked for Anguilla was built on a deserted beach on St. Kitts, ironically called the “Anguilla Dock.” I kid you not. I’ve seen it with my own two eyes. We recall the terrible living conditions under which we were forced to live, and by the grace of God we were able to survive. We recall us having little or no say in the governing of our daily lives. Doctors were sent from St. Kitts, the dentist came from St. Kitts, and everything was being done by St. Kitts. Well, we took it for as long as we could, then we decided that we would no longer allow our protector to keep his boot on our necks, and it was at this time that the late Atlin Harrigan OBE, like the Brown murder in Ferguson, became the catalyst for us here in Anguilla. He wrote a series of insightful letters to the editor of The Democrat newspaper that eventually led to us kicking the St. Kitts/Nevis police force off the island, and Operation Sheepskin by the Brits.
Many years ago, we went to fight for a better life. We fought for the right to govern ourselves, for our own policemen, for better representation, better schools, roads, medical care, water, electricity and a host of other things. In Ferguson, we’ve seen what happens when the government is not reflective of the city. We have already experienced our share of hardships. When you don’t stand up for something that you believe in, those in power reads that as passive and uncaring. And for far too long we have behaved like we don’t know what our rights, are or we just don’t care. We elect the same despotic politicians time after time hoping that through the goodness of their hearts that they will do the right thing. Since when did we ever see a politician do anything out of the goodness of his heart?
We had to fight to get where we are. We had to endure years of benign neglect until we had someone with the cojones to call it as he saw it. We were labeled as gangsters and outlaws with a criminal element, the likes of which we had never seen. Our Ferguson happened many years ago, and it is sad to see what we’ve reverted to. We have allowed ourselves to be used by those who filled their coffers, while putting nothing in ours. And I don’t blame them. I blame us, for we were complicit in their actions. We have allowed some wonderful opportunities get away and, in so doing, one can only surmise that we’re not ready to play with the big boys. We are minor league playing at the big league level, and we know what happens then. We have made a bed that no one wants to lie in. This generation will not acquire any wealth because of the way our government has allowed the banks to operate. I’m tired of using President Lincoln’s preamble of: “a government of the people, by the people and for the people.” We seem to not get that.
It is downright disgraceful to see what has and continues to happen to our beloved rock. Our people continually move away and won’t ever come back because there is nothing to come back to. If we continue in this manner, those of us who are brave enough to stay will become guests in our own country. Our inept politicians will not do the job that they’ve been elected to do: they will only tell you why something can’t be done. Well damn it, if you can’t do the job for which you’ve been hired, get out of government and let someone who wants, and can do, the job, take it. Come on, look around you. What the devil is happening to us? Why aren’t our people looking out for us? What’s the excuse this time?
Just recently Panama embarked on an 8-year 5 billion dollar project to widen the canal thus allowing mega ships to go through. Other countries are following suit by upgrading their infrastructure and their ports to be able to accommodate the super ships that are going to be passing through the much widened canal. In this era of globalization everyone is jockeying for position for fear of being left behind. For example, New Jersey, in an attempt to accommodate the super ships, is rebuilding the Bayonne Bridge by raising it from 150 feet above the water to a whopping 215 feet. The point I’m trying to make here is that, in this era of globalization, we can’t afford to get caught napping. We need outside of the box thinkers who can anticipate markets and what’s going on abroad. And while rumors of the supposed sale of the Clayton Lloyd Airport for $1 have caused uproar among us, it’s probably not without justification for there was no debate at all from our government as to where they were going with this. While the plan to extend our airport, and develop the surrounding area, might be what the doctor ordered in terms of getting us to move to the head of the line as a tourist destination, it has to be a win win situation for all involved especially our people.
Now that it’s election time once again, everyone seems to know what the country needs. What does this country want? Does this country want a government that is stuck in the past with nary an idea of how to get out of the bog that it has found itself in, or do we want a government that will move with the times – one that will care for all Anguillians and not just some? Today, people are struggling. They can’t find jobs because there aren’t any jobs to be found. People are losing their property not because of anything they did except being unable to pay their bills. The Central Bank which is supposed to create a resolution trust to deal with the toxic assets has yet to do so, despite the fact that we, as a signatory to the bank, pay into the general fund that is supposed to handle such issues. We can’t truly say that our government is looking out for us. We’re still being taxed to the nines and that money goes to keep the government functioning. Is that a good thing? Regressive taxation is the last thing that we need. Does anyone recall the Boston Tea Party?
As I alluded to earlier in this piece, one of the byproducts of globalization is the outsourcing of just about everything. We have become experts in the practice. We’ve outsourced everything from our police force, our children’s education, our electricity, our healthcare and just about everything else. We have outsourced our two local banks to an agency whose only interest in them is to prop up the EC dollar.
We have found ourselves back where we started from. We seem to not know from whence we came. Our lives are entrusted to a bunch of political hacks that just can’t seem to cut it. We have so many things to do and we’ve wasted precious time already. No one wants to grab the brass ring. Our esteemed leaders seem to be afraid of their own shadows. It appears that we are our own worst enemy. We are now giving derogatory nicknames to certain villages, and I’m sure that any visitors to our lovely island hearing those names will avoid those places like the plague. What the devil is the place coming to? Can we just stop and think for a moment and see what we’re doing? Let us level the playing fields so that the rising tide for which we’ve long waited will in fact lift all boats. One of our esteemed calypsonians asked the question: “When will we show the rest of the world that we are worthy of the gift they left us?”
Let us take time and reflect during this holiday season. Let us remember that we are our brother’s keeper and go back to yesteryear when we actually cared about each other and do something wonderful. So to all who may read this piece, have a Prosperous New Year. And so while we look out for the less fortunate, may God continue to bless us all, and may God bless Anguilla.
