The 2015 General Elections draws near and I sit in thought about what is before us and the road that we have come. Needless to say we have all factions of Government to thank for where we are today. It goes without saying that everyone that has been associated with politics in Anguilla has helped to shape our lives. It is for this reason and amongst others that I support each individual running for office. I firmly believe to run for political office is to mortgage your professional career, it is to submit your character for experimental testing, it is to step out naked on the stage of life. Politics is a jealous mistress and a thief of time. Anyone who has tossed their hat in the ring I commend you for taking this step. Your convictions are deep enough to motivate you to try and make difference through service.
From my point of view this election is not about individuals or parties. It is not about philosophies or ideologies. It is not about past administrations and it is not about 1967. It is about the fact that “Hammers Can’t Screw”.
Collectively we have been blinded and inherently bias in our outlook and approach to the persons that have served as our leaders. I listen to the rhetoric from the rostrum, the bayside and the ‘breakfast club’ and all of it fails to acknowledge the fact that “Hammers Can’t Screw”.
What we have done over time is compared apples to oranges, peas to corn, AUF to AUM, two totally different groups of people whose only commonality is that they both are of the conviction they can make Anguilla better. As a voter in District 4, it bothers me to this day that people would have compared Mr. Evan Gumbs to Mr. Victor Banks, two outstanding individuals in their own right, two different portfolios, two different convictions. Both operated under two different set of circumstances. Both were dealt two different hands, from two different decks of cards.
It puzzles me that as a people we have not realised the opportunity cost associated with any decision that an individual or Government makes. The opportunity cost that was associated with the “treasury not having money after the AUF Administration” was the roads and many projects completed during that time. The opportunity cost associated with the apparent “slow growth” and “stagnation” of Anguilla’s economy right now is the “reserves” and “surplus” the AUM can accredit to their achievements. When you look at it without bias, we have to loose to win sometimes, but whatever angle you take this one truth imprisons us all and unless we can agree to address it, it will be our downfall as a people. This one truth is that “Hammers Can’t Screw”
I lean on my very limited knowledge of building in hopes that everyone would understand my heart for this country and my position on what we do as a nation come April 22, 2015.
The tool does not mandate the job. The job necessitates the tool. The purpose of the tool cannot be assigned to every job. It results in wasted time, destruction, lost resources and possible injury. “Hammers Can’t Screw”
Our voice and vote this election should not be referenced on what has been done in the past. That is the one grievance i have with every candidate that has taken the platform over the course of this campaign season. It is disheartening that we have had to wait until days before elections to get a manifesto, to see what plans exist. If either individual or party was confident in their ability to do the job there would be no fear is disclosing your plans. If either party has placed country above self and stand firmly convicted in their plan to move the country forward they would have not been worried about any outsider taking their ideas, dissecting their plans or even mirroring their approach. I can say this boldly because I know that “Hammers Can’t Screw”.
In principle and fact if one were to try to pound a screw through a piece of board. It would most assuredly bend or break the screw, break the board, damage the hammer or even become airborne and cause lost of vision. “Hammers Can’t Screw”
Even if one were to get creative, change ones approach use the claw as opposed to the face of the hammer it would result in this one truth “Hammers Can’t Screw”. They can’t because thats not their purpose and the environment or task at hand does not mandate that approach.
This is what we should consider over the next few days. This is what we should consider when we cast our vote and chart our course for at maximum the next five years of our existence. We need not consider the tool or the politician in this instance. We need to consider the environment and the task at hand.
Lest we have become so insular that we have forgotten, allow me to remind us all that Anguilla is but thirty five square miles. A population of less than twenty thousand people. Very few options for industry. Shared external defence, porous boarders, sand, sea and sun but not virgin terrain. Our greatest export has been the educated and talented human resources we have invested in and developed over the years. Our closest neighbour is ruled by two different nations. Their tourism product is year round as opposed to us because of the infrastructure that they have invested in. Cuba and the United States have signalled what could be the end to an embargo that fuelled our tourism engine whether we wish to admit it or not. China has a vested interest in the Caribbean as more and more neighbouring islands become indebted to them, Antigua and Dominica are just the start. The United States of America’s interest in Haiti and Jamaica should not be forgotten either.
Consider the rise of ISIS and other Terror Organisations, turn your thoughts toward Health Care and the frightening rise of terminal diseases. Do not close your eyes to the influence of mass media on the development of our young people. Think for a minute on the advancements in education, science and technology. Now once more consider where we as a nation fits in a world where the only constant is change, and the only fix is to place your trust in a group of individuals to manage this change. It is inescapably clear that the environment and task at hand dictates what tool is used and most assuredly we know that “Hammers Can’t Screw”.
It is imperative that we vote not on bias, not for a party outright because our vote is their inheritance but for the group of individuals who poses the abilities, skills and knowhow to get things done. Our next Government has to understand the need for a proper health care system as a tourism destination. Our next Government needs to understand our youth need a canvas and stage to express themselves. Our next Government needs to know that we must diversify our tourism product and by extension and more importantly our economy. Our next Government needs to understand the interest earned on the education that has been invested in individuals is their service to our country. Our next Government needs to know that Anguilla needs a controlled and strategic influx of people to jumpstart our growth as a nation. Our next Government needs to know that Electoral Reform is no longer a hot button topic but the Bishop in the chess game being played y the worlds super powers where Caribbean nations are the chess pieces. Our next Government needs to know that the MOU’s they will sign need to develop the schools, clinics, ports and auxiliary arms of their administration by extension. Our next Government needs to know that our immigration laws are inhibiting, bias and not as protecting as we previously assumed. Our next Government needs to know that culture is the one distinction that separates us from everyone else. Our next Government needs to know if you cannot change the circumstances then you need to change yourself and your perspective. Our next Government needs to know that we may need to use nails this time because “Hammer Can’t Screw”
