Dear Editor,
Who Is A Patriot?
I note with interest your most recent editorial of December 8th, 2017 where you would have caused your readers to ponder the caption: “Who Then is a Patriot”. You have given due recognition and just commendation to Mr. Albert Lake and Mr. Leandro Rizzuto, both deceased, as stalwarts of support and generosity to the people of our Anguillian community.
You stressed that patriotism is not defined by nationality, race, class or any artificial grouping imposed on human kind. So, by the same token, we would pause to share sympathy with our Jamaican nationals here who have lost a home-spun patriot in the field of broadcasting and the print-media. Long serving Mr. Lester Spaulding, Director of Radio Jamaica and Chairman of the famous Gleaner newspaper, was laid to rest on Saturday, December 9th.
Indeed, these three noble men, mentioned above, have made indelible marks upon the pages of history. They have measured up to the caliber of true, selfless patriotism which you have alluded to in your editorial. However, in accord with your follow-up question “who then among us is a patriot,” I have candidly taken up your implied invitation to respond by saying that if, per chance, there would ever be a nomination of sorts, I would certainly nominate you (Nat Hodge) for an award in patriotism — though patriots at best are unsung heroes.
In my view, you have played a magnificent role in the advancement of print-media on our island. Your humble, yet firm, disposition with respect to the execution of your tasks in the area of journalism is quite admirable. Through your dedicated work, each week Anguillians and non-Anguillians here, as well as those further afield can, without fail, look forward to receiving fresh news and relevant information pertinent to the spirit of the Anguillian community. The production of The Anguillian has served immensely in the national development of Anguilla and its people over the past years. And since you have been the main catalyst behind this production, your stellar accomplishments are to be indeed considered as the work of a devoted patriot.
Since the era of The Beacon, produced by another noteworthy patriot, the late Mr. Atlin Noraldo Harrigan, Anguillians have anxiously thrived on the knowledge of current affairs like most other developed societies. Of course, much has changed since The Beacon’s days of the 1960s, but even back then its editor would have been regarded as a patriot in his own right, for he, like you, had selflessly devoted himself to an organ that served to inform and enlighten our fledgling nation at such a critical stage of our history.
And so, today, even as you have bequeathed honor on Mr. Lake and Mr. Ruzzito in their mortal absence, I would wish to informally bestore that mark of excellence upon you as one of Anguilla’s true patriots, while you are yet among us. May you continue to selflessly serve as a patriot among us for many more rewarding years.
Sincerely yours,
James R. Harrigan
