Writing about his new book “The Innovators,” Author Walter Isaacson poses the question of how did the most imaginative innovators of our time turn ideas into realities and why did others fail? He offers some insight as to why this may have been. He lists five easy theses, the first of which is to connect art and science, the second is that creativity comes from collaboration, the third is that collaboration works best in person, the fourth, vision without execution is hallucination and the last one of which is that man is a social animal. He concludes that history rewards only those who produce real products. However, it is with the fourth thesis that I’m concerned.
In Anguilla, not only do we lack the vision to take our country forward, when we do present what tends to stand in place of vision, it appears that we are on some hallucinogenic. We have been subjected to so-called vision after vision, the last one on which we elected our present government whose so-called vision to this day, their has failed to materialize, much less to be executed. The world is filled with great innovators, most of whom had excellent products. but, somehow, failed to execute them. Our present government rode into office with the support of some well meaning, but misguided supporters, on the premise that things would be different, that there would be transparency and fairness, and that they would right the ship. They would fix all that ails us but, alas, that was only talk. The manifesto, the great vision that they had for us, disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared.
One then is only left to surmise that we’ve been taken for a ride. The so called vision morphed into nothing more than AUF bashing. If anyone objected to the incessant pounding of Osbourne and Victor, they surely had a strange way of showing their displeasure. In the meantime, the people’s work remained undone. Daily tirades against the Governor, and whoever else got in the way, was commonplace. Again, we sat around with our mouths shut. We seemed to have forgotten that this was supposed to be a government of the people, by the people and for the people. Ask yourselves then, what went wrong? It became painful to read week after week of the ongoing saga of our esteemed Chief Minister and his outbursts. Common wisdom tells us that he who knows better does better, so are we to conclude then that the Honorable Chief Minister did not know that when he went on the House floor and launched unwarranted attacks on Pam Webster and Cora Hodge, two barristers not even in government, that he did not know it was wrong?
There is an old saying that says be careful what you wish for. We were so anxious to rid ourselves of Osbourne and Victor, that we would have elected Astor’s pet horse if he was on the ballot. In this day and age, we do need innovators but it seems that we are woefully in short supply right now. We send our young people away to study, and when they’ve matriculated there is nothing for them to come back to because our brilliant legislators were busy looking out for themselves. It is hard to fathom what has happened to a once very proud and entrepreneurial spirited people. The Bible tells us in Luke 12:48, “To those whom much is given, much is expected.” Unfortunately, those from whom much was expected, failed to live up to their advance billing and, instead, looked out for themselves at the expense of the rest of us.
Back in ’67, a few brave souls took matters into their own hands and decided to turn the tables on those who would keep us in bondage. Those folks have long been forgotten, and I’m sure that it is very hard for them to stomach what has and continues to happen to us. I suppose that the day will come when we’ll wake up and find out that we’re guests in our own homeland for, if we continue in the manner in which we’re proceeding now, we’ve had it. The Anguilla that I grew up in no longer exists and the question one has to ask now is what kind of Anguilla do we now have? Who are we and just what do we stand for? Malcolm X famously said: “You have to stand for something, or you’ll fall for anything.” I ask again, just what is it that we stand for? It’s hard to stand by and watch how we’ve mucked things up. Our people are hurting. We are hearing things that we’ve never heard before and that is because we were resourceful and resilient. We may not have had much money but, by goodness, we had resources. We had our crops and our livestock and, of course, we could always go fishing, for a change of pace. We knew how to get by with what we had. Don’t get me wrong now. I’m not advocating for going back to the old ways. We have to go forward, not backwards, if we’re to survive; but as James Baldwin, the American Laureate, said: “Know from whence you came, and if you know from whence you came, the possibilities for going forward are endless.”
Gentlemen, let me break it to you gently: Anguilla does not belong to you. It belongs to all of us and there is no reason in hell that some of us, should be struggling to keep our heads above water while the rest of you are doing just fine, thank you. All of you were elected to serve at the pleasure of the people, not your friends and relatives. Can all of you honestly say that you’ve done that? What irritates me more than anything else is that while you were looking out for yourselves, you have neglected those who served valiantly and with distinction. You know who they are. Atlin Harrigan, Walter Hodge, John Webster, Ronald Webster and John Rogers just to name a few. But what is most disgraceful is the shameless manner in which you have treated two of our dearly departed. When will we take care of our own? It is really sad, and in poor taste, when you hurry to someone’s gravesite, just before they’re about to be interred, to confer special honors upon them. The late Teacher Arthwin Vanterpool, who had been in poor health for sometime, was not recognized for a lifetime of service while he could still know that even at that late date that he was finally being recognized for his contributions And, just recently, Mr. Valentine Fleming was subjected to the same callous treatment. To those of you who waited for the last minute to do this I say, shame on you. But here again, in Mr. Isaacson’s words, “vision without execution is hallucination.”
Our history is rife with vision without execution, and evidence abounds wherever you turn. We continuously hear about rebranding, but the trouble is usually in the details. Just recently LIAT, our flagship carrier since time began, unceremoniously pulled the plug on all service to our beautiful paradise. How is this possible? One has to think that this was something in the making for sometime, and yet our government did nothing to avert such a move. Not to worry, though, our esteemed CM has it under control. His solution? “We have to depend on St. Martin now.” How is that for vision? It should be very interesting to see how he executes his plan. Maybe he was hallucinating when he made that statement. And this is not the first time that the CM has allegedly been in his hallucinogenic stupor. He seemed to have been so disposed on the House floor, so much so, that he practically declared Anguilla a failed state and was willing to turn the reins of government over to the British who he hates so much. But not to be outdone on the House floor, he went a step further at the Governor’s mansion where he unceremoniously turned over our indigenous banks to Sir Dwight Venner, over the objections of CCB’s Mr. Leslie Richardson. Incredible, but true.
Does anyone see a method to the CM’s malaise? Could it be that he does not want to see anyone succeed as the leader of Anguilla after he has ridden off into the sunset? Let’s stop and think for a moment, folks. We took an awful lot from Bradshaw and the British (they were complicit in their lack of action) and we managed to come through in spite of ourselves. But to listen to Mr. Hughes on the House floor talking nonsense about failed state status, it makes one stop and think. Why would he make such a statement on the record? Do you think it’s a case of if I can’t make a go of it, then I don’t want anyone else to succeed where I’ve failed? He’d rather see the British come back and take over – revert back to the days of old. Maybe that’s not the case, but you have to admit that it’s food for thought. All this comes from a man who was going to call a referendum in 2014 to determine Anguilla’s fate. What happened?
Folks, it’s anyone’s guess when we’ll go to the polls again. The constitution is clear about the calendar, but we’re at the whims of the CM. He can call early elections, or he can let the process run its course which means elections will occur sometime in February next year – or he can choose to wait an additional 60 days which is his constitutional right. But why exercise that right, if not for selfish purposes. Well common wisdom says why end a good thing before its time, but that’s common wisdom.
Well, sooner or later we’ll have to have new elections and we’ll have a chance to set ourselves on a course in which the possibilities are endless. I see an Anguilla the way our forefathers envisioned it: an Anguilla in which each and everyone can hold his head high and be proud of our heritage. We have a chance to do that with this upcoming election. I just read an article by Mr. Marvin Pickering, in the online Virgin Island newspaper “The Source, in which he admonished his fellow Virgin Islanders to as he put it, “To Vote As If Your Life Depends Upon It.” That article could have been very easily written about Anguilla. In it, Mr. Pickering made reference to the mantra of one Howard Beale, the erstwhile anchor of the UBS network in the movie “Network,” when he stuck his head out of his New York apartment window and screamed:“I’m as mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore.” Mr. Pickering adeptly juxtaposes some of Mr. Beale’s problems with those of the people of the Virgin Islands and he checks them off. The high cost of electricity, higher than average gasoline prices, high unemployment, a healthcare system that’s on life support, an economy in shambles, rampant government corruption, education and electoral reform and last but not the least of which is the safety and security of the people.” He concludes with the words of the fictional Mr. Beale that: “We should all be mad as hell and let the people who want to represent us know that we are not going to take this anymore.”
Anyone reading this article, which I thought was timely, could simply remove the Virgin Islands and juxtapose Anguilla and would be spot on. For a small territory we are facing a myriad of problems, many of which are being endured by the people of the Virgin Islands. They will have selected their representatives by now, something that we are yet to do but, make no mistake, we will vote as if our lives depend on it. Mr. Pickering pointed out that it is prudent to look at individuals’ past performance in previous jobs they have held. He goes on to say that if they underperformed in the past, it is highly likely that they will underperform in the future. Conversely, if they have demonstrated exemplary performance in the past, it is highly likely that that will continue in the future.
I concur with him that in both cases the upcoming elections are critical. Just as they did, we too have some very tough issues that will require individuals with courage, stamina, intestinal fortitude, intellectual bandwidth and the highest ethical and moral standards to make the tough decisions that must be made to right this ship that has veered so far off course, that it will require a captain with the knowledge and knowhow to get us back on the proper course, not someone who has entered the marathon at the halfway more hoping that no one saw his entry. Mr. Pickering goes on to say that we must elect individuals who have set the interests of the people at the very top of their list of priorities. We must elect people who are not running for office for purely selfish reasons, but to uplift our people. We do not need to elect individuals that have a “me-it-is” but rather a “We-it-is.” He said it’s about people, plain and simple.
My fellow Anguillians, we’re not the only ones struggling out there, but we have, with this upcoming election, the responsibility to guarantee that we correct all of the wrongs that have been perpetrated upon us whether by omission or commission, over the fast forty odd years. We’re looking for substance over glitz, execution over hallucination. Let us not be fooled by the shenanigans of those in power who would have you believe they have your best interests at heart. Remember it’s a “we-it-is,” so when they come in with their dusted off visions, and their last minute deals, ask them where have you been all this time? Don’t be fooled by any ploys that may come your way. So when we go to the polls, let us think about what we’re about to do. Ask yourself the question, does this person really have my best interests at heart? Let us think about the type of leadership that we want taking us into the next decade. Do we want a leadership that has done nothing for us, leadership that has denigrated our people, leadership that frankly has been an abject failure? A vote for those, who would try to capitalize on our district is not only wrong, – it’s a slap in the face of all those people who fought to get us where we are. One vote would be a vote too many. On Election Day, let us send this government and its cohorts packing. If you need a reason to justify your actions, let me count them. Where do I start? Anglec, our indigenous banks, the hospital, our infrastructure, LIAT and the list goes on. I say again, a vote for this government is a slap in the face of everyone who fought for our freedom. A vote in districts one and two for this present government flies in the face of common decency. We’re mad as hell and we’re not going to take it anymore.
When we sit around and see what has been happening without making a move to do or say something, we’re complicit in our inaction. When Bradshaw threatened to put pepper in our soup and bones in our rice, we stood up to him. We also had the temerity to take the fight to him on his own territory. That took balls. Where have those balls gone? Now we cringe every time we have to speak up for our rights. When I see how our banks were unceremoniously taken over by a Central Bank that truly has its own agenda, when I see how Starry Benjamin, the managing director of CCB was railroaded out of town, and the classless manner in which she was treated, while none of the countless number of people whom she’d helped stood on the sidelines and did nothing, i asked was that right? When I see that the classless ECCB which has its own problems decided to appeal its case after losing, I ask: is that right? The governor of ECCB came in and allegedly ran the show while the Minister of Finance, our esteemed Chief Minister, sat as if he had a bad case of lockjaw. When he was asked by Mr. Leslie Richardson if he was about to let this happen, the lockjaw continued. Yes my people, let us show our contempt in Island Harbour for this government, by not giving them even a passing glance. We stood up to a tyrant who, if he could, would wave a magic want and make us disappear. We have to vote this upcoming election, no matter what the others do.
We have lots of serious problems out there and we have to give serious thought to whom we wish to go forward with. We’ve seen and heard the current CM anoint the new leader of the party as the next CM. I was of the opinion that one had to win an election first. I was also under the impression that this was a democracy and not a monarchy. That’s wishful thinking, but know this: one does not enter a marathon at the halfway mark and hope to win. There’s an old saying that politics makes for strange bedfellows, and if ever there was a time that politics made for strange bedfellows, you are seeing it. My fellow brothers and sisters of Island Harbour and East End, in general, don’t be fooled by this wolf in sheep’s clothing act that you’ve witnessed the other night. I could not believe that nonsense when I heard that the CM had gone shoulder to shoulder with the Father of the Nation. Was that when he called Bradshaw a great man in the presence of the said Father of the Nation? When ever it is that you go to the polls, think about what you were able to accomplish because of our indigenous banks. Think of the shabby way that the Father of the Nation was treated by this government. Think of the fact that your children are starving, think of the fact that our schools are falling apart, think of the fact that we have a government that hasn’t a clue about how to get us out of this tail spin that we’re in. I could go on and on. We don’t want this government in our backyard, even if one of our own has aligned himself with them. We want no part of this and on Election Day, forget who you are related to. Let us show this government how we really feel about them. Let us send the lot of them packing. Until then, may God bless us all and may God bless Anguilla.
