“The greatest courage is not to tell the people what they want to hear or give them what they want. The greatest courage is to tell them the truth and give them what they need (JFK).
With the recent passing of Ras “B,” and the abrupt ending of the Keithstone Greaves report on Radio Anguilla, one is left to ponder the future of a free press and the public need to know in Anguilla. And while we will miss the man, the icon, that we lovingly came to know as Ras “B,” we are baffled by the sudden departure of the Greaves report from the Government-owned Radio Anguilla. And it is somewhat ironic that for a people who allegedly don’t read, we’ve now lost the only two icons who kept us informed via radio.
It is a well known fact that a democracy cannot, and will not, function without the presence of a free and unencumbered press. A free press educates the public on civic happenings which then allow them to be informed voters. This means that they make smart choices on who or what to vote for. A free press also acts as a check against corruption.
In an address to The Newspaper Editors, President John Fitzgerald Kennedy had this to say: “No government should fear scrutiny of its plans and actions, for from that scrutiny comes understanding and from that understanding comes support or opposition and both are necessary. Without debate and criticism, no government will succeed and nor will the country which it serves.” While the Chinese say that we are destined to live in interesting times, it is we the people who are left to define what constitutes interesting times.
And while we mourn for the beloved Ras “B,” a revered icon, musician, teacher, newsman and family man, one cannot help but think of what he meant to Anguilla over the years. Ras “B” was one of a kind and will be sorely missed. When you heard that distinct delivery, you knew who it was. Ras “B,”you will be sorely missed. May you rest in peace.
And while we celebrate Ras “B,” we should be concerned with the sudden departure from Radio Anguilla of Keithstone Greaves. The question now becomes, did Keithstone leave of his own accord or was he pushed out? Why would he leave? It was obvious that he was riding the crest of the wave at the top of his game. No one walks away from that unless…Why would he leave?
Radio Anguilla has always had a tendency to try and destroy its young talent if it was seen that they weren’t toeing the line. And, according to those in the know, “there is more in the mortar than the pestle.” Fair and impartial talent, such as Mr. Greaves’, comes along every once in a while and we ought to treasure and appreciate it. Our democracy cannot, and will not, survive without a free and impartial press. In his Independence Day address to the people of Trinidad and Tobago, Dr. Eric Williams admonished his people that: “a democracy rests on an informed, cultivated and alert public opinion.”
The existence of a free press is an absolute must. Thomas Jefferson admonished us to: “Be ever vigilant.” He further went on to say that, “were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate for a moment to prefer the latter.”
We see what happens when the media does not have unfettered access to information – information that without which we, the people, cannot make informed decisions that in some cases will mean life or death, going forward or going backwards. And, without belaboring the point, we are now seeing the results of what can go wrong when you have an uninformed public. In the aforementioned address to Newspaper Editors, President Kennedy had this to say: “Secrecy is the enemy of democracy. A democracy is predicated on the belief that the public, properly informed, will make the right decision in their own interest and that of society.”
With a society that is so litigious, it is no wonder that each and everyone of us is afraid to speak out. And when a people are afraid to voice their opinions, free speech becomes anything but, and those who would engage in corrupt practices at the public’s expense, and expect to get away with it, will let it be known that they will sue for defamation. And British law is so nebulous when it comes to defamation and libel, that those who have something to say, rather than risking a lawsuit and someone’s retirement fund, they’d rather keep quiet and do nothing. Martin Luther King said, “In the end, we remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” Folks this sort of thing is characteristic of the old iron curtain countries, not 21st century Anguilla. What have we wrought?
So, that being said, we now find ourselves with hardly any sources to go out there to keep our government honest. We know that in Anguilla the press is really not free, for everything that is published has to meet with the approval of company lawyers. It is also a known fact that if you print something against the government in power, the likelihood of your paper being ostracized is more than likely. So how free then is the press?
There are a lot of rumors about what possibly happened to Keithstone Greaves. Anyone following Keithstone knew that, as an investigative reporter, he asked the hard questions and as a consequence may have stepped on some toes, but then so what? Would you rather that he tossed some softball questions to the powers that be and wake up one morning only to find out that we are being shipped to Demerara? I think not.
So, as we do with everything else, we sit on our pants and holler only when there’s nothing left to do. Somewhere in the bible it says, too late shall be the cry. Now I know that that is in reference to getting to heaven, but I think that it is also applicable to us at this moment in time. Winston Churchill said: “When the situation was manageable, it was ignored and now that it is out of hand, we apply too late, the remedies that may have affected a cure.” Why do we consistently cut our noses to spite our faces?
We have met the enemy and it is us. We have failed to prepare our selves for the inevitable. What is the inevitable you ask? Look around you. What do you see happening? Are you pleased with our lot in life right now? Are you ready for the coming onslaught? And they will come, and unless we act now we will be helpless to do anything. Right now, despite all of the legal minds that we currently possess, it will be all for naught if someone doesn’t take the bull by the horns and bring him to the ground.
So, as we’ve said goodbye to another Anguilla Day, all we can do is to reflect and think what might have been. It seems ironic that all the things that we fought for are gradually withering away, and those who had nothing to do with how we got to this place are the very same ones who have managed to live the good life at the expense of those who did make the effort. There is an old saying: “man plant and dog reap.”
At a time when we are slowly losing those whom we grew up with, those whom we had respect for, those who were never too busy to have a good word for you – we now find ourselves having to bury quite a few. It goes to show us that we’ve got a limited time on this earth and that we should live everyday to the fullest. We should be our brother’s keeper and once, like the Sankofa bird, which reaches back for that which was left behind, maybe, then maybe, we will find that Anguillian exceptionalism that was once the gold standard by which everyone measured themselves. We can be that once again, but it will take some doing.
So while we contemplate what the future holds in store for us, let us not forget those who came before us, those upon whose shoulders we now stand, who stood their ground no matter what. And while we’ve lost most, if not all, of them let us add the great Muhammad Ali to the roll. Let us remember him for his stick-to-itiveness, for his beliefs, but most of all for doing the right thing at great personal cost. When it came to standing up for what he believed in, he would not be deterred, and I find it ironic that while we are losing our heroes at an alarming rate, we find that we are once again, on our own, at the mercy of a system that is not conducive to our well being. What do we do to get back on the right track?
We have to, in the words of the late Arthwin Vanterpool, “rid ourselves of the envy, greed and corruption which exist in our society and become a united people under God.” And I believe that, with God on our side, there is nothing we can’t do. We go into battle against those who would obliterate us from our homeland but with God on our side they don’t stand a chance. So till next time, may God continue to bless us and may He bless Anguilla.
