The Anguillian
August 5, 2012
Dear Sir:
Let me be the first to commend you for publishing a very interesting Anguillian last week the 3rd of August. I was extremely pleased to see that you picked up the baton and ran like the devil with it. I’m referring, of course, to two letters both of which were written by lovely women, one of whom was the intended target of a vicious tirade by the Parliamentary Secretary, Tourism. The third article was written by none other than Mr. Victor Banks. I was overjoyed to see that our people are finally starting to speak out.
Last week I wanted to comment about the goings on, but in light of the coverage that was provided I don’t feel so bad. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. famously said that, “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenges and inconvenience.” That quote aptly describes our politicians here inAnguilla. Unfortunately, we are seeing where they stand in times of challenge and inconvenience and it’s not a pretty picture. In our politicians we are seeing the Peter Principle: (“Every person will rise to the level of his incompetence”) at its zenith. We are bemoaning the fact that things are really bad here and, knowing what we do, one would think that our leaders would be trying to right the ship. Instead, we see the Chief Minister globe- trotting and upon his return fails to debrief the nation as to his whereabouts and dealings. Guess it’s his island and we are irrelevant.
Now to his Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism, who seems to have taken a page out of the CM’s playbook, – who himself takes off and can be seen via the different modes of social media, – hobnobbing with whomever. That sort of thing is palatable, as long as the expenses are justified, but what is unpalatable was the Parliamentary Secretary’s behavior on Radio Anguilla last week when he saw it fit to humiliate Ms. Rebecca Webster using language so vile that it does not warrant repeating. Now I ask you, is that any way for a member of our government to act? Mr. Hughes should go back on Radio Anguilla and apologize to Ms. Webster, after which he should resign his position. This is the person who goes abroad to represent us!
We are currently experiencing a wave of deviant behavior and we wonder why that is? What do we expect when leaders go on the radio and spout inflammatory statements as was done? What sort of message are we sending to our young when we blame them for everything that has gone wrong? They are simply emulating what they see us say and do.
We are simply out of control. We try to marginalize each other. We can’t have a simple conversation without trying to one up the other guy. We are selfish, covetous – and I could go on – but do I need to? It’s everywhere, that you turn, that this type of uncivilized behavior rears its ugly head. Last week I was listening to the Mayor Show on KOOL FM and I heard more of the same. It sounds like the show was attempting to deal with the rise of violence among the youth on the island. Well, right off the top, one caller commandeered the airwaves quoting scripture from the bible. This went on for quite some time, until one of the panelists, Tyrone or Conrad, asked the caller what he would do to remedy the situation. He had no solutions only more verses from the bible. This exchange went back and forth with no resolution. The caller became angry and accused the station of cutting him off. Percy, who calls every radio program, called in and he got into the fray. It appeared that both Percy and the other caller, whose only solution was to quote more verses from the bible, wanted to score points against the host of the show. It seems that some callers just simply want to call and pontificate and show us how biased they truly are, rather than having a civil conversation and come up with solutions to our problems. We’re in this together, but in the words of Commodore Perry: “We have met the enemy and it is us.” Until we start treating each other with respect we simply aren’t going to accomplish much.
In the same vein, I couldn’t believe what I read in the exchange between the Speaker of the House and the Honorable Member Baird. Folks, the Education Bill has been languishing since the start of this new administration and nothing is getting done. This is totally unacceptable and it would do you guys a world of good to show some respect for the Chamber in which you have the privilege to serve. You should be thanking your lucky stars that you all have jobs. I’m sure the passage of the Bill will probably result in new jobs for others. During the battle of The Kasserine Pass inTunisia, Major- General George S. Patton arrived on the scene after the ill-prepared US Army had taken quite a beating. As he toured the men’s quarters, it quickly became obvious that the men were demoralized and chaos reigned supreme. Men were sleeping in the hallways, others out of proper uniform and so on. Well, he kicked one sleeping soldier who jumped up and let fly several expletives and ready to fight, but changed his mind upon seeing the four stars on Patton’s collars. As Patton returned the soldier’s salute he growled: “You get back down there son. You’re the only dumb s.o.b in this outfit who knows what the hell he’s doing here right now.” Where the hell is Patton when we need him?
The captain is supposed to steady the ship. The passengers can sense when it’s going well, just as they can sense when it is not. The captain has to be Confident – not open to second guessing – making the right calls and instilling confidence. Conversely, if they see someone who is indecisive, blames others, and fails time and again to “man up” and who at the first sign of stormy weather, cowers, then his true colors come out – and to go back to the MLK quote, “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenges and inconvenience.”
We are living in perilous times and it is during these times that the worst in us seem to manifest it. Politics is a contact sport and at times can be very brutal. It is not for the thin-skinned or faint of heart. You have to know that when you enter the arena of politics, you are fair game. You have to be able to give as well as you get. You may have your surrogates out running interference for you, but sooner or later you are going to have to get in there without crossing the line. Over the weekend, Haydn crossed that line. Say what you want about Victor, but I agree with him that Haydn has to “Soak yuh blows like a man.” Victor, I’d never heard that one before, but I agree with you. In the previous government, of which you were an integral part, you took your fair share, and in some cases unfair share, of blows and I must say you” soak dem up.” In all fairness, you dished out your share too. Turnabout is fairplay. I don’t recall the type of behavior being displayed from your group. Politics is a sport, so let’s show some respect and be civil. We can agree to disagree. That doesn’t mean that because I don’t agree with your political views that you should treat me like anything less than human. I’d like to think we live in a democracy, and as such I’m entitled to my opinion. I should not be marginalized for my thinking.
Let me finish by saying that we’re going through a devil of a time right now and it behooves me to question the behavior of the people upon whom we rely for leadership. Is this what our forefathers fought for? Is this what they staked their lives and the well being of their families for? What do you think they would say right now about leaders who won’t’ or can’t lead – who are more interested in self-aggrandizement than they are about trying to get the country back on its feet? What do you think they would say if they knew that those who opposed them in the break away from the colony, are the very ones reaping the benefits of their blood sweat and tears? What do you think they would say about the fact that the island has ground to a screeching halt to where nothing gets done; that our legislative leaders can’t agree to anything and we’ve got gridlock the likes of which they can’t imagine; and our young men are lost; that we have an education system that does not or can’t educate our kids simply because they are unprepared for secondary education? That our leaders are more interested in their own legacies? Indeed, our forefathers would react with one resounding voice: “Are you kidding me?”
Let us behave the way we’ve been taught to. Let’s be respectful of each other’s ideas and opinions. Let’s band together and make our forefathers proud, use our Emancipation Week to celebrate and, while we’re at it, thank Mr. Colville Petty for his insightful article in last week’s Anguillian. Let’s go out and have a safe and prosperous Emancipation Week and, as we do, let us remember why we’re celebrating. It’s ironic that we fought for our freedom some forty odd years ago and here we are afraid to leave our homes. Let’s not waste the chance of a lifetime. In Luke 12:48 the bible says “To whom much is given, much is expected.” We’ve been blessed by being who we are – our uniqueness, and independence. Let us return to the standards that made us stand apart from all others. Let’s take back our tranquility wrapped in blue. Until then, God bless us all and may God blessAnguilla.
Concerned Anguillian
