Plain Talk, not Bad Manners...

Were you to hear only the claims made by the beer, rum and cell phone advertisements you would be tempted to think that we in T&T are one big, happy, united, people living idyllic lives in the Caribbean, but in spite of the national celebration when a 'Trini' wins something abroad, sadly we are not.

What is worse, we have a habit of failing to see or deal with the important things as a collective and tend to put our view above the needs of others. This is the main reason why there is no national outcry against either Calder Hart or Ishwar Galbaransingh, because for all their corruption and the abuse they meted out while in the public's employ, a full half of the society actually 'claims' them  as their own and defends them, as if owning a bandit could somehow be something to be proud of.

Does the whole society view Sat Maharaj or Selwyn Cudjoe the same way? Of course not, and that division is what make governing this country that much more difficult. No one wants to bell the cat. No one wants to say that the same things many are screaming bloody murder against under this administration they would not have said a peep about under the last, and many of the abuses rallied against when this crew was campaigning is now okay.

The mountain we face is how do we carve a people out of this 'every creed and race' melting pot and find a way forward that benefits all. How do we stop viewing every thing from a racial perspective (as the default position) and find a national one instead? Our people are disillusioned and jaded by politics and who could really blame them? Parliament is reduced weekly to a circus of performers, as if no one is willing to stand up, make a national contribution that does not descend into lackaray and mauvais langue and sit back down. Everything seems to require posturing and attacking the 'other' side, which runs down the backs of every Trinidadian and Tobagonian as either us or them. Who does this help besides the racists, and are we all racist?

Surely there must be people in this country who see themselves as Trinidadians and Tobagonians first, who are comfortable with their lot in life and who are only interested in serving as a form of giving back to the land of their birth. What is preventing them from rising to positions of authority so that debate and discussion does not descend into mayhem?

Many have said before and I cannot help but agree that the way to true national unity is blocked by the two political dinosaurs of the PNM and the UNC. Both are agenda driven and are controlled from within by people with serious axes to grind who are grinding away at any hope we have of a peaceful and orderly society.

Until we can deal with that and all it comes with, all the talk in the world won't get us anywhere, and any of us that are members of supporters of either of those cults are as much the problem as anyone else.

It is time we grew up as a society and took some responsibility for ourselves and the collective. Personal responsibility is the number one most important issue to be discussed if we are to get all hands on deck rowing in the same direction and we have to do it before it's too late.

We need codes of conduct if not enforced then strenuously encouraged. Responsibilities of citizenship are fundamental truths to be learnt, guided by and guarded, in a society where it is safe once again for a child to be a child. Respect for self and for others, manners, conduct, these have become meaningless words that need to be made fashionable again. The elderly, the young, our women must once again feel respected and safe to go about their business and men must be reminded of what being a man really means.

We need to embrace personal responsibility even as we attempt to take up the mantle of social responsibility. We need to be clear on who and what we give honor and respect to and who we walk away from. If real change is ever going to come to this land it has to start with us.