The Rise of Papa Jack?

I know it is impolite to begin a conversation with a question, but in this instance I have no choice but to ask, is Trinidad & Tobago on its way to becoming a police state? On the anniversary of a still not yet properly explained State of Emergency where the rights of the citizens were trampled upon for no given or justifiable reason, those responsible are playing fast and loose with their obligation to the population and are ignoring the growing calls to explain what exactly was the thinking behind the move. And the reason I say fast and loose is that, for something like a State of Emergency to work then certainly the people have to agree. Imagine the consequences to government if for any reason the national consensus becomes that the government abused its power for no good reason, on what would it rely to exercise its authority in the future? What would be the result if the government tried to declare another state of emergency and God forbid, the people refused to comply? See how quickly the ground on which we walk could become slippery? In a democratic republic where the rule of law is supreme and the Constitution of the Republic the Supreme Law, one must always return to the people in whom all power is vested if not for a fresh mandate then to at least explain your actions when they appear at odds with the people's will. It is only in dictatorships, police states and absolute monarchies could the will of the people be ignored and their concerns easily brushed aside, but unless there are individuals in the government with royal delusions, the signs as they exist point in another more sinister direction.

Minister of Everything Jack Warner's singular decision to enlarge the police service with first five and now ten thousand Special Reserve Police officers is troubling and one has to be concerned as to what exactly is taking place with our democracy. People who specialize in law enforcement who continue to insist that ours is not a manpower shortage problem but a manpower management and deployment problem are being ignored by those with no knowledge whatsoever, and the belief that the solution lies in an arms race and an escalation of violence may well further lubricate the landscape with an inexhaustible supply of blood long before anything even remotely resembling success could make itself known. Jack's tongue in cheek calls to police to be more severe with the criminals they encounter may result in a push back that none of us can envisage at this time, and in a country that seems more and more ready to boil over, adding more fire could only end in more tragedy and loss of life on both sides.

Personally I worry for my country. I believe that crime, especially violent crime is being allowed to run unchecked to encourage the people to erroneously choose a suspension of human rights and civil liberties as an option, ignoring Benjamin Franklin's admonishing that 'those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither and will eventually lose both.' There is nothing good down this road that we are on but the concentration of all power into one man's hands and this must never be allowed to occur, especially in a time when people all over the world are literally dying to wrest power back from similar self imposed strong men. Students of history know that it is not so much those who facilitate wrong that are most to blame, but those who have the power to prevent it and sit idly by and let it happen. An informed and active electorate is more powerful than anything in the maintenance of a democracy, and it is time our people moved from the sidelines of voting (maybe) every five years and getting more actively involved in the decisions that are being made on their behalf.

If I am wrong then surely we could lose little by deepening our democracy and empowering our people. But what if I'm right?