THE AMERICAN TRAGEDY (SUICIDE BY A THOUSAND CUTS)

BY LESTER TURNQUEST

 

 

The world is holding its breath as it watches the magnificent United States of America being destroyed from within, by persons who were elected to do the opposite.

 

Most great empires are destroyed not by invading armies, but from within. Where invading armies do play a role, the genesis of a decline took shape internally years before. The Han Dynasty, Roman, and Ottoman empires were all great “civilizations” which sowed the seeds of their own destruction.

 

China and Russia presently have the appearance of greater stability than the United States of America, because U.S. politicians are indulging in an orgy of political “malpractice” hitherto unseen in my lifetime. I feel as if I am watching a huge luxury liner about to descend beneath the waves. The United States is literally choosing to risk becoming a banana republic. Amazing isn’t it? How do these politicians get away with it? Tearing asunder the very nation they had sworn to protect.

 

While most countries and their political leaders attempt to run away from actions which can cause a downgrade in the international credit rating, the United States has politicians who essentially advocate embracing one by saying that a refusal to increase the debt ceiling is no big deal. That is like a “client” indulging with a prostitute even after her pimp gives a litany of her diseases. It is sheer madness! That is not hyperbole. That so called responsible persons would use the threat of harm to their own country to achieve cheap political or ideological victories would be called something else in any number of democratic countries. The problem with the foregoing scenario is that as the printer of the world’s reserve currency, as goes the United States’ economy, so goes the world. We are all being held by the “you know what”.

 

The raging dispute in the halls of power in Washington D.C. is the greatest and most compelling evidence that the United States of America is in the midst of a civil war, albeit one fought without guns and bullets (so far). As in the case of all civil wars there are diverse igniters for its start. Some persons feel disenfranchised and irrelevant after having dominated the political process for years. Others feel discriminated against and marginalized and want to extract payment for past humiliations. There is a melting pot of gender, racial, ethnic, and cultural issues coming to a boil in our huge neighbor to the north. Sadly, it is quite clear that there is hatred as well, and hatred destroys it does not build. To add insult to injury, all sides (the President and his Democrats and the Republican caucus) have pursued a social values agenda when the focus should have been on jobs, and governance.  The result of all this is the toxic brew which we now see. If the United States gets really sick, we in the Bahamas will be at death’s door, because if the United States only sneezes the Bahamas catches a cold.

 

The last time history recorded this level of enmity in the United States, a confederacy was born, and a civil war between the states resulted. The over-reach, acrimony, and neglect that now roils the United States, mirrors elements which led to its historic civil war. Given the demographics, talk of secession, and some hatred of a president of colour, it is not beyond the realm of possibility that a new confederacy may be born, one which might exist only in spirit, (if not in fact or geography). Clearly it would not be a purely southern confederacy as in the past. Some states further north or west are becoming more alienated in the present political climate.

 

History often repeats itself, and the United States cannot sustain itself on a daily diet of hatred, division, and political blood-letting. The world must be puzzled by what appears to be a general lackadaisical demeanor exhibited by the citizens of our great neighbor, who seem blissfully unaware of the imminent danger. At some point its citizens will awaken and extract a price from its leaders for this debacle. That price must cut deep and wide so that recklessness and selfishness in national service would never be embraced so lightly again.

 

Many countries have lay in ruins (on all levels) because of careless politicians, and I am sure that Bahamians everywhere are concerned, and are prayerfully hoping that the country with whom we are mostly closely aligned pulls back from the abyss. Failing that, the United States will descend the ladder of history wounded by its own hand.

 

One step too far, one jibe too many, or one maneuver too rash, and that is all it would take to put a great nation on the road to becoming a failed state. Surely the United States does not want to become like the British nation, deluding itself that its past as a great power is also its present and its future.

 

FORTY YEARS ONWARD

 

BY LESTER TURNQUEST

 

 

 

I was sixteen years old when the Bahamian flag was raised for the first time on Fort Charlotte, barely on the verge of manhood (and about to graduate from high school).

 

I, my parents, and my siblings, stood on that fort on a fateful night, and watched the dramatic ascension of our flag over that of the United Kingdom which had dominated all aspects of our existence from I knew myself. It was a moving and proud feeling which I felt to my very core.

 

The intricacies, nuances, and maneuverings of the processes of independence eluded me at that age. As a student though, I along with others at my school were treated to a rendition of the national anthem by Mr. Clement Bethel who visited our school to show us how the anthem should be sung. Of course as students we were informed of all the pomp and pageantry surrounding the first independence celebration, and given details of events which we were expected to attend. I had no inkling then that I would one day become involved in the same political process which had given birth to the need for drive for independence.

 

Seeking independence was a leap of faith which took great self-confidence and courage to execute, and there are still colonies like Turks and Caicos, The Cayman Islands, and Bermuda who have still not embraced self-determination. Brave men and women led us at a time when they could have taken the easy way out, and not bothered to move the nation forward. Those nation builders are to be commended for staying the course which launched the Commonwealth of The Bahamas in 1973.

 

The Bahamas is challenged today on many fronts, but also has much to be proud of in its list of accomplishments.

 

Our economy is only slightly more diverse after forty years, so we are not insulated from periodic downturns in tourism which remains the mainstay of our economy. Yes, we have developed a year-round product, and expanded the base from an exclusive base to one of mass tourism. The broadening of the base has afforded more of us an opportunity to make a living. For example thousands live directly, and in directly, from the spin-off Atlantis’ activities, but we are vulnerable. Which country is not vulnerable these days? The diversification of the economy will challenge Bahamians for decades to come. Forty years from now our children will have to assess how they have managed the national patrimony.

 

We have as a nation paid attention to the social safety net by establishing the National Insurance Board which assures that all Bahamians have access to pensions, and employment compensations. There is no doubt that this institution is a hallmark of success in this country, and remains one of the wealthiest entities in this country. The next step must be a universal health system which does not allow Bahamians to die or remain ill simply because they are poor. National health care must come. It is moral, and it is necessary.

 

Our infrastructure continues to require investments which are often beyond our financial capacity, but successive governments have consistently made the effort to make investments as a precursor to attracting investment, both foreign and domestic. Even the great United States strives for tourism and foreign investment and sometimes falls short as is evidenced by the collapse of several obsolete bridges in several of her states. Certainly our protective services (like the police force) are better equipped for their respective missions forty years on, having benefitted from infrastructural investment. All nations are a work in progress, and that is how we shall ultimately “season our pot” and develop this nation of ours. The allocation of scarce resources is always difficult as choices have to be made and lived with.

 

While Majority Rule resulted in many of us accessing university educations, and the accruing of the attendant benefits to the country did occur, there is now a diminishing return on the dollars invested in education. In other words we are spending more on our educational system but getting less out of it as the nation’s children are less educated, and are ill-equipped for success in today’s world. There will always be success stories, but for the nation to rise, the success must be broad-based and general. We are failing our students. Clearly we need to re-design our educational system, and we must focus not only on academics, but also on programs to minimize anti-social behaviour so that we can experience a continued reduction in crime levels. Attention must be given to a national family planning  program which can seek to ensure that our children’s critical formative years are not marred by need, and deprivation.

 

Our legal system is a nightmare which has developed over forty years and so understandably will not be solved over night. No matter how daunting the challenge, we must seek to make incremental improvements annually, and have the system evaluated annually so that adjustments can be made promptly. If the citizens do not have confidence in the system, we will have anarchy and the perceived unfairness will act like a cancer on our national psyche.

 

We are but an infant as it relates to national development, but if we adhere to a value system which is accepted by our people, then we can grow. I suspect though that the dialogue on what those values are needs to be re-started, and the report by the constitutional commission is only the beginning.

 

I will not be here in forty years, but our children deserve that we hand over to them a nation that reflects our best efforts. In this way forty years from now, they may have fared better than we have. Everything takes time, planning, and effort.

 

Happy birthday Bahamas!!!