Published on Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Here on the 30th birthday of Hairouna and her children are fighting among themselves for her affections. It’s a pity and somewhat ironic that we as Vincentians will be clelebrating the 30th birthday of our Motherland in such a tumultuous, polarised climate. At a time when the nation is to come together and celebrate in true unison; most Vincentians will find it hard to celebrate their country’s independence with a clear conscience; due to the political “wisdom” of our dear leader who decided to play political blackjack with our Constitution.

Unlike these heartless politicians and their sycophantic followers' notion of independence; independence is from a common man’s point of view is not only the sense of belonging, but a sense of contribution and existence in every step that our nation takes, we constitute our nation, it does not constitute us.

We live in a democratic country and have rights of free speech, unrestricted movement, and freedom of choice; even though the current climate in my beloved homeland St Vincent and the Grenadines would put such claims to the test. We cannot and must not allow any Government in power to dictate to us.

The populace is too often caught between the devil and deep blue sea when it comes to political choice in Vincyland; however, it is to be noted that too many of us are guilty of political tribalism rather than political nuance, which further acerbates the political process.

We have been faced with dishonest politicians, betrayal, and mistrust that have pervaded the political sphere for the past thirty years; it is sad to say that true leadership and politicians for the people are concepts that are alien to today’s politicians, caught up as they are in the politics of greed, corruption, and political sophistry.

As we “celebrate” our Independence, let us take some time to learn about what our Government is up to and question their actions if and when necessary, and never settle for hubris, or political spin. Never be afraid to express yourself or hold point of views contrary to the popular thinking; "they" may be wrong, and you, the individual, may be right.

Use this independence to learn, educate yourselves, be a free thinker, make your own decisions, and not be a follower like those political simpletons who only see things from a prostrated position. Many of us have access to the internet, use it wisely; read the news articles and commentaries from "fair and balance" media outlets, information is now at our fingertips.

The more information we have at our disposal, the better we are able to make the right decisions for ourselves and our country…This is what independence means.

As the sun will rise tomorrow…these heartless politicians and their cohorts will preach the good sermon at the “big bash” at the Victoria Park and at the various gatherings that will be taking place across the nation and we for the moment, some of us, will try to forget the many lies and distortions that were said the day before by drowning our sadness in a sea of alcohol and eateries…only to wake up next day and realize the lies and distortions continues unabated…so is the vicious cycle of being in a state of depression.

So with a heavy heart; let me say Happy independence to all Vincentians at home and in the Diaspora.
Don’t cry for me Hairouna.