The Tribune

By MALCOLM STRACHAN

AFTER a week where the news cycle covered the usual – the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian and immigration issues - what also crept into the spotlight was the face-off between the Bahamas Christian Council and LGBTIQ and human rights advocates Rights Bahamas. Now, while this is certainly a heavy topic, this article’s purpose for mentioning it is not to harp over the issues, but to consider how these issues and others affect the course of our country’s future.

Last week, Canada returned incumbent Liberal Party and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau back to parliament as the minority government. What was interesting about the lead-up to their elections when comparing with ours was that Canadian voters may seem very indifferent towards politics, as they seemingly don’t wear it on their sleeves.

However, after analysing the campaign platforms of the various leaders - and how their platforms resonated with average citizens - what was revealed was their citizenry’s engagement in their democracy showed a people informed on the issues. Juxtaposed with that is the fact that in recent years Canada has been one of the top performers on rankings of the world’s best governed countries and quality of life standings.

There is a novel thought. If we were to mirror the same in our democracy, there would be a possibility we can achieve some of the same benefits.

Who would’ve thought?

But herein lies the problem. While still a political toddler, we have developed some terrible habits that are becoming increasingly harder to break.

As party politics has created a lazy electorate and arguably even lazier government, we continue to spiral down a path where the most educated look at the disparities between the way The Bahamas is governed compared with the likes of Canada and want to run for the hills – or even Canada itself.

Although a growing sector of society is beginning to reject partisan politics, Bahamians generally still find comfort in their affiliation or support of the PLP and FNM. And despite 50-plus years of this model giving us proof that this system does not work, you can guarantee that silly season – so validly coined – will bring out seas of red and yellow to political rallies where the goal is to sell dreams to the drunken masses in hopes it translates to an election win. Mind-numbingly, the fact the majority of Bahamians do not see a problem with a political party’s manifesto being symbolic of nothing more than something that, at best, can be used as toilet paper is a mammoth-sized problem.

For years, researchers have been studying the efficacy of voter information on government performance and the results are consistent – a more informed populace enhances electoral accountability and motivates a government to perform at its best. Likewise, in democracies where voters are uneducated or have little information about government policies - corruption, poor economic performance and a host of other societal ills prevail.

So where are we on the spectrum? How many Bahamians can honestly say they have a grasp of what the hot button issues are leading into the next election – and more than what they are, but also how are they impacted on an individual level?

Simply looking at how Hurricane Dorian has exposed so much of what is wrong about how our country operates, how many Bahamians can honestly look themselves in the mirror and say we function like a population that has ambitions of being recognised in the First World?

Certainly, there are political actors who support freedom of information. But without mass organisation and grassroots campaigning that is not promoting its own self-seeking agenda, all efforts to create a meaningful piece of legislation are impotent. More than that, if citizens are not concerned with becoming informed, then what good does freedom of information even provide?

Just as fast as the first half of the Minnis administration’s term in government has gone, the second half will go even faster once campaign season really comes into effect. And as we canvas the political landscape to seek out the next political directorate, we are not challenging any potential administration to rise to the occasion of advancing our nation forward.

Instead, we allow emotion rather than logic to guide our handling of the nation’s issues. Hence, when we should be demanding the government legislate the Freedom of Information Act, table the Disaster Preparedness plan leading up to a storm, or for the new ministry responsible to give us insight into what the plan will be going forward, particularly with a renewed hurricane season less than a year away or for a clear indication of what the nation’s immigration policy will be, we rather bicker about who’s a “sissy” and how the “hytians” are taking over.

Very mature of us, wouldn’t you say?

Furthermore, our reluctance to grow up politically and societally will only yield more of the same failures that we continue to experience.

The Good Book offers us a sobering meditation: “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” While this was written in a spiritual context, it is no less true as we continue to deal with circumstances that handicap our society.

The Bahamian people will serve themselves greatly by becoming informed on the issues so when campaign season commences, aspiring Parliamentarians will have their work cut out for them. This will be a significant step in improving our democracy.