The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.

I write in reference to a letter advocating for the legalisation of marijuana which was published in your daily on 20/7/17.

Many Bahamians seem to forget that just a generation ago, tourists came to The Bahamas not for the sun, sand and sea, but for the warmth of its people.

The people of The Bahamas were the country’s most marketable product. Our people were who they were because of the culture in which they were raised. There were strong family and community values, crime rates were low (not absent), people were more honest, God-fearing and hardworking. There were single parent homes, but they were in the minority and most parents seemed to understand their role in raising their children.

Fast forward just a few short years and we witness a major ideological shift as success was equated with having money. It didn’t matter how you became rich. The value of honesty, integrity and hard work was called into question as drug dealers became urban heroes. Street dealers and high ranking government facilitators of drug dealing wrecked the moral foundations of this country. It has not recovered since.

We now see a proliferation of single parent homes where the parents are devoid of understanding their responsibilities to their children and the larger society. Children are starved of the love and care they deserve from their parents. Homes where parents themselves lack the moral and social training to inculcate appropriate values into their children. Homes where children are placed in front of televisions streaming violence, promiscuity and counter-intuitive values. It is the void created by this fundamental breakdown of the most basic unit of society that is the cause of crime and behaviour that seeks acceptance. There are many in this country that do not seem to understand this.

Sociopathy in all its incarnations are a fruit that springs from the seeds of neglect. Our country is in the state it is because of the accumulation of the consequences of individual choice. Poor choices!

Marijuana is not the problem, it never was. It has no appeal at all to many, but it appeals to too many who feel the need to escape or to feel a sense of community with others who use it to ease their pain. The author stated that “...legalising marijuana will save many of our young men from murder...” I argue that raising them properly will probably save a great deal more and make a stronger country in the process.

JB

Nassau,

July 20, 2017.