The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune

It may take a while to understand what is going on in the politics of a nation, and for those who have an interest in discerning what is going on a good place to start would be to recognise what the opposing political forces do not talk about and what they agree on. The first obstacle in the way of this exercise is the not too obvious fact that these matters are never discussed in any open forum by anyone who is a politician or who has political aspirations.

There is a similar circumstance when it comes to any discussion involving how the money in the Public Treasury is accessed for political campaigning, I was quite amused when I called into a Talk show to speak about the matter of a politician being acquitted of charges after a lengthy trial. I mentioned that the problem of where the money came from was not being discussed and the host hung up on me and pretended that we were still having a discussion; they tend to do that a lot, you get the impression that some of those who host these programmes are eating from the same table that they pretend to be investigating.

I assume nothing, but the “obviousness” that there is agreement between past and present administrations cannot be overstated enough. The number of UN conventions that we have signed on to, IDB, OECD and EU agreements that all seem necessary to access the funding needed to pay our bills and run this country, comes at a cost that is never discussed by those who have led this nation for the past 70+ years. We even have a Prime Minister who opens his mouth “inadvertently” and we think that he is making a mistake in judgment when the intent may be deflected from the real conversations that should be going on and the local media is like a dog with a fresh bone. Should he have been more concerned about the Saxons than Dorian?

As we proceed into 2020, there must be a shift in focus. I put to my friends of the possibilities that can happen if we spent as much time involved in Nation building as we spend on Junkanoo and, the admonition given to us by the late Jackson Burnside who stated that “we must know what we are looking at”. Those who lead us have an obligation to take us in a direction that weans us from the necessity of having to bow down to the powers that be in the world, so that the road ahead will lead us to a place of national intentionality, but this will require making up our minds about what we need to stand for and be as a nation.

Right now the Bahamas can be likened to a parade going in a particular direction. Those who publicly “oppose” each other politically, economically and socially occupy the left and right lanes and the Public is in the middle. Those in the outer lanes steer the parade in a particular direction while simultaneously shouting into the atmosphere over the masses on the middle so that we can know what the parade is all about and what we need to be talking about. When the parade is over those who have guided the parade meet up to discuss what has transpired and perhaps have a meal, from a new business venture, marrying into each others families or stand as godparents. The masses in the middle go to their separate homes and await the next event.

It is time for the persons paying most of the bills and taxes in this nation to meet and greet and get the conversations going that concern what we should be discussing regarding the future of this nation. If we do not, it is going to be on us and our children.

EDWARD HUTCHESON

Nassau

January 2, 2020