The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.

The fourth of July fireworks orchestrated each year by the major resorts of the capital are a farce. Comedic, ludicrous, verging on the absurd – each time I experience them I cannot help but wonder: will The Bahamas ever become self-aware?

Annually, I am attacked by the impression that I am the only Bahamian who feels lighting fireworks for another nation’s independence is an act of self-abasement. To me, the light show is one of the most sinister spectacles our specific brand of tourism has ever engineered. It is an act of accommodation, of acquiescence, of cultural adulteration so dire that I am embarrassed to even state that it takes place in my country. That so little has been done to analyse its wider implications for Bahamian society is concerning to say the least.

For those who unfamiliar with the phenomenon, each year on the fourth of July Baha Mar and Atlantis light fireworks to celebrate the independence of the United States – the country from which the bulk of their guests originate. What likely began as a harmless amusement for the touristic majority has turned into a tradition which signifies a broader, disturbing trend in The Bahamas, namely the seemingly thoughtless submission to the impulses of US cultural imperialism. We are very quick to criticise any actions which hark back to British imperial rule, such as the waving of the Union Jack at certain seaside establishments, but I find we are far less likely to discern, and especially deflect, the seemingly endless encroachment of American values, customs, and goods across our archipelago.

On the fourth of July, we should be celebrating CARICOM Day – not the independence of the foremost imperial power of our time. We should be studying the Treaty of Chaguaramas and connecting with our Caribbean neighbours – with whom we share so many historical and cultural ties. I consider myself not only a Bahamian citizen, but a son of the Caribbean. And each year, witnessing those towering resorts, the site of so much self-eroding commerce, light fireworks for a country we ourselves struggle to be independent of, I cannot help but feel enraged. The fireworks are a farce. Am I the only one who believes as much?

On this issue, I can’t help but feel as if, as Walcott offered, I’m either nobody, or a nation.

ETHAN KNOWLES

Nassau, Bahamas.

July 4, 2023