In 1988, a political and social anthem by popular American singer/songwriter Tracy Chapman titled “Talkin’ Bout a Revolution” was released.
The song speaks to the teeming frustrations of the poor and disenfranchised in American society, with Chapman heralding, “poor people gonna rise up and get their share, poor people gonna rise up and take what’s theirs”.
As those vying to contest the next general election gear up for the battle ahead, rumblings of disenchantment are mushrooming throughout the population, as average Bahamians insist, as Chapman crooned, that it is time for the tables of access and advancement to turn.
Since Perspective’s inception, we have sought to provide readers with insight into the inner working of the country’s system of government, with an emphasis on recognizing that lasting change in any society emanates from the bottom up, and not the other way around.
Contrary to what many still believe, national transformation cannot solely come on the shoulders of one man or a relatively small group of men and women elected to office.
There can be no governance without people to govern — people whose mindsets and willingness to work to create the nation they wish to see, ultimately hold the key to whether The Bahamas progresses or regresses.
Such transformation begins with each and every citizen recognizing that in order to change the country, one must change himself or herself through embracing self-improvement, committing to knowledge and education, and taking an active role in one’s democracy beyond casting a ballot on Election Day.
It is impossible to ignore and underestimate the struggles of the disenfranchised where self-awareness, civic involvement and education are esteemed, because the same necessarily seeks inclusion and paths to advancement as a means of building a stronger society.
The factors that contribute to economic, social and political stagnation in The Bahamas are diverse and cannot be comprehensively addressed in a single article.
For the purposes of this piece, we will focus on what continues to be a pervasive factor undermining efforts at nation building and social cohesion necessary to bring about the kinds of changes Bahamians wish to see.
That factor is the polarization and cannibalism, which emanates from the way we support political parties and politicians in our country.
To hurt one is to hurt all
It is argued that as the population becomes younger, blind allegiance to a political party becomes less a feature of the society than has classically existed.
Nevertheless, there are still far too many of us who put politics before progress and political support before the greater good of the nation, establishing the poles of our moral and ethical compass at how we feel about who commits an act, as opposed to whether the act itself is right, wrong or legal.
Because the political class wields considerable power and influence in our country, some Bahamians who see affiliation with politicians as their best chance at upward mobility or access they would otherwise be blocked from, are willing to stop at nothing to gain a politician’s favor, even if it means damaging another Bahamian to do so.
Part of this dynamic involves a recognition of the hierarchy of power and progress in one’s society, while also cutting to the heart of how we see ourselves and others as members of the same human family.
No man or woman is an island, and any wound inflicted on one person has the multiplier effect of hurting others, but this is a reality many do not think about when they embark on journeys of tearing down to get ahead.
You cannot hurt a mother without causing hurt to a child, and to hurt a child is to hurt the country’s viability.
You cannot hurt a father without hurting the chances of your nation producing the kinds of seeds that when well-nurtured, make for a brighter tomorrow.
A Ghanian proverb states: “The ruin of a nation begins in the homes of its people.”
One application we can take from this word of wisdom is that whenever we damage our fellow Bahamian, we contribute to damage in the home to which he or she belongs, chipping away at the foundation of the very nation to which we swear allegiance.
And that damage, in pursuit of political or personal objectives, can take on many forms, including defamation and libel, discrimination, and committing or inducing acts that can cause emotional distress or physical harm.
In a culture where a majority of citizens openly or tacitly accept the tearing down of one another, the poor and disenfranchised will have little chance of advancement, because every effort at social readjustment will be sabotaged by those who cannot see the bigger picture beyond their desires or needs.
Elected officials have their roles and responsibilities in the society which they are duty bound to satisfy and which many do not satisfy, contributing to disenfranchisement and social regression.
But to continue to point to the failures of the political class as the sole reason the country is experiencing failure in different areas, disempowers the citizenry and causes us to look away from the ways in which we utilize power and proximity thereto, to dehumanize others.
Regardless of which party wins at the polls, if Bahamians persist in political cannibalism and the assigning of value to one another based on political affiliation, the average Bahamian will continue to be the loser.
Criminal complaint
By now, many Bahamians would be aware of allegations levied via social media by activist Lincoln Bain against Health Minister Renward Wells and individuals purported to be Free National Movement (FNM) “war room” operatives.
The allegations, which have since gone viral, were the substance of a criminal complaint filed last week, according to Bain.
When questioned by Perspective last Friday on whether Bain filed a criminal complaint against Wells and others, Police Press Liaison Assistant Superintendent Audley Peters said, “a complaint was lodged by Mr. Lincoln Bain with the Criminal Investigation Department [and] that matter is being investigated”.
When asked whether anyone had been brought in for questioning in connection with the complaint, Peters would only restate that the matter is being investigated.
Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis told reporters, “I don’t want to get into it”, when questioned about the controversy involving a member of his Cabinet and purported FNM supporters.
While it is for the justice system to determine the outcome of Bain’s criminal complaint, Minnis failed to demonstrate leadership when he refused to speak to the issue.
The internet makes the world a very small place, and what is said via the internet – whether true or false — has the ability to influence users, particularly if internet posters carry a degree of influence in their own right.
It is, therefore, not in the interest of the nation or the FNM, for the prime minister to make no effort to disabuse Bahamians and the world of the notion that the party and government he leads either supports, condones or suborns alleged acts of criminality in an attempt to further political objectives.
The prime minister displayed similar contempt for the responsibilities of good governance when he would not distance himself and his government from colorist and homophobic diatribes and threats of disorderly conduct, uttered and doubled-down on by a government appointee to the board of the Water and Sewerage Corporation.
Even if authorities were to determine that no laws were broken by those against whom Bain’s criminal complaint was filed, the appearance of alleged impropriety ought to trigger a leader committed to good governance, to address the matter head on.
By refusing to do so, the prime minister leaves Bahamians wide open to conclude that the governing party may not be opposed to alleged violations against others for political purposes.
This conclusion sows a dangerous seed in the consciousness of our society, the harvest of which is not unfamiliar to Bahamians, but whose stubborn and invasive roots continue to choke the life out of prospects for a better Bahamas.
Bain’s allegations stemmed from actions purportedly discussed in a recorded phone conversation, which he played live on Facebook; conversations the participants did not appear to know had been intercepted.
It is unknown how Bain came to be in possession of the recordings, and it is unknown whether any of the participants gave consent for a recording of their conversation to be published.
Section 28, Subsection 1 of the Interception of Communications Act 2018 — informally known as the “Spy Bill” — states: “any person who communicates or publishes to any other person a private conversation or a report or the substance, meaning or purport of a private conversation that has come to his knowledge as a result of the use of a listening device used in contravention of Section 27 of this act, commits an offense against this act.”
Section 27 outlines the offense of a person using a listening device to hear, listen to or record a private conversation to which he is not a party, with exceptions regarding the authorized use of such a device, or the unintentional hearing of a private conversation over a telephone.
And Section 28, Subsection 2 states: “any person who, having been a party to a private conversation, and having used a listening device to hear, listen to or record that conversation, subsequently communicates or publishes to any other person any record of the conversation made directly or indirectly by the use of a listening device, commits an offense against this act.”
Subsections 1 and 2 are subject to provisions of subsection 3, which outline conditions including where parties to a conversation consent to its publishing or communication, and where an intercepted communication is shared with a person whose interest in the private communication justifies the sharing thereof.
We make no accusation of illegality on the part of Bain or any other person with respect to the published recordings, but make note of the provisions of law regarding the interception of private communications, so that members of the public would be aware of how they ought to operate with private communications they either intercept, are made aware of, or are a party to.
It is important for legislators, law enforcement, community leaders and social activists to ensure that their actions in pursuit of their objectives are legal and just, and appear to be legal and just, for the sake of impressionable Bahamians who mean well in their civic participation, but who may not recognize when their actions cross the line of what is reasonable and justifiable in the eyes of the law.
Anything to win
Political parties are formed to contest and win elections, but those who are willing to do anything to win are not worthy of the people they seek to govern.
Parties and candidates should use all reasonable and legal means to get their message to voters, and should work tirelessly to convince the electorate that they are worthy of the people’s mandate.
But that work should never entail efforts to ruin another Bahamian, because after elections we all must live together in this country, and no Bahamian and those they love should suffer loss because of one’s constitutional right to political affiliation or social activism.
As election season ramps up, leaders of the country’s two major political parties and of third parties, must weigh with humility the gravity of the influence they hold, and must always take careful account of the messages they convey through their words and actions, or lack thereof.
While winning is the desire, love of country over love of power prompts limits to that desire.
Right-thinking Bahamians have had their fill of politicians who are prepared to do anything to win, but will not expend nearly the same effort to better the lives of Bahamians once elected to office.
There is a status quo of economic ownership that some Bahamians are fighting to revolutionize.
And then there is the status quo of disunity and division for the sake of politics that has served the few at the expense of the many for far too long.
The Bahamian people must collectively accept their share of responsibility for keeping that status quo alive, and make the necessary changes to destroy it at the roots.
When we revolutionize the way we see ourselves and treat one another, and we recognize that our greatest strength lies in valuing fellow Bahamians, whether we know or associate with them or not, revolutions to the economic and social status quo the average Bahamian is fed up with, can naturally evolve.
The post Talkin’ bout a revolution appeared first on The Nassau Guardian.
source https://thenassauguardian.com/talkin-bout-a-revolution/
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