A long time coming…

11.MAR.11

Editor: For weeks now, I have been promising to write something. To summarize what I thought went wrong in the 2010 campaign for NDP; to reassure those disappointed by the outcome that there is still hope. Many times I began this piece and the words would not come. Each time, I felt a “hollowness” to the sentiments.{{more}} To the reasons that seem so well founded in fact and yet…

It is true that no government has served out a term with only a 1 seat majority, and yet… It is true that SVG is bankrupt and stunted developmentally, and yet… It is true that people are tired of living in fear and intimidation and yet… There is an ‘uneasiness’ in the pit of my stomach. Maybe it comes from living in a place that pretends so much and offers so little. Maybe it’s the sight of so many striving to break the bonds that hold them, while others simply laugh at them telling them they’re not there. Maybe it’s the knowledge of how self-involved persons have become.

There appear to be two SVGs: the one that ULPites live in and the place NDPites live, and it seems that nothing can convince the persons on the other side that their SVG is real. Is SVG a country that is rapidly expanding, on the cusp of something great and wonderful? Or is it a place that is dying, in dire need of some rejuvenation? I think this is why I’m uneasy. NDP supporters should ask themselves: if elections were held tomorrow who would win? Would the results be the same? Sadly enough, I think that the current government would retain their tenuous grasp on power. But, as I constantly ask myself, why is this? Why are we unable to make persons see the damage being done? What keeps them from seeing that things are going terribly wrong?

Moreover, the events on the 3rd of March were an inevitable outcome of two SVGs clashing: the government – who rightly believe that they have a mandate from the people to carry out their agenda (a small majority is still a majority, and in a democracy, the majority rules) – and the opposition, who which despite the support of nearly half the country, is relatively powerless. A proper government, in my opinion, would not have pushed for this particular piece of legislation. Particularly since they insist that the constitution already endows these powers. What a useless piece of tripe this legislation is! And yet, this became another opportunity for them to lord their power over a sizeable minority that already feels oppressed. Why this need to goad? Then, it became the ‘correct’ thing for them to drag elected officials out of Parliament and beat people. And, of course, I come here and see the inhabitants of the first SVG patting themselves on the back and celebrating this loss of humanity.

Let me ask you celebrants, when the Egyptians rioted without end, did you stop to say I wonder what the opposition’s agenda was or did you just think ‘resign already Mubarak!’ Did you stop to think how many highways Mubarak built, or how many schools he established? Whenever a government uses brute force on its citizens, it is a stain on the consciences of people as surely as blood stained the ground in front of the courthouse today. So go ahead and make martyrs of the opposition. Do you know what happens to martyrs that survive their trials? They become elected.

Nevertheless, I have to ask myself: Where will this all lead? Does the NDP have the stomach for more of what happened today? Because Ralph Gonsalves does. And so do those who worship at the altar of ULP. This is not an easy road. People will say “You are destroying SVG!” or “Can’t you put your country first instead of playing politics?” To them I say: Is it putting your country first when you back down from what you believe in to keep the peace?

For some of us, there is no other choice. When everything you do to build this country is thwarted at every turn, do you simply walk away? Do you abandon the country that spurns your contribution? Or do you stand and fight?

A Concerned Citizen.