The Bahamas is faced with many, many internal challenges with which it must deal before moving forward into the regional and global world. This obvious fact could be seen from the many issues with which the government has been faced especially during the last three years. Every government ministry in the country is perpetually swamped by problems of every kind, most of which are far from national in scope. Most ministries are so bogged down in minutia or petty shop pork barrelling that they continually miss their calling to govern well nationally and internationally. The result is chaos in the country, and the perpetuation of a very demeaning patronizing system of governance.
Everywhere you turn in this country you see and feel the long and strong tentacles of the giant octopus of government injecting its venom, trying to immobilize you so that you become a lifeless patient on its operating table. The fundamental principle of a nation of equals is far from its mind. Its ideological impetus to governance seems to be motivated by a false sense of theocratic power. God sets up governments and in Godﾴs time He will remove them, and until that time comes a government should have the unquestionable right to govern.
This model of governance looks at citizens not as equals having the same number of brain cells as the leaders. Instead it tries to establish and operate systems to maintain a state of zombies, eunuchs and helpless little children. Every day that God sends it tries to find ways to dominate the news of spreading its debilitating venom. The result is a nation of demotivated people on the one hand and frustrated, confrontational and passively aggressive persons on the other.
The first group waits for government to do everything for them, whether it be to build homes, run airlines or manage hotels and media or mow the lawn. They donﾴt make a move until the ministerial authority tells them to. They are often heard complaining about this and that, the answer to which is “they” should do something about it, or Iﾴm going to see the Minister. The minister then perpetuates the myth of omnipotence by making promises he knows quite well he is unable to fulfill. This merry-go-round of promises, excuses, cover-ups and isolation eventually leads to disenchantment, disgust and replacement through the ballot box, only to start the cycle all over again.
The second group fearlessly stands up for its rights, which at times makes them the enemy of government, and traitors to Godﾴs elect. They refuse to succumb to the opium of theocratic governance, and so they are marginalized, or merely tolerated because they and their ideas are needed to keep the ship from sinking. They are grudgingly called upon when the stamp for credibility is needed for some venture. They, however, will always be seen as a threat to the omnipotent.
The other half of this frustrated, confrontational group is the powerfully disempowered who fall into two sub groups. The one fearlessly and vociferously attacks anyone or anything that attempts to control the individuals who make up this group, who oftentimes feel disconnected and marginalized. They want in, but they do not have the skills to make it by the rules of the system; they are out of control and must be subdued through military and police might.
The other sub-group, the passively aggressive group does little to draw attention to itself. They stealthily move through the system, getting the maximum for the minimum from it. They quietly steal and destroy without ever getting caught. They are the graffiti artists, who enjoy disfiguring “government” property. They lie in wait to do their thing in the dead of night. Some do their thing in broad daylight, whether it be by beating the immigration system, operating web-shops, contravening health and liquor laws and disobeying traffic and street vending laws or taking long lunch breaks.
In all of this chaos there seems to be a common thread — a cry for empowerment, a cry for real freedom and self-sufficiency. Unfortunately the response is, youﾴre not ready. “We,” whoever “we” is, have to do it for you; and so we will more than likely get more of the same ﾖ chaos and unrest.
Vincent L. Ferguson, The Bahama Journal
Email comments to: vlferg@batelnet.bs
