Where politics has so poisoned the minds and souls of so many Bahamians, we don’t see right and wrong as right and wrong – we only see something as right or wrong depending on who it is done to or who is involved. If we support the people involved, then what they do is right in our eyes no matter what. If we don’t support the people involved, then whatever wrongdoing done to them is “good for them.”
As long as the Party or politician we support does something, then it is right to us – even when it is clearly, morally, ethically and lawfully wrong or inhumane. And as long as the Party or politician we do not support does something, then it is wrong to us – even when it is clearly, morally, ethically and lawfully right or fully humane. And this is true of supporters of all political Parties – no group of supporters is exempt, as this happens both between Parties as well as within Parties.
Our moral and ethical compasses are not rooted in basic human decency or the rule of law. They are rooted in what color t-shirt we wear and what we think support of that color can do for us personally. We can claim Christianity and faith all we want to, but for many of us the true gods of our souls are not supernatural; they are mere men – many of whom are men who have done or are doing more to destroy this country than build it.
And because we have been taught to revere these men even above our own common sensibilities, we do not see truth, seek truth, speak truth or even want truth – unless that “truth” is in line with our reverence of our political idols.
It is our sickest sickness in this Bahamas, and many politicians do not want a vaccine or a cure for it – because as long as this sickness persists, their domination remains. And many Bahamians do not want a vaccine or a cure for it either – because as long as the sickness persists, they do not have to work to break the chains, see the value of their own God-given worth, and look within themselves for the keys to their own freedom.
Sharon Turner
