Something is dreadfully out of whack in today’s Bahamas.
Here of late, no day seems to pass when the attentive public is not regaled with one hair-raising report or the other concerning this community notable or the other who is obliged to fend of allegations that they have corrupted their offices.
The Bahamas is a paradoxical place. It seems to be an exemplar of that kind of place where corruption is woven into the very fabric of society, a place where very many people routinely break and flout rules laid down by both God and Man.
It sometimes seems as if The Bahamas is an example of that kind of place where people are encouraged to do whatever, whenever and to whomsoever, so long as they can somehow evade sanction or punishment.
It sometimes seems to be a place where sin comes without shame and where crimes that are committed by a select few always seem to go unpunished, even when they have been recognized.
The Bahamas is also an exemplar of that kind of place where there is always a lot of talk and chatter about righteousness and the rule of law.
The Bahamas is also a place where most Bahamians routinely assert their blessed connections to the Almighty, but where at the same time it is also a place where practically everyone knows some successful criminals or others of their ilk who have been able to get away with crimes of their choice.
Indeed, there are instances where crime and law breaking are so routine that those involved in them never take a break. Some have -quite literally speaking- made a career of wrong doing, conniving and lying.
Regrettably, some of these rogues are deeply rooted throughout this society. Some occupy posts in the public service, others in the professions and quite a few in the clergy. Their collective motto seems to be ‘every man for himself and God for us all”.
They are sometimes given to advising and oftentimes boasting among themselves that it ‘ain’t what you know, but who you know’ that matters most of all.
Put otherwise, theirs is a culture that glorifies ‘getting over’ by whatever means. In the rare instance, when behaviour is particularly egregious, these crooked ones routinely explore the extent to which victims can be bought off.
Regrettably, this is precisely what happens in case after case.
In recent times the blaming finger has been pointed in the direction of crooked Defense force workers. On other occasions, the same blaming finger is pointed in the direction of people in the church.
Sadly, the outcome is quite often painfully predictable. First there is an alarm to the effect that all is not well in this or that institution and that this or that prominent individual might be involved in serious impropriety.
Thereafter there is whispered talk about some one who is about to be charged. And then lo and behold, there is other talk about how the matter would look were it to be opened up for public scrutiny.
And thereafter, there are whispered words about money and as to how this person or those people have been paid for their silence. After that nothing.
We have said it before that The Bahamas is a place where practically anything goes, and a place where it is said that everyone and everything has a price. Today we are constrained to say again that this country is corrupted to the core.
We admit that on first blush that this characterization might seem a bit harsh. But on examination, the truth in this depiction is not too hard to find.
While we do not necessarily agree with this cynical piece of street philosophy, we are coming to the point where we cannot dismiss it out of hand.
No day passes when there is not one report or the other that speaks to the social costs of this high and rising incidence of corruption, crime and violence in this country.
Here we find a perfect instance where the innocent are made to pay for the guilty. They pay dearly for being decent, law abiding citizens. In the meantime, their crooked brethren apparently go and grow from strength to strength.
With this in mind, today we remind all and sundry that this is one sure road to anarchy and chaos for The Bahamas. This path signals the end of the rule of law and the institutionalization of the law of the jungle.
Editorial from The Bahama Journal
