Editor: As a citizen and a voter I am alarmed and angered by the change in our value system that seems to have become accepted over the past 15 years of ULP rule. The public at large, with little or no corrective from the press, now accepts Government fiat, declaration and simply statements issued from either the Prime Minister’s mouth, or any organ (Ministry) of his Government as the final say on a new course or direction of the country.{{more}}

Questionable or inept behaviour by law enforcement or appointees or high level officials are covered over or dismissed as inconsequential. Is this a legitimization of a new standard of ethical conduct for the nation? I can’t get away with that kind of behaviour and maybe you can’t (depending on who you are), but THEY can. So are we being conditioned to ask: how do “WE” become “THEY”?

A whole new moral construct has been put forth. How does one assess human worth in the face of an outworn but prevailing political tribalism? Totemic images of a national saviour have replaced the concept of political discourse. There is no longer a contest between political ideologies, or clearly articulated statements of position on social, economic, or foreign policy. It is now a contest between a Supreme Leader and lesser beings who dare to challenge his populism.

So now, we are preparing ourselves in St Vincent and the Grenadines to accept the negation of rational thought, and dismiss reasoned dialogue in favour of an overwhelming tidal wave of hero worship and support for a further continuance of 15 years of political chicanery.

Will our choice, ultimately, be simply a warning to the future, an example of perfidy and mob rule? Or do we have the numbers, the strength and nobility to overcome corruption and despair and to choose more wisely than we have in the past? Historically, we have taken what we can get. It’s your country. Where are you going to take on Election Day?

It’s my sense of humour that allows me to ask such rhetorical questions, when I already know the answer.

Joe