Open letter to Kenyatta Lewis

11.JULY.07

Kenyatta,

Here is hoping that the character and wit discerned in your short letter predisposes you to acknowledging a better argument than yours when it is encountered. I found your tongue-in-cheek response to my article quite adorable, and as such, I will disappoint your expectations of a rancid reply. I think we are on the same page in recognition of the fact that SVG as a nation faces extraordinary challenges on social, economical and political fronts.{{more}} However, we diverge on our approach to solutions. While it is true that Dr. Cox can make a contribution to the random grassroots organization here, or the non-profit committee there, these efforts are more of an irregular nature that eventually add up to a big, fat zero in revolutionizing the scheme of things in St. Vincent. Let me borrow your word in the description of this, your substandard suggestion: myopic (sorry).

Mature adults can agree to disagree, and with that in mind, I defend my argument that Dr. Cox should get involved in a more direct and pragmatic fashion. Here’s why, and it is simple: the progress of a nation reflects its leadership. St. Vincent suffers disdain, poverty, corruption, high rates of crime and a myriad of other problems because of its leadership, or more succinctly, failed leadership. As the “President of Cox’s Non-Profit” or the “Chairman of Good Intentions”, Dr. Cox will be contributing only to a small degree and also at a level that is negligible; as such, a tangible impact on the enormous problem we confront will be miniscule, to say the least. This country is not in need of moderate improvement – such as a band-aid on a compound fracture; instead, this nation mandates “heavy artillery” in the urgent quest for survival. Therefore, Dr. Cox and “likeminded” colleagues (again borrowing your word) should “step up to the plate” and take active responsibility in steering this nation along a coast of viable solutions. Dr. Cox himself may agree with me in my assessment that there are too many armchair politicians, and this is why the unfit continue to rule with reckless abandon.

Let me correct your impression that my only solution is forming a political party; my solution also implies the removal of the present government and the revamping of protocol, policy and procedures currently in place. The formation and election of a competent party is just the first step in a process that will take time and patience. Current government is in office by default – meaning that people see no viable alternative. I am advocating an unbeatable alternative that rests on the vision of a new system that benefits all Vincentians while restoring lost pride in our country. I am not suggesting vague and opaque “change”; I am rather championing a very real solution to a very real and pressing concern: St. Vincent’s future. This said, I beg further engagement in your brand of solutions unless you admit your shortcomings and decide to, …uh…well….shut up (no offense meant, of course).

P.S: You should, however, be consulted in the naming of a new party since your creativity is apparent. I would have come up with something lame like PEP (People’s Enlightened Party) or PAC (Party Against Corruption).

John Smith