"When your neighbour’s house on fire, you better wet your roof” (sic).
The older, and the wiser among us are familiar with this expression which needs no elaboration—at least when houses are burning. But when we are speaking figuratively, and encompassing the conflagrations of politics, economics and rioting in our “neighbours’ houses”, even as far away as England and the United States, we need to understand what type of wetting we need to do to protect our homeland and our homes.
Troubles are rising in the world outside. Even in those first world countries which look down disdainfully upon us when we undergo similar trials, cities are burning, people are rioting, and stock markets are collapsing. Meanwhile we here in T&T, in relative comfort and (false) security are working assiduously, albeit disparately, to ignite our homes rather than to wet our roofs.
What is wrong with us all that we fail to understand what we are seeing and hearing from outside?
Troubles are rising in the world outside. Even in those first world countries which look down disdainfully upon us when we undergo similar trials, cities are burning, people are rioting, and stock markets are collapsing. Meanwhile we here in T&T, in relative comfort and (false) security are working assiduously, albeit disparately, to ignite our homes rather than to wet our roofs.
What is wrong with us all that we fail to understand what we are seeing and hearing from outside?
And why is it that we cannot already feel the uncomfortable heat of the glowing embers of conflagration upon which we sit?
Our danger is compounded by the government seemingly unable to articulate the situation without sounding self-serving, insincere and condemnatory. I acknowledge that this is not an easy task—talking into the raging storm of attack upon attack against every step they try to take.
And these attacks, mounted to keep the government off-balance and unable to move forward, all come from one source: The PNM opposition and the leaders of the labour movement. And this is no mis-print on my part.
Notwithstanding the fact that labour has quite correctly, “officially” spurned the recent advances of the PNM, behind the scenes these two entities are working to ignite our society at large, to bring down the government without elections, and damned be the country and all of us!
And where stand the rest of us—the other “estates” of our society? The media, the corporate sector, the churches and the NGO’s?
And where stand the rest of us—the other “estates” of our society? The media, the corporate sector, the churches and the NGO’s?
Well, it is interesting to note that largely these institutions are remaining silent, or if they do speak, they come across entirely as self-serving and not in any way articulating what we like to call the “national interest”.
And this, unfortunately, makes at least the business sector sound utterly hypocritical when they call upon labour to consider the “national interest”. When has the corporate sector (or indeed any sector other than the NGO’s) ever put nation before narrow self-interest?
I wonder at the role of the media sometimes. Reporters who can and do probe deeply every comment and innuendo of every government minister and spokesperson, and capably express their doubts about answers received, seem to turn into silent lambs at the outbursts of people like Rowley, Hinds and Annisette.
I wonder at the role of the media sometimes. Reporters who can and do probe deeply every comment and innuendo of every government minister and spokesperson, and capably express their doubts about answers received, seem to turn into silent lambs at the outbursts of people like Rowley, Hinds and Annisette.
Surely these men have much to answer as they cloak themselves in a morality which was so obviously lacking when they governed this country.
Whether or not we dance around the semantics of a five per cent cap on the dollar value of wage negotiations (which were all due for settlement during the PNM’s self-shortened tenure in government), the fact is that the PNM’s official stance on increases was that they were “inflationary”, and therefore, de facto denied outright!
Whether or not we dance around the semantics of a five per cent cap on the dollar value of wage negotiations (which were all due for settlement during the PNM’s self-shortened tenure in government), the fact is that the PNM’s official stance on increases was that they were “inflationary”, and therefore, de facto denied outright!
Manning stood before his gathered CEPEP sycophants in the Jean Pierre Complex and proclaimed that they all deserved salary increases. And they all cheered lustily at this. And they cheered him further when he said that notwithstanding they “deserved” these increases, they would not get them until “things have improved”. Have things improved?
Why is the media not calling upon the PNM, and indeed Michael Anisette, to explain their positions back then, when they were creating inflation building all those structures on the waterfront and elsewhere, while the population had no water and babies were being roasted in hospital incinerators?
And why is no one calling upon the Integrity Commission to report on its non- performance regarding all the reports before it on Manning and his church, Calder Hart and Karen Nunez-Teshiera’s CLICO affairs?
Why is the media not calling upon the PNM, and indeed Michael Anisette, to explain their positions back then, when they were creating inflation building all those structures on the waterfront and elsewhere, while the population had no water and babies were being roasted in hospital incinerators?
And why is no one calling upon the Integrity Commission to report on its non- performance regarding all the reports before it on Manning and his church, Calder Hart and Karen Nunez-Teshiera’s CLICO affairs?
President Richards, is it within your purview to ask for some update?
And of course, the DPP needs to be called upon, by public demand, to say why he cannot progress his investigations into these matters.
Note that I am not calling on government for answers to the many issues upon which they need to issue clarifications. Everyone else is doing that. I am seeking some balance here. No government in our history has faced this type of incessant interrogation.
What we are doing, or at best allowing to be done, is playing with matches at a time when our neighbours’ houses are burning. Let us all pause, take stock and cool our collective selves, and that will be for the national good!
Note that I am not calling on government for answers to the many issues upon which they need to issue clarifications. Everyone else is doing that. I am seeking some balance here. No government in our history has faced this type of incessant interrogation.
What we are doing, or at best allowing to be done, is playing with matches at a time when our neighbours’ houses are burning. Let us all pause, take stock and cool our collective selves, and that will be for the national good!
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