We all wish for certain things in the future and hope our wishes manifest.
My wish is for our people to assess the true picture of things in St. Lucia.
For example, are we really dealing with the situation of crime in this country? If the police force employed another 200 officers, would it solve the problem? Or do we continue and refuse to deal with the root cause and expect changes.
The same question can be asked about the unemployment situation: Can we create a dent in that sector with the absence of meaningful jobs and only look towards the Tourism Industry to resolve the issue?
How long will we as a people expect to get better representation from our political representatives if we don’t hold them responsible for the constant bluffs?
Can health care improve if it takes more than twelve years to build a needed hospital?
Can education improve if the only modules used are those of the past and ignore the new trends needed to effect change? Can talk, changing only some things and borrowing be the only solution to our economic needs? Can we not have true consultation and truthful conclusions to chart the way forward? Is it only from external consultants that we can get a progressive blueprint for growth?
I wish we can change our mindset and deal with our situation with honesty, call a spade a spade, reject false representatives and start to jail some white-collar criminals, those who pay and instruct petty criminals to commit crimes, as well as those that take pride in purchasing stolen items.
All these are my wishes not only for 2021 but also for the coming years. The bluff must stop, we must know the causes and deal with the issues and solve the problems.
There are many ways to skin a cat, but we cannot continue to pussyfoot and dance around the problem and pretend that the way we continue to do things in this island is righteous and that if better can’t be done, then worse will continue — and the blame should be shared by us all.
Nothing in life stays the same, everything around the world is changing, even our God-given freedoms we are forced to adapt. We are forced to toe the line, yet for most if not all, stay satisfied with our present.
I pity the weak. I feel sorry for the hopeless, but I know that only we the people can make a difference, but only if we wake up and smell the coffee. We can’t continue allowing ourselves to be counted among ‘the living dead’, or the world will pass us by.
Oh, how I wish some of my wishes would come true.