“Democracy is a device that ensures we shall be governed no better than we deserve.” George Bernard Shaw
Caribbean people are more connected to the free world, espe-cially due to the fact that we cherish our freedoms. Our peo-ple have migrated in the main to three countries, United States of America, Canada and the United Kingdom, while it is claimed that West Indian people can be found in almost every part of the world. The USA has the largest block of migrants from the Caribbean. We are inextricably connected to the economic and social culture of the USA. It is said that when America sneezes, the Caribbean catches the flu. We take our cue from the USA. The big brother relationship is fuelled by the media, especially cable television which makes some of us in the Caribbean more informed than many citizens of the US.
A whole new breed of politicians now represents the citizens of the United States of America. In the past, many of us ad-mired politics, and democracy as applied in the USA. That was until President Donald Trump arrived on the political scene. In the four years of his presidency, he changed the way business is done in Washington. His legacy is being continued in the House and Senate by his GOP colleagues who are doing eve-rything to make it possible for his return to the White House in 2024. Voters’ rights are being trampled upon by State leg-islation that will see his supporters taking over the admin-istration of elections in several states.
In recent times people of colour are being threatened by the political disruption that is taking place in the USA for almost five years continuously by President Trump and leaders of the MAGA Movement which attempted to trample upon the wish-es of the majority of the people on January 6, 2021. That was a day that will long be remembered as the day not for the acts of insurrection but rather as a day when DEMOCRACY triumphed. I believed that on that day many persons who did not believe on a supreme being came to the realisation that Yahweh is real. The most interesting take away is that the near death situation that occurred that day is forgotten by men and women who are willing to say that the insurrection-ists were mere tourists touring the Capitol. How much more can the influence of one man be on people who claim to be free? It was a sad day for the USA. Politicians who continue to peddle a LIE that the elections were stolen and encourage persons to Stop the Steal should be disciplined. The reality is that this is today’s America which was once the bastion of democracy.
The gains made by Black Americans can be severely eroded if the Filibuster is not amended to facilitate the voting rights bills. President Biden must support this initiative and forego his initial bipartisan approach to getting his transformative programmes passed in the House and Senate. Negotiating across the aisle is just not a working proposition when it comes to dealing with the new breed of Republicans. The GOP membership is bent on ensuring that the transformative agenda of President Biden does not succeed.
In spite of all the disruptive racial attacks on people of colour, especially Blacks, they continue to achieve positions in the current administration that give us hope. In recent years, many important positions were held by persons of colour, in-cluding that of the highest office in the land which was held by President Barack Obama who served the maximum of two terms in government. The battle to ensure that there is no hindrance to the gains made in the past must continue and every effort made to expand those gains to ensure humane conditions for all citizens regardless of colour.
It would be amiss of me if I fail to pay my respects at the passing of an illustrious public servant General Colin Luther Powell who served as Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff and Secretary of State in President George W. Bush’s administra-tion.
In the end Democracy will prevail.
Let us continue to pray for life to return to normalcy when we will be able to live to the full, the life we love. Stay safe.
Edward Harris
Freelance Journalist/Realtor/Business Consultant
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