Once upon a time political rhetoric would be heightened in the months leading up to a general election but virtually disappear in the month after, or so it appeared in St. Lucia. Now, politics seem to have engulfed the atmosphere in the near eight months since the last general elections on December 1st, emulating the post-poll environment in the last decade.
Every facet of our lives has been injected with political spin that, on occasion, is vile, lacking respect for our social fabric and seemingly promoting indiscipline, the rot that has been identified as possibly St. Lucia’s number one ailment.
Is this what life has become in St. Lucia? Are we to believe that politics is what drives our existence?
Who is to blame? We must concede that is the politicians themselves, aided and abetted by the minions who benefit directly from the proceeds of the consolidated fund and tax-payer contributions.
In more recent years, the once revered St. Lucia Jazz Festival has fallen prey to local politics with cries that the festival is either being used to promote “de party” or shine a deceptive light on tourism numbers. The recently concluded, and still continuing Lucian Carnival, has also had its day in the spotlight. Even Jounen Kweyol has not been spared.
The church has, on occasion, been roped in or chimed in on various local issues and, on occasion, has been torn to sheds particularly on social media.
Did somebody say the health care industry?
The police, whether by their own hand or not, have had their two minutes on center stage. Interestingly but not surprising, with regards to the police, the prime minister has openly taken the decision to refrain from interfering in police operational matters with the provision of resources and equipment being his only involvement.
Everyone laments that crime should not be politicized yet it remains the hottest topic for party loyalists with many claiming the other political party is ill equipped to handle crime and that crime is worse during the reign of the other. The plain truth is that crime has not seen good days under either administration so the talking point that suggest that there were more murders during any particular period is futile and frankly abhorrent.
Fortunately, the one area that has not been bombarded with political rhetoric on a regularly basis is the sporting industry, or at least so we believe.
Another truth is that political posturing on critical issues accomplishes absolutely nothing except further animating the already faithful party supporters and, correlatively, drive wedges between members of the different factions.
It was suggested once, as part of a broader discussion, that we should seek to adopt a political system that reflects what exists in the United States. If the hope was that this would help the issues at hand then we obviously have not looked at what is going on in the US critically.
If we are to move away from this worsening position of politicizing, particularly issues of national importance, the leaders and their adherents – men and women of both political persuasions -, must make a conscious decision to do so. Parliament building remains the venue to deal with the majority of those issues. They must also exercise restraint in the construction of their rhetoric and be mindful of the possible long-term effects of their messages on the societal fabric.
Then again, could this be wishful thinking?