A Labour supporter
Politics is politics; though matter how you look at it. Political parties on a whole rarely seem to share anything in common, but the similarities are revealed if you know where to look.
It’s 2008 – by 2010 the present Labour Government would have already announced the date for the next general elections. And once again, the fate of Dominica hangs in the balance – as it did five years ago and five years before that.
And here again, the same questions are popping up in everyone mind: can we afford another five years of disparity? Can we afford to let it all come crashing down around us, with THAT party in office, now that the world economies are going through their worst financial crisis?
While they may be the same questions…maybe they’re not the right questions. Maybe we should be asking: why do they believe the way they do? How are we going to work together, if we can’t change each others’ minds? What makes us think so differently, anyway?
And why are these questions the same all over the world?
Contrary to popular belief, politics also happen outside of Dominica, and for the same reason: there’s a fundamental difference in how Dominicans living in the diaspora and how Dominicans living at home see the island. One thing is clear: we can no longer afford to ignore or condescend to people we don’t understand or agree with.
In the end, we ARE from the same island – and it’s facing some very pressing issues. We must shed our “differences†and work together if we’re going to solve them. And we must do this NOW.
Let’s change our perspective of each other, not just our location, because how we approach today’s questions is a question only we can answer.
I am certain that the best solutions to the world’s economic problems are most likely to be the least popular. That worries me because of the general lack of both wisdom and backbone among the world’s political leaders.
I am encouraged a little bit only because the clearly inferior Bush administration is exiting, soon to be replaced by what appears to be a wiser, more caring, more courageous Obama administration.
The ecomomic health of the US and the other most wealthy nations has dramatic, although indirect, effect in Dominica. Dominica can’t be healthy if the US, UK, Europe, China, et. al. are sick.
Talking of wisdom…Politicians sometimes forget that the real power is in the hand of the masses. Patrick John, dominica’s first Prime Minister, found this out the hard way. But sometimes the masses forget that too, and go with the sway of the loudest political voice. The key to making the wisest decision is to be educated on the issues. Not just community issues, but appreciating the big picture. I hope we can all work together on that front. An educated populace (that goes for the Diasporans too, who can still vote – they neeed to be fully plugged in on the developments in the island) is important in making the right choice at the poll. Remaining informed is also important to keep the politicians in check when they are in office. Clearly we have a case where the PM does not feel like he has to be responsive or held accountable on national issues impacted by his stewardship. He has to understand that he is the servant of the people. The people must also be able to hold his feet to the fire.