I've never culturally felt like a Bahamian: and for many reasons which I will state; I don't particularly like Conch Salad, Conch Fritters, Or Crack Conch like that unless I’m really feeling it, which is rare! I’m also not the biggest fan of Junkanoo or Bahamian Music, although I have attended parades before as well as some Bahamian songs are catchy and I know the lyrics, I don’t go out of my way to listen to it like I would Mariah Carey, Beyonce, Emeli Sande and I think you get my point! Now before you try to “come for me,” you should know that if you’re going to accuse me of being unpatriotic, then I agree with you one hundred percent. This post is as unpatriotic as they get - but you should also know that everything I say or do is intentional and so is this post! I am unapologetic about this unpatriotic post because in order for me to write what I am attempting to write, it has to be from an unbiased perspective and the ultimate goal is to speak the truth. Unfortunately this truth maybe harsh and not easy to swallow!
Nevertheless, as I sit and reflect about our political atmosphere going into the general elections: I'm not registered because I just don’t want to vote! For some reason or another I just can't align my self with anything because most of it (politics, that is) is the same perpetual, traditional, garbage that has been regurgitated by those before us! And unfortunately, I don't do well with following in dysfunctional paths or paths that no longer clearly work! Which brings me to this side note: I’ve continually heard and seen the unfair and misleading statement that if you do not vote you, then you do not have a voice and I feel with all my heart that this kind of trickery needs to be addressed! First and foremost let me say that to suggest that this statement is true, is an insult to any intelligent thinking person. It is within my power and right to vote, if, I am led to be apart of the parliamentary proceedings and/or choose to refrain from participation in any of them. Based upon the information that I am familiar with and I have done extensive research in relation to all of the topics I speak to (although I admit I don’t know everything), I do not feel that it is within my best interest to participate in the upcoming elections because I see no direct benefits for me perpetuating the same political cycle of dysfunction within The Bahamas.
Nonetheless, as a free individual I reserve the right at any given time to change my mind as well as, you have the right to disagree with my stance. What you do not have the right to do, is propagate a lie to subconsciously force people to participate in something they wish not to: its called manipulation! Myself, alongside many other political dissidents have for years respected your right to be politically charged and involved in your respective parties, even if, we believe that their policies resemble the perpetual smell and inextinguishable burning flames of the infamous dump located on New Providence! All we ask is that you respect our right not to want to participate and still speak on matters that concern us, because after-all we do live here!
With that being said, therefore I adamantly don't want to be Bahamian if:
Instead of having intellectual debates, our way of political dialogue happens through political rallies where we slander our opponents and talk about matters like our opponents sex life or orientation: which by the way, have no relevance to those issues that are facing our country, that is unless they are illegal which for the most part is never the case. Most of these discussions are rooted in what the Bahamian society labels as abnormal, socially unacceptable behaviours, which is not a crime at all!
Ignorance is glorified as a way of life with the majority of the populace indulging in misinformation and gossip instead of being equipped with the necessary information to make informed decisions as it relates to voting, referendums and other critical matters!
Prejudice and Discrimination are the norm of our country and we hold contempt those who choose a different way of life that we cannot understand or simply choose to ostracize because it is socially abnormal to us. This includes Jamaicans, Haitians, Cubans, Phillipinos, Lesbians, Homosexuals, Transgenders and all other people who are misfits. It is not limited to any group and includes those incarcerated for matters that are deemed to be “socially unacceptable!”
We continue to ignore that our failure as a country to comprehend that our stagnation is a direct correlation between the lack of diversity represented racially and inventively and the pluralistic values which accompany them that underscores the very essence of every country that is on the cutting edge of social, technological and political development.
We celebrate and encourage the tyrannical use and abuse of power granted by the Bahamian voting populace; through the continuous voting in of the same leaders who: have been found involved in corruption, that is deliberate - in that it causes Bahamians to pay higher taxes, sells crown land which belongs to the Bahamian people, poses a potential harm to the national debt and the possibility of our dollar being devalued and last causes Bahamians to incur financial hardship at the expense of their personal agenda and pockets!
Our idea of effective governance is predicated upon party politics and cronyism to climb the ladder of success instead of Research and Educational reform to help build a better nation that is successive and progressive for future generations to come!
We insist on selling our natural resources such as oranges, grapefruits, craw-fish, grouper, aragonite, salt and others only to import them back into the country under foreign labels that declare they were made outside of the country because we insist on not building and investing in manufacturing plants that would lead to the development of our agricultural industry. This alone would enable to us to be a self sustaining country enabling us to feed our population and reduce the number of foreign imports dramatically!
If we insist on cultivating inferior industries that cannot keep up with the fast moving pace of the world community because we want to have a monopoly on; the way things are run; where the money flows and whose hands it flows in which ultimately is an oligarch or exclusive group of people that are in control of the masses!
In conclusion, John Kennedy’s famous “ask not what your country can do for you but rather what you can do for your country” quote would have been a great way to end this if it wasn’t for the fact that it was quoted out of context and I wasn’t looking to take the traditional route to encourage you to rise to some utterly worthless Bahamian patriotic duty! With that being said, since President Kennedy or his speechwriter plagiarized Khalil Gibran and never gave him the credit as far as I know; you should know that the original context for those words were aimed at Lebanese politicians to whom Gibran was writing an open letter to in Arabic during the fall of the Ottoman Empire in 1925. Hopefully these words will strike a chord in the hearts of the readers who even if aligned with this current administration are just willing to admit the truth. I urge you to stand up not for your country, but for love, truth and freedom which are exclusively independent of your patriotic duty, yet even more important than the image we portray to those neighbouring us and the delusions we create for comfort!