The year of the people

The year 2013 seems to have raced by; in its dying days many of us are wondering where the time went, whereas what we should really be asking ourselves is how was the time spent. I’m almost certain that I was intensely busy, but honesty forces the admission that I’ve fallen short on many of my targets. Viewed as a microcosm of the nation, my life this past year was a series of clearly defined goals, honest intent, earnest struggle but also undeniably self-wrought disappointments. 

Yet I can fathom my flaws, drag myself over a coal pit of inward censure and reset the clock with a vow to do better next year. Before any reset, though, I prepare to accept responsibility for the changes which must be made. 

This is where the parallel between our nation and myself ends. For a country that waded through the muck of four elections this past year, unsurprisingly, the politics achieved no evolution; neither in the people nor the politicians was there any flicker of hope that our understanding of governance and personal responsibility had advanced to an encouraging degree. 

Indeed, it appears as though we embraced the retrograde step of falling back on tribal politics. Citizens retreated to the false comfort of what they know: wrest control of power for “our people.” Retrieve the wounded, burn the dead, fortify the camp and forget all that’s been said. 

http://www.guardian.co.tt/digital/new-members