Recently I reposted a short video online which I had done to herald the beginning of 2014. The feature hinged on illustrations of how each of us has some responsibility to bear in perpetuating the sort of society we live in.The message was simple, don't park in a manner that inconveniences others, observe the laws of the road, don't litter, etc.
For the most part viewers of the video were in agreement. There were though, some predictable comments which amply demonstrate why such a video was necessary."We need a garbage bag for this government" (a reference to my remarks about littering)."Great video, what you need to do next is get it on all the television stations."
The remark about getting the video distributed on TV is particularly interesting. If people thought the message worthy and important enough for a wider audience they could have gone to the Facebook pages of the TV stations and inveigled them to broadcast it. As far as I am aware, no one did that.Some people just missed the point entirely, but this is not unusual.
I am often approached by people who say "Pallo I does always read yuh column, I doh miss it on a Saturday morning. But I fine yuh duzzen pong de government enough!"In this column's early life a fair bit of attention was devoted to acerbic analysis of the previous administration. The trend carried over to the current administration, picking apart early failures and unfulfilled promises until something dawned on me.
Many people view columnists, community activists and self-styled lobby groups as a means to avoid actually doing anything themselves to change this country.A couple years ago I posted a video denouncing illegal garbage disposal at Orange Valley on the West Coast, a complex and vibrant ecosystem supporting numerous species of birds.Everyone was happy to share in the enmity with their "Trinis too stink" and all this.
When the Orange Valley village council decided to stage a clean-up of mountains of discarded diapers, computer monitors and furniture, I exhorted folks on Facebook to cash in their disgust with action.When the day of the clean-up arrived, of all the people patting me on my back for having illuminated the problem, only three of them showed up to pitch in.
We have developed a consummate skill for compartmentalising our lives. Anything beyond our immediate sphere of interest, our friends and family, is either the responsibility of a government agency or some omnipotent force. For many people, the former and the latter are one in the same.Not too long ago a friend was trying to rally support in his community to shore up a collapsing culvert.
The plan was to raise some funds, purchase the material and he would do the modest construction himself. He got no takers and it is entirely conceivable that everyone in the community, thinking this to be the domain of the local government body preferred to have the culvert crumble entirely before lifting a finger to do something about it themselves.
There is always someone else who supposed to "seebout dat." In food courts across the country, flies cavort over tables strewn with the leavings of the lunchtime crowd. Filthy food trays are piled with fast food boxes. The number of people who actually believe that the responsibility of the custodial staff is to clean up after them is staggering."If we clean up, they will be out of a job." That is a supposedly serious remark online.
This egregious lack of consideration extends not only to every other aspect of life but it permeates all socio economic strata in our society. Motorists routinely park on the main road to buy doubles or to nip into the "hardwares." The only explanation ever offered is, "Buh whey yuh wah me pak?"
Maraval has been prone to congestion for decades, the road at the entrance to this area was widened to provide a modicum of relief in the vicinity of the roundabout. Can you guess what's happening now? That's right, people are parking on either side of the roadway which was widened to provide a measure of relief. It is tempting to think that it is people driving "old pram" who are doing that sort of thing, and you would be wrong.
All of these are examples of our failures as a society, and our strident reluctance to accept that we shirk our responsibility to transform the culture. This is easily done because we heap all of this responsibility on politicians who we apparently believe to be foreigners! Our politicians are an accurate reflection of who we are as a people.As one person said recently there are 1.3 million people living in this country and less than 50 cabinet ministers.
When we begin to accept our responsibility to ourselves and our country, then and only then will the quality of politicians offering themselves for public service show any appreciable improvement.If we truly want a better T&T we must stop looking to others and look within.