What have you done for your country lately?What have you done for your country ever?The words of John F Kennedy ring truer now than ever before: "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." Because while T&T is a wonderful land it is also in crisis–one that maybe we, ourselves, can avert.
T&T is a wonderful land. We all grew up knowing education was the key to success, an important lesson not every developing country citizen is taught. We all grew up with friends of every religion and hue, knowing that there was strength in diversity, another important lesson that rips apart countries which pay no heed to it. We all grew up in a newly independent nation knowing that our destiny was our own to fashion as only we can, and only we could.
T&T is a wonderful land. There are no wars, natural disasters, economic slump or military state. Some countries today are afflicted with all of the above. We continue to grow, no, flourish. The population is more educated than ever before. More people can afford to buy cars, homes, smartphones and computers. We are on the whole upwardly mobile, independent and prosperous.
T&T is also a plagued land. Crime is as endemic as the air we breathe. Everywhere is caked in litter. As construction of skyscrapers skyrockets, historical buildings and other landmarks fall apart, even the house of the President. Businessplaces crop up in residential areas, homes on the mountainside, and then we complain about the traffic and flooding. Sewerage dances among the waves on the beaches. Endangered turtles are bulldozed or used as horses for Facebook photo-ops.
T&T is a plagued land. We've become a silly, petty people. To get ahead of just one car on the road is to "win" especially if it means making an illegal manoeuvre. We still make racist comments on the campaign trail and are forced to apologise to those who "perceived" it that way.
We bitch about T&T as much as we declare our love for it. "T&T is a beautiful place but..." is the most common refrain. We are all guilty of doing something wrong, perhaps every day. Perhaps if we all resolve this new year to better not only ourselves but also our country, if we all resolve to do just one thing differently or right or legal for a change, we can bring about that much needed social change we desire to get our country back on track.
What we can do
As citizens we can resolve never, ever to litter even with a cigarette butt. We can resolve always to find a bin no matter where we are: on the street, on the beach, outside of work, in the malls. Let us feel good about walking the streets instead of being filled with dread.As pedestrians, we can resolve always to cross the street at the pedestrian crossing. This way no driver can ever give us wrong, traffic congestion would decrease and urban life would be more organised.
As drivers we can resolve never to drive above a certain speed, never to use the shoulder as a lane, never to overtake on the left, never to cut in front of cars on the highways, never to break the lights, never to drive drunk no matter how "capable" we think we are.
As workers we can resolve always to do a good day's work instead of the least possible. We can resolve to treat coworkers with dignity, to use our downtime to read up on what's going on in our industries so that we remain competitive instead of listening in on the latest gossip. The world is moving fast and the only way to keep up is to stay informed.
As homeowners, we can resolve to keep our surroundings clean even when the authorities don't. It is our land, too, our communities, and we should act like we are a part of it not apart from it. The drains, the rubbish, the bush, the vacant lots...take some pride in where you live.
As people we can resolve to live more fully as part of our society. We can resolve to remove those nasty slurs forever from our vocabulary, to treat everyone with deference, to treat others as we'd have them treat us. When a store clerk is rude, don't be rude back. When someone gives you a bad drive, give someone else an ease-up.
These things might sound trite but they are all the components of a good, functioning society: obeying the law, treating others with respect, keeping a clean scene, ridding the mind of negative thoughts, playing an active role in nation-building every day. For once, let us make new-year resolutions that benefit everybody, that help to build our country. Let us realise that if we are dissatisfied with our country then we, as the people of this country, are the ones who can make it better.
Here's to a new year, T&T.
