T&T has been my home for most of my life. I feel like I know, love, and understand my country and its people really well.
I however, always have to work rigorously to reduce my less-than-flattering opinions about here because of the ugly I regularly see and experience. It is so difficult for me to accept that that escalating unpleasantness is part of our national ethos.
T&T is a beautiful place with many positive attributes; I count my blessings regularly. But it is not as wholesome as I think it could be; as I want it to be. Or it could be that I am just a dissatisfied individual plagued by my issues of otherworldliness, that place of my constant introspection.
One recent commenter said I sounded like a "miserable whiner" and I should "get a life." He may well be considered correct in his view, even though that is not my perception of who I am or what I do. But in T&T, we have and enjoy the freedom of placing rabid, public judgment on anyone, pronouncing liberally and confidently.
We enjoy freedom of speech but that freedom has become part of the obnoxiousness of/to our national spirit where we use that liberty for trading public insults as if to cow others from speaking their minds or truth. Attacking people rather than engaging them is now our efficient bearing, symptomatic of the ugly malaise in which we take delight. And believe me, they (malaises) are new every morning.
It's disturbing to see how crass and cruel we behave as a people. But still, attempting to involve others in discussions on these matters is deemed "negative talk" and is quickly deflected, usually with the ploy of humour or marching overtime to convince you that you are wrong, off base or just ungrateful for what we enjoy here.
Sure we have no experience of genocide, or war in T&T, but sometimes our war of words betrays a deeper maliciousness and a hatred equivalent to some of the world's bilious atrocities.
I wonder sometimes if, for us, it's just that the prospect for religious and racial wars and ethnic cleansings have not as yet presented themselves. Then I think, what if they do, would we be able to resist? Or are we as a people underhandedly driven by the same desire for supremacy, harbouring the same depth of hatred for others' humanity?
There is a collective perception and sensibility in T&T to our abuse of the freedoms. A cursory glance at some of the recent exchanges on national issues compounds my view that while we live here mostly compliant, we do not aspire to propagate peace. I do not get the idea that harmony is a core aspiration on our agenda at all; tolerance has gone to hell in a paper boat!
My contemplation is about us wrongly using our right. To continue the discourse on equality, and plug for greater restraint, I'm highlighting more of our human rights and freedoms protected by international law.
All human beings should enjoy the following:
�2 the right to life and the right to live in freedom and safety
�2 the right not to be tortured and the right not to be treated or punished cruelly or inhumanely
�2 the right to be free from slavery or forced labour
�2 the right to liberty and the right not to have your liberty taken away without good reason
�2 the right to freedom of movement and the right to choose where to live
�2 the right to a fair trial and the right to be presumed innocent, until proven guilty, if accused of a crime
�2 the right to privacy and respect for family life
�2 the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, the right to say what you think and share information with others
�2 the right to meet with others publicly and privately and the right to join peaceful associations
�2 the right to marry and have a family
�2 the right to vote in regular democratic elections and to take part in the government of your country
�2 the right to the equal protection of the law, without discrimination
�2 the right to work for a fair wage in a safe and healthy environment and the right to join a trade union
�2 the right to rest and leisure time
�2 the right to social security
�2 the right to an adequate standard of living, including adequate food, clothing and housing
�2 the right to the highest attainable (possible) standard of physical and mental health
�2 the right to education, and the right to take part in the cultural life of your community.
You should be able to enjoy these rights without discrimination of any kind based on your mental health–or any other aspect of your status, such as another disability, your gender, race, age, sexual orientation, marital or family status, or your religion, according to Amnesty International.
Caroline Ravello is a communications and media practitioner. Write to: mindful.tt@gmail.com