Issues that have never been adequately addressed on political platforms during this election campaign are racial sensitivity, inclusion and diversity.
These are important subjects in our ethnically diverse nation and are even more critical now with the very charged debate that has erupted over racist portrayals and references at the height of the campaign.
This underscores the fragile state of race relations in this country and how, particularly during election seasons, that undercurrent of mistrust which runs between the two largest groups in T&T, Africans and East Indians, becomes more prevalent
Racial stereotypes and derogatory racial epithets should have no place in a multicultural society. That would be ideal. Unfortunately, party politics in this country has been promoted along lines of race and campaigns are regarded by too many eligible voters as a struggle for African or East Indian supremacy.
Even individuals who do not consider themselves to be racist get caught up in this divisive form of politics, not seeing the bigger picture of the harm being inflicted on the soul of the nation.
That is why it is so important to shift away from these long-standing electoral practices and begin the very necessary work of eliminating racism from our society as a whole.
It must begin with an acknowledgement by every right-thinking citizen that racism and all other forms of discrimination is a cancer that must be removed. It is unhealthy to harbour or perpetrate unfavourable or discriminatory attitudes or belief towards others on the basis of skin colour or ethnicity.
But this is the ugliness that manifests too often and in the relative anonymity of social media, offensive and insulting posts have become much too common. This behaviour takes us into dark places with negative consequences for the nation
It may not be possible to be entirely free of racial prejudice. But these latest incidents on the campaign trail highlight how important it is to identify and address racism. No system or mindset that perpetuates unearned privileges for some and imposes undeserved restrictions on others should ever be tolerated in this country.
That unfortunate connection between politics and race must be eradicated once and for all. It prevents too many of our citizens from achieving their full potential and making a valuable contribution to society.
Any individual or group that engages in racist actions actively contributes to the weakening of our nation.
Most importantly, every candidate seeking political office needs to understand how racism in any form goes against the democratic ideals upon which T&T was founded.
For every creed and race to truly find an equal place here, strategies must be developed to address discrimination on the basis of race. It is important to develop thorough and multifaceted ways of dealing with racial exclusion and injustice.
Deliberately, systematically and explicitly, our leaders need to deal with racism so that T&T can finally become a just and healthy nation.