BARBADOS IS at a most interesting juncture in its history and its citizens are likely to find themselves faced with an old dilemma that has taken on new and overwhelmingly dangerous proportions.
We are fond of referring to ourselves as a Christian society and a law abiding people, although the evidence these days is suggesting that more and more of our countrymen have a decreasing regard for the values associated with both.
One area in which this is clear is the now almost daily incidents of gunplay, and the hurt and pain that these illegal and indiscriminate actions leave. We also need to factor in the national costs because in many of the cases our health-care system is left to bear the financial burden — at a time when it can least afford.
But why is this a dilemma? All we need to do is take a look at the Internet any day the police respond to acts of lawlessness and see the level of bitter criticism, very often unjustified, that the men and women of the law suffer. There appears to be a not insignificant number of Barbadians at home and abroad who make it their mission to engage in a daily attack on the police.
Discerning Barbadians should also have recognised by now that there appears to be a quite sizeable number of Barbadians, perhaps even a majority, who even if they are not engaged in the use of marijuana, have no difficulty with its general use by others.
They see no harm in its use, all the while giving no thought to the violence and mayhem associated with many of those who use and sell it as well as other illegal drugs. It appears to be lost on many of us that much of the robbery, theft and violence we worry about is perpetrated by individuals who seek money to support their habit and those who have no intention of allowing their “customers” free use of their merchandise.
We need therefore to ask ourselves how Christian and law abiding our society is when so many of its members turn a blind eye or engage in the illegal act of drug use, will involve themselves in violence to support their habit or protect their turf; and will verbally and otherwise attack members of the agency charged with enforcing the law.
And in the face of all this our citizens have become highly sensitive to even the slightest misstep by a law enforcement officer, no doubt fuelled by developments in North America, the pervasive and acutely penetrative power of television, and of course our “better educated” society.
What does a society do when its lawful arms must daily walk a tightrope, and rightly so, while its citizens generally cry out for relief, but among them in sizeable numbers is a lawless subset supported by an even larger number who see nothing, hear nothing and are willing to do even less.
It is a formula for disaster that must be addressed. Unfortunately, it cannot be done by our police or politicians alone — it has to be a truly national effort. And we can choose to act in concert now, or wait until it gets worse and we have to divert an even larger portion of our scarce financial resources to pull it back. Should we reach that stage, it is very likely that the missteps and tactics by law enforcement personnel that cause the society such abhorrence now, will become the strategy which we all clamour to see implemented.
It may be to the benefit of us all if we remember the Biblical injunction:“For they sow the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind.”
