AT PRESENT, Barbados is celebrating its 50th anniversary of political independence from Britain with an entire year of activities geared towards promoting national pride and industry and overall giving the people of this beautiful country something of which they can truly feel very proud.
Other than the tens of millions of dollars to be spent on the series of events that will be staged to mark this historic moment in the life of the country, the fact that those in authority are willing to leave no stone unturned in commemorating this grand affair in style is a bit of welcoming news.
Clearly, gaining political independence in November 1966 is one thing. What happens in the country culturally, economically, legally, politically and socially following all of the pomp and ceremony is certainly more important because these issues would ultimately shape the society and consequently determine the quality of life of the people going forward.
There is no doubt in this writer’s mind that the cultural environment is one of the most critical aspects of any country’s growth and development not only because of the vast amount of financial resources that can be generated within this industry but also because the true spirit of a people is reflected in the cultural traditions of the country.
And therefore, it is important that every citizen does his or her very best to preserve and promote this essential element of civilization by becoming cultural warriors. Remember, any reflection one does on the past 50 years of nationhood would throw out a mixed bag of good and bad things that would have transpired within our cultural industry.
For example, we could boast of the emergence on the world stage of Barbados’ singing sensation Rihanna, while simultaneously arguing that there is still too much controversy surrounding the staging of our annual Crop Over Festival.
But as cultural warriors, there is a rather simple approach we can adopt in our struggles for improvements in the way things are done throughout this vital industry to redound to the benefit of people and country. All we have to do is embrace the old adage: “If it is not broken, do not fix it.” Can this really be an effective strategy to bring about desired success within the cultural industry in Barbados? The short answer is yes! Why? In his illustrious career as a professional calypsonian, Stedson Red Plastic Bag Wiltshire has demonstrated again and again that not only does he fully understand the meaning of this adage, but also that he is prepared to live as it now seems by this motto and has done wonders when it comes to capturing the hearts and minds of those given the authority to judge the Pic-O-De-Crop calypso competition.
RPB has consistently used a style of writing, musical arrangement and delivery on the night of competition that made his annual contributions to the calypso art form the real envy of many, with tremendous success. The beauty here is that his success can be replicated by others, if only they would adopt a similar strategy that would work for them. Going forward, therefore, the goal of all the cultural warriors out there should be to build upon all of the positives that now permeate the cultural industry here in Barbados and fight to change those things that are hurting progress within this critical industry.
There is absolutely no need to reinvent the wheels. If a particular strategy or policy is having its intended effects, then, keep it and strengthen it if that is possible. What we have to address are those issues that are hurting the industry.
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