WILD COOT – Youth is the future

THE WAY the Americans regard the 4th of July remembrance is almost ritualistic. Theirs is a way of life that has traditionally held sacred the freedom of the individual and the right to life and liberty. The famous statue heralds those who worship democracy to come and partake, to come and join and to come and be a part of the new day. Never mind that there are a few organisational kinks nowadays, as the melting pot starts to thicken and overflow.  Such thoughts assaulted the left and wicked side of my brain a few days ago, and that side can be very “igrunt”. I started to wonder. Do we show such patriotism on the 30th of November, the date when we shed our colonial shackles and floundered into the deep without air-floats? Since then how have we fared? We have not gone back to the “mother country” begging for a little bubby, we have not gone to anyone looking for hand-outs, we have joined the world international order and paid our way. We are among the Top 20 in the world human index. Do you not think that that is an achievement? To live in one of the most “beautifullest” spots on the globe! So we must step back and consider just how this has been achieved. Firstly, is our respect for law and order. Recently on a BBC programme, people from all over the world were carping about the corruption and lack of trust in their respective police forces. It was uncanny. One did not dare to cooperate with the police for fear that the cooperation would backfire and the informer become a target. This is not so in Barbados and one would be surprised at the level of cooperation given to the police force. Second, there is respect for human lives. All around us, on the outside, are examples of indifference to the right to live. That is not so in Barbados (although they should “hing” a few criminals). There is tolerance (although a few weed smokers should be given a break). There is freedom of worship. Any preacher or bogeyman can set up shop at the street corner and begin to “holler”. Get a few fellows to cooperate and you can attract people to your assembly hall or tent on the belief, true or false, that healing is in the air.  There is freedom to love. Whether you are old or young (not too young), black or white, khaki or red, love is available once you say the right words, mind your children and, in the case of men, pay the rent. When you are in need of advice, go to Christine, Miss Reid or Dr Ruth and you will never be disappointed. Do not attribute this to luck. It is the tolerance and levelheadedness of the people and their leaders that make it so. Yes, we are elephantine in some ways. Women want to know the man’s pedigree before the first kiss, but after that you are ok. We squabble and quarrel but meet a little later at the village rum shop to fire a few. We make the pudding and souse snort on Saturdays. Pigtail and salt meat (not for diabetics) got to find holes.  We respect the elderly. People even call me “dads”. I count myself fortunate to have been born and lived in Barbados these “umpteen” years although I enjoyed Jamaica when Jamaica was at its best. What we need to care about is that our legacy to the youth is as good or even better than the peace and goodwill that we all have enjoyed. The move to increase the number and the support for the camps during the summer holidays is a good one. Here we can collar the young ones, grab them by the scruff of their necks, and try to instil in them positive values before cultural penetration from the television and the internet weave their odious venom.