Be not among winebibbers; among riotous eaters of flesh: For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags. – Proverbs 23:20-21
Once more I am caught in the inevitable position of having to make a contribution (which is always a blessing), but having to do so on a day that is such that my comments are “least likely” to be noticed since most of us will understandably have better things to do with our time today.
This has happened twice before; however, on this occasion the “season of great cheer” has been punctuated by the most significant events that the Freundel Stuart administration has grappled with in the past four years.
Sadly, the vast majority of the analysis that has been forthcoming has been misguided and influenced heavily by the sanctimonious perspective adopted by one analyst which allowed him to see the trees, while ignoring the forest.
Naturally, I am anxious to make a contribution to this debate, but perhaps it would be wise to defer these comments until a more appropriate moment.
I do this safe in the knowledge that he who needs to act decisively will also most likely wait patiently.?So perhaps there is no hurry since these matters will still be on the table a week from now and my central thesis will become even more relevant then.
As fate would have it, next Sunday will also be two days after the Jamaica election, which will present an interesting contrast to the recently concluded St Lucia election on account of the fact that the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) made what appears to be a popular shift (mid-term).
Certainly, this JLP shift will require some amount of analysis in the future which will benefit from hindsight.?So this too, should wait, along with a statistical review of the St Lucia election and an analysis of the Guyana election result which I was recently reminded, I am yet to dissect.
On the international scene, this Christmas is a great one for thousands of United States troops who will be spending their first Christmas at home with their families for several years and out of harm’s way in Iraq.
This Christmas gift is perhaps not accidental as is a similar gift which is promised for next year’s celebration; namely the drawdown of the vast majority of the US troops still serving in Afghanistan.
Needless to say, both of these “gifts” are well timed to coincide with the November 2013 US presidential election which few believe that President Obama will lose.
It therefore seems as though this Christmas will pave the way for a 2012 which will be politically exciting with elections likely here in the latter part of the year, along with a similar contest in The Bahamas during May 2012. There are also major electoral contests due in 2013 in the Cayman Islands and Grenada, which might prompt our early attention.
In this regard, Grenada catches the eye since that country’s political scenario could perhaps benefit from comparison with the St Lucia outcome.
This is all exciting stuff for us to consider in 2012. However, it is Christmas Day and it is therefore appropriate that I wish everyone in the NATION’s family Merry Christmas and urge them spend these few moments reflecting on one aspect of Christmas that I find most disturbing, which is our propensity to eat excessively and exercise very little.
Sadly, we live in a country where diplomacy discourages opinion leaders from chastizing us about our eating habits and our proclivity to avoid exertion or exercise.
Unlike most other Barbadians, I have been very vocal about the apparent negative consequences of our traditional diet. Certainly, a cursory exposure to the principles of healthy living should be sufficient to convince even the most cynical that we contribute directly to our ill health by consuming items ranging from pig’s feet, to excessive levels of grease, which might tantalize the palate, but can do little to enhance one’s health.
I am particularly concerned about our fascination with the pig, which can perhaps be “proper” if we confine ourselves to the lean white sections. We are, however, more fascinated by the sections of the porker that the developed world throws at us in buckets of salt, which we pickle, or barbecue and consume with an enthusiasm that is frightening.
During one of my recent tirades about the “convenience” of Christianity, I was reminded that Barbadians don’t appear to remember that the Bible speaks about the need for moderation and condemns the excess of consumption which is referred to as gluttony. This admonition should perhaps give us another reason to approach the table today with greater delicacy.
Merry Christmas to you all!
