Maroc - NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 01/Jan 05:57

Not by merely wishing, but working

THE EDITOR: Much as I would like to, I won’t wish this beloved country of ours a Happy New Year for the simple reason that nothing is accomplished by wishing, but by working. And the first thing to work on is to fix the horrendous crime situation which has become almost cultural, almost like part of the national fabric. You can focus on the cause which is complex, but the emphasis must be on the solution. Even here you need to be holistic because of the complexity, but because of the immediacy of the problem a fundamental first step is to revamp the judicial system to send a clear and present signal of deterrence to the would-be criminal that crime does not pay. This can be accomplished in two related ways: first by beefing up the crime detection rate, and, secondly, by ensuring the integrity of evidence necessary to successful criminal prosecution. In both instances a more forensic approach is needed as against a reliance on hearsay, making sure to weed out the elements inside the system that would compromise both strategies, like those colluding with criminals or those manipulating or suppressing evidence to their own advantage, or to that of the criminals they support. One can talk about reform and rehabilitation but deterrence through these two inter-related strategies is a necessary first step in stemming the tsunami of crime which currently overwhelms us. Next we must fix the politics. Our now accepted identity politics of voting according to tribe never serves the country overall, only a select few who benefit from it, like our leaders who exploit it for their own power and longevity, and a few who look for a “mess of pottage" as reward for their own unquestioning loyalty. The result is a culture of nepotism, patronage and privilege negating the meritocracy on which all citizens can draw. Currently the local politics is “full of sound and fury” (Macbeth), trumpeting the idea of service to the people, but to the insightful this is but a facade to the reality of serving themselves in sync with the “you scratch my back and I yours" syndrome articulated above. To combat this we have to either change the Westminster system of first past the post on which this corrupt politics feeds, adopting in its place a system which limits the effect of this voting by race, like proportional representation in Guyana, or, if not, since the present crop of corrupt politicians will not effect such change to their obvious disadvantage, we as citizens, through our vote, must try to implement the 1986 model in which the people, for once, put their tribalism behind and joined forces to vote for the national good. Politics is a dirty game, but we the people have the power to change it. And finally, we must strive for a positive mindset as a people. Our institutions have obviously failed us in fostering the traditional moral compass of right and wrong that we have come to know and live by, for how else can you explain the pervasive murders “most foul” (Macbeth), or the violation of the sanctity of the home, or the bold-faced, greedy politicians, or vendors “digging out your eye” with $25 a pound for “local” tomatoes, or the professionals ready to empty your pockets, inter alia. This all-encompassing violation of the basic tenets of our humanity, reducing to nought the old values of human decency, self-respect and personal dignity, is almost mind-boggling. To counter this would take a lifetime, so ingrained is this aberration in the national psyche, but you in your own little circle can make a beginning with those timeless virtues of old, and, who knows, cumulatively over time we may become a better people. To this end for the New Year, you must work and not merely wish. DR ERROL NARINE BENJAMIN via e-mail The post Not by merely wishing, but working appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.