Maroc - NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 18/Dec 09:30

Towards a better Christmas

THE EDITOR: Life is never easy. There are moments of tremendous joy, spending time with family, going to the beach, partying, and prayer. But one cannot stop the rain, the drought, the sudden misfortunes, the accidents, and the news of illness. All of these and so much more – financial failures, struggle for housing, and finding the daily meal – are challenges that humans face daily. Some people must face things like war and famines. It gets worse when you lose someone close to you. Throughout the entire journey of life, we struggle to understand how God in his mercies and love for humankind allow such pain and suffering. As we enter this period of Christmas where we tend to seek to be more friendly and caring, it may be pertinent to look at what we can do to make our lives better. One of the ways we manage our lives is through government. It is not possible for each of us to personally educate our children, look after our healthcare, keep our community clean, ensure that our neighbourhood is safe, and manage the many services necessary for survival. We, through election and other means, assign these duties to people who are tasked to make life in our communities better. This is a tremendous responsibility. It was never conceived that these representatives of the community were to see themselves as demigods and exploiters of the people who elected them to serve. It was never anticipated that the people who put them in office would have to beg them to do all in their power to improve the quality of life for those in the community. As we enter the season of giving, we should see the brotherhood of humankind and not the differing qualities that allow for discrimination. If there is any real belief in the Christmas story, that one person came on Earth to teach us to love one another and to share what we have with others, we would act differently. We would begin to understand that in this world the storms will not cease, but that it is how we manage the storms that will determine our fate. We would learn to appreciate the beauty of variety and learn to love the fact that, just like there are beautiful varieties of plants and animals, humankind comes in different races and faces. We would learn to understand that our best life is experienced when we live in harmony with each other. It is with this in mind that I pray that our elected representatives seek to serve instead of being served, to recognise that we can make TT the perfect paradise if we find the political will to do what is best for our country. We must find a way to appreciate our differences, but never lose sight of the face that we are one people in one beautiful country. Let us come together this Christmas and afterwards to unite in our effort to make life for all in TT much better. STEVE ALVAREZ via e-mail The post Towards a better Christmas appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.