An American television reporter recently indicated that he had difficulty understanding how Republicans who are supposed to be pro religion, pro-family, pro-decency and pro-honesty hated Obama and love Trump. It is easy to understand, our local politician, Basdeo Panday, answered that question years ago when he indicated that politics has a morality of its own. I have friends and family who swear that they don’t have a racial bone in their body but never voted outside their ethnicity and never will. They find all kinds of excuses to explain the ills of those they support.
Our media are replete with calls for leaders with a vision for T&T, someone whose life is a history of service to people and whose dignity is unquestionable. They want a leader who can offer realistic, attainable solutions to crime, the economy, infrastructure and healthcare. If one were to be guided by their action one can easily question the sincerity of their pronouncements.
In T&T we have scholars in our universities with opinions on a variety of topics. These people can offer refreshing new ideas and perspectives on a variety of topics. Our media, however, seem to prefer the same old personnel that we have been hearing for ages. Speak of any topic and you see the same old faces with their same old perspectives.
It is no different with politics. One wonders if one must be bordering on outrageous, loud, quarrelsome and divisive to be invited to television to share one’s political views. The Democratic Party of Trinidad and Tobago (DPTT) is one of the few small political parties that fought a general election contesting 10 seats in the 2001 general election and continues to make suggestions for a better T&T. The views of its political leader are not outrageous, there has never been any effort to disparage anyone’s character or to veer off the track of seeking that which is best for T&T by its leader Steve Alvarez. Each week I write on a variety of topics that are relevant to the development of T&T. Some topics are published in the daily newspaper, but many are simply ignored.
The last time I was on morning television on a regular basis, Paolo Kernahan, Andy Johnson and Dr Keith Clifford were the regular hosts. I am not seeking free publicity for the DPTT or myself. I am simply pointing out that if we are sincere in seeking that which is best for our nation we ought to look beyond the same personnel with the same old ideas and poor examples for our children.
If the best we can portray are people who lack respect for our public office holders, persons who cannot criticise policies and management practices without disparaging the person’s character and persons whose track record is so outrageous that some are before our courts for a variety of reasons, then we are in a very sad place.
It is time for us to look deep inside and ask ourselves is it possible to embrace that which is best for our nation and let go of the racial prejudices that plague us. Or is the morality of politics so biased that it is impossible to consider viable alternatives?
God bless our nation.
STEVE ALVAREZ
