OF Steel and Fire

 I have been told that in some Orthodox Jewish households children are not allowed to enjoy any pocket money unless they performed some basic household chore. Even small children are asked to wash dishes or clean their parents’ shoes before they benefited from pocket money. It is believed that this practice continues to this day to instill in Jewish children that nothing of value is achieved without effort. In other words, they are told that there are no free “lunches” in life. It is accepted, that having worked hard to achieve a goal, one tends to treasure it. 

This writer was driven to cite this aspect of Jewish social life after observing the meteoric rise of Opposition Leader, David Thompson, on the political landscape of Barbados. It is generally felt by a wide cross section of the Barbadian society that the ease with which Thompson achieved his life’s goals has insulated him from the daily struggles of the ordinary man in the street. In practically every area of life privileges were bestowed on him even though he claimed that he worked at one of the outlets of Mrs Mirchandani to earn pocket money during his school boy days. However, a cursory examination of his career would show that he was given a safe seat in St John on the death of the Right Excellent Errol Barrow in 1987; given access to Barrow’s legal practice and handed the leadership of the Democartic Labour Party after its implosion in 1994. Finally, after walking away from the leadership of the party following the St Thomas by-election, it was returned to him following a well executed palace coup which removed the then Leader of the Opposition, Clyde Mascoll, from the leadership of the party.

 

It has been said that “the finest steel has to go through the hottest fire”. Experience has shown that the individual who was able to overcome the challenges of life eventually emerges a better person. In fact, the celebrated author, Ernest Hemingway, once said : ” The world braeks everyone, then some become strong in the broken places.” While Thompson enjoyed an almost hassel-free passage in his political career, Prime Minister Owen Arthur has been tested in his like the Biblical character, Job. As a result of these challenges Arthur has become strong in the broken places. beginning in 1984, Arthur was defeated by one vote by the DLP candidate, Sybil Leacock, but returned to defeat her at a later poll. Again although displaying academic brilliance, he was almost buried among such outstanding political figures as Sir Henry, Sir David Simmons and Sir Richard Cheltenham.

 

Thompson needs to recognise as a matter of urgency that Barbadians do not vote for a leader because he possesses outstanding oratorical skills or because of his sartorial elegance. Speaking in the House of Assembly on the passing of the late Errol Barrow, one parliamentarian was moved to say: ” Nobody carries charisma to a shop, nobody wears charisma, nobody eats charisma, nobody lives in charismaand therefore to believe that any man born of a woman can present himself no matter how attractive he looks and how attractively packaged he is and that black working class people of this country would swallow himbecause he has these mystical qualities, is to assume ignorance on the part of the people.” The speaker mainatined that at the end of the day the electorate must be told what is in the political process for them.

 

Keen student of the humanities that Arthur is, he has recognised that real-politik dictates that the material and emotional needs of the people must be addressed if he is the gain their allegiance. Faced with these realities, Arthue has put programmes in place to empower the sons and daughters of the working class. Even though some contractors employed by the Urban Development Commission and the Rural Development Commission have abused the system, it cannot be contradicted that these two agencies provided a ray of hope to the “small man” who wanted to take control of his life. Freedom comes with self-employment, and there is no meaningful capital accumulation where one is employed by another person.

 

At another level, Arthur has sought to restore the self-esteem of some erstwhile DLP supporters and members whose academic brillance remained unrecognised by Thompson. Thompson needs to recognise that Grantley Adams and Errol barrow did not become national heroes because of some mystical attribute called charisma. In their professional careers and later in their political careers, they used their skills and power to assist the dispossessed. Older Barbadians may recall that Barrow plucked the late Wendell McClean, Professor Frank Alleyne, and Dr Farley Brathwaite from the Ivory Tower of the Cave Hill Campus to assist him in national building. Are we to believe that THompson fears talented people because of a lack of confidence in his? You may recall that recently Thompson accused some potiticians of attemting to intellectualise politics. However, he must be reminded that everything in life begins withan idea.