“If a man be gracious and courteous to strangers, it shows he is a
citizen of the world, and that his heart is no island cut off from other
lands, but a continent that joins to them.” – Francis Bacon
A boorish patina has crept into the public utterances of members of the Government that more and more Barbadians are remarking on as both unnecessary and foreign to the Barbadian way. Some admittedly are less appalling than others, but by and large they set a poor example for our young people in particular and for our citizens in general.
The recent public roasting of the Minister of Education, Ronald Jones for his repeated public badmouthing of the teaching fraternity is a fine example of a people who have said enough is enough.
Of course, Mr. Jones was the first member of the Cabinet to accuse public servants of obstructing his government’s programmes very early in the life of this Parliament.
We found his baseless accusations then to be in bad taste and we are therefore not entirely surprised that he has continued on this course. If Mr. Jones will not defend and support the teachers under his charge, who will? Certainly not the Minister of Family, Dr. Byer-Suckoo, who evidently needs a lesson in how to leave good enough alone. “Follow pattern kill Cadogan,” dear doctor.
None other than the Prime Minister himself has made a clarion call of the saying ‘ever so welcome, wait for a call’ as if this is some cute rebuke to an over anxious suitor. Uttered in the context of his still emerging managed migration policy, it is nothing short of offensive and he ought to listen more to the public servants schooled in the art of diplomatic language and less to his political advisor.
The skill set required to mount a political campaign has little in common with the complexities of running a government and it is all too evident when the political advisor finds himself out of his depth.
But then who could forget the sentence uttered in a fit of pique and immortalized in calypso by our Ambassador-in-waiting to China, “if you don’t like it, lump it.” How can we expect a neophyte Minister of Health to resist criticism of a Caricom Head of government with these as examples?
It is one thing to disagree and even argue in private and another entirely to insult public servants and Heads of government in public. It is no good for the Prime Minister to repeatedly voice dissatisfaction with his own perception that his Cabinet is not seen as comprising ‘brand name’ politicians, if by his own example he does little to dissuade Barbadians otherwise.
The tone and tenor of the national personality are all too easily influenced by the words of political leaders. It is high time that the Government raises the bar and sets an example of tolerance, open, even if spirited, discussion, respect and plain good manners for our young people.
As life in Barbados becomes more and more fast-paced we must not lose sight of the characteristics that have made us what we are as a people. We must return that spirit of industriousness, service, pride in a job well done and the desire to achieve for our children more than our parents did for us if we are to rise to the top in a world where high value is placed on these qualities. They have stood us in good stead in the past and we must continue to use them as the foundation of development for the future.
