Christopher D. Lowe
It is interesting, with the election of Barak Obama as the President of the United States, the collective voice of public opposition that has arisen namely in opposition to his person and policy. Of course there is also considerable support for him and his policies, although this seems to be waning.
What it has illustrated for me however is that in our country, The Bahamas, we have no “body public” saying much of anything. A few individuals here and there, and for sure, both political parties make the expected noise, but this is not public dissent or even involvement.
We do not know for ourselves where we sit on any issue, nor are we willing to speak up save the occasional indignant and short lived outcry.
There is very little public discourse or consistent counter balance to any policy, Government action or lack of action, no matter how urgent or ill advised it may be. By and large, we as citizens do not know where to sit, as we live largely ignorant of our Constitution and the Laws of the Land.
We have accepted a “rule by personality” and have apparently accepted the assumed power of some personalities and that they know better than we, the people, what is best for us.
“A politician or civil servant can do only that which is prescribed by law, but a citizen can do anything except that which is prohibited by law” is what a Constitution provides for, but we seem to have accepted the opposite, namely:
A politician or Civil Servant can do anything including that which is prohibited by law, a citizen can do only that which they allow.
More and more, the body politic has drifted away from our self proclaimed Constitutional edict:
“This Constitution is the supreme law of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas and, subject to the provisions of this Constitution, if any other law is inconsistent with this Constitution, this Constitution shall prevail and the other law shall, to the extent of the inconsistency, be void.”
And the General Orders, and acts that clearly state procedure, desired function and Authority.
Note I said Authority, not power.
I for one do not wish to be subject to any individual assumed power, and am promised certain safeties and stated freedoms outlined by our Constitution as a Citizen.
Therein lays the source of our national dysfunctions, our increasing crime, our decline as a law abiding society, and the often suspect motives of our political leadership.