There is enough food, water, energy and natural resources on the planet for every human being. There is just not enough money to pay for it. There never was, and there never will be. Together humanity is marching forward towards a new world, one of absolute equality for every human being, where the illusion known… Read More
Father, Forgive Us; For We Know Not What We Do.
Over the past several months, I have become distraught by the happenings in my beloved country. I have been following the talk shows and listening to the political rallies, and what I have come to realize is that our political system is totally dysfunctional – on its present trajectory, it is bringing out the worst in us. We are hearing and seeing dishonourable and abominable behaviour on the political platform. We are witnessing the ultimate disenfranchisement of the people by the powers-that-be as they undermine the fundamental right of the people to seek redress, when they, via their representatives, lose confidence in the leadership and direction of the people in power. To sidestep this issue is to create a slippery slope of dire precedents that would serve to undermine the integrity and the spirit of our constitution by creating a state no longer governed by the rule of law but one that is now governed by the rule of men. Read More
Some Musings On How We Can Untangle Our Constitutional Knots: From the Letter of the Law and the Rule of Lawyers, to the Spirit of the Law and the Rule of Law
The present parliamentary impasse or political crisis that lay before us was bound to happen. Like most modern nations we are a constitutional democracy governed by the rule of law and not the rule of men, but in this unfolding drama, it appears that it is the rule of men that has gotten the upper hand.… Read More
A Blueprint for Nation Building
Both of my parents had humble beginnings. They were both born in Lebanon, and were not able to finish primary school because of financial constraints. My father emigrated to St. Kitts in the hope of a better life at the age of 22, and with the help of an uncle and a few relatives, he worked as a clerk and then after about 25 years was able to own and run a haberdashery store, and save to buy a house, a few properties, and was ready to raise a family. At the age of 49, he returned to his homeland and married my mom, and when he returned to St. Kitts, I was born the year after. I have a sister and a brother, and our parents were able to send us to university, where we all graduated with advanced degrees and are now using our gifts and talents to serve our communities to the best of our abilities. Read More
From Political Tribalism to National Unity: How do we get from here to there?
It is said that we are defined as individuals and as a collective by the stories we tell and the games we play. As a nation of laws, the stories we tell revolve around our political party affiliations, and the games we play focus on finding the loopholes and the backdoors in our legal system… Read More
A more beautiful St. Kitts and Nevis our hearts tell us is possible: from Political Tribalism to National Unity
Over the past few months, many historical events in our beloved Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis have given me reasons to pause and to ponder as I try to make sense of what is unfolding before our eyes. Both of our lands of beauty have been traumatized by the scourge of our tribalistic politics,… Read More
Is our political system corrupt, and if so, how can we fix it?
A month ago, I saw a presentation The three sides of corruption by Afra Raymond at TEDxPortofSpain. Having seen it several times, I am beginning to wonder if our political system is corrupt. Mr Raymond defined corruption as “the abuse of a position of trust for the benefit of yourself, your friends, family or your… Read More
Watch “The three sides of corruption: Afra Raymond at TEDxPortofSpain” on YouTube
The Empathic Civilization — An Address Before the British Royal Society for the Arts — By Jeremy Rifkin – March 15, 2010
The following address has been reproduced in its entirely as it is the single most important speech that has transformed my worldview and has served as the catalyst for this blog site and my writings. My fervent hope is that you would also be touched and your worldview transformed for the better as mine was.… Read More
Feature Address given at the Basseterre High School Speech Day and Prize Giving Ceremony 2004
Today is a day of reflection, a day of reflection on what we have accomplished, a day on which we ponder how we can build on our accomplishments as we face the future with confidence. Today, we celebrate the achievements of our students who have successfully completed another academic year, in the hope of equipping… Read More