Dear Madame Secretary of State, welcome to my beautiful island home. Please convey to your distinguished President our very best wishes for continued good health, wisdom and success in his endeavors to improve the lot of the American people.
In Barbados we have a saying that “So and So like they kill a priest”. What this essentially means is that the person appears to be on the receiving end of a strain of bad luck; brought on as recompense for an act most dastardly. In most instances, however, as is the case with President Obama, the streak of misfortune is not so easily explained and is often times surmised as continuously “pulling a bad hand”.
How else, Madam Secretary, could one explain misfortunes, one after the other, in Mr. Obama’s mere 18 month presidency? History shows that a succession of crises can sink confidence in a leader. Yet, somewhat reassuringly, President Obama prevails. It’s as if he is being put through the hottest fires, to prove his true metal.
Matt Bai, writing in the New York Times of Sunday, June 6th, commented that President Obama is that rare politician who is also a gifted writer, and that he understands the power of a good metaphor. Bai asserts that Obama could therefore appreciate the poetic significance of that cloud of oil, ubiquitous on cable television all last week, spewing endlessly from a 5, 000-foot-deep puncture in the Gulf of Mexico.
Mr. Obama’s administration, too, had been breached, and the accumulating cloud threatened to obscure its considerable achievements – particularly the comprehensive reforms of health care and federal education spending – as the President heads toward the halfway point in his term.
Here in Barbados, we know the scene oh so well! Mr. Obama’s counterpart, Hon. David Thompson, has also endured his fair share of challenges in the first half of his five year term. As could be expected, most of them mirror those of President Obama and, on top of those, they are others. The burden of our dear leader is heavier. It’s been an unprecedented round of bad hands. Yet, he prevails and there is that silver lining on the horizon which suggests that ultimately, joy will come in the morning.
Circumstances such as these serve to remind us that there is that rare breed of politician who, like the proverbial phoenix, rises continuously from the ashes and eventually brings the trophy home. In the depth of adversity and despair, you look around and you recognize that there are not many, if any at all, who could navigate their way through such a maze of obstacles. It is then that you appreciate the might, character and qualities of that chosen one.
This writer is on record as highlighting the distinct similarities in attributes and experiences of President Obama and Prime Minister Thompson. Current respective crises are further testimony of their true molten state, where you wonder for what, exactly, are they being prepared.
Madame Secretary, the worst economic crisis in living memory has not deterred our respective leaders from plugging away with major social reforms that will one day be chronicled as having reshaped the lives and lot of a civilization.
Hard fought for reforms in education and health care are about to bear fruit and this oil spill will not dampen or minimize their impact on ordinary Americans. Similarly, there is little that can be done here in Barbados to erase the far reaching benefits of removing obstacles and of empowering children to discover, pursue and attain their full potential as well as re-instill family families.
In our respective countries, indeed in this western hemispheric region, we have made considerable strides in the areas of physical and infrastructural development. There is little genius now in spearheading the building of roads and bridges and even maximum security prisons. That is par for the course.
An enlightened and well functioning civil service would eventually achieve such with little or no input from the politician. In these parts today, we do not need leaders to chart the path of a super highway or determine the number of beds in a multipurpose general hospital. We also do not rely on politicians to assess and determine the best source and structure of a bridging loan or the type of initiatives necessary to make up a budget revenue shortfall. That is why we have that ‘mass of occupation’, commonly referred to as the public service.
This region is searching for and in need of leaders who essentially can calm waters; avoid conflict, defend and uphold rights and freedoms, instil values and empower citizens with opportunities to do and become their best. We need leaders who will inspire. We need leaders who will motivate and bring out the best in each of us. Former Prime Minister Owen Arthur was right. We need leaders on whose lives we can pattern the lives of our children.
In yesteryear’s experience, we had Abraham Lincoln and George Washington in America and Bussa and Samuel Jackman Prescod in Barbados. Since then we have had Kennedy and Reagan in America and Adams and Barrow in Barbados.
Could there be merit in the assumption that the next watershed in our respective journeys will be led by Obama in America and Thompson in Barbados? Is this the crucible for which they are being prepared? Are the so called bad hands they have been dealt part of the preparation process? Are we finally about to usher in a new level of meaningful development in this region?
Is that why there was change in Trinidad and Tobago? Is current cleansing in Jamaica a part of the necessary process? Was the earthquake in Haiti required so as to open our eyes? What will be the role of Guyana in all this? Is that why we are hearing now of the possibility of a multi ethnic, multi racial political entity in that country? And, whither the Eastern Caribbean? Is the much vaunted OECS economic union a necessary precursor to their coming on board?
These are interesting and exciting times in our Caribbean. We welcome you, Madame Secretary. Somehow, one gets the feeling that there is a major role for you to play in this evolving matrix.
Hartley Henry is a Regional Political Strategist. He can be reached at hartleyhenry@gmail.com
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