You know my political affiliation; I have been loyal to the BLP and that is where my support lies — with the political party as a mechanism for ensuring our continued liberties as well as the social, economic, and political development of all Barbadians.
I do not need to be caught up in the euphoria of political transitioning, but I will say, that my political party is not necessarily acting in a manner that I would have thought enlightened persons who should know better would respond to whatever challenges that exist.
If Mr. Arthur has the support of the MPs, so be it. If Ms. Mottley has been found wanting for support or sheer alacrity, is there not a better way of dealing with the matter as opposed to what appears vulgar to the sensibilities of Barbadians even though it may resonate with glee in the opposing political party. Is it reasonable to suggest that notwithstanding the popularity of Mr. Arthur, the show that has now become a public debacle is debilitating for the BLP as an institution?
Some may ask who am I to say that things could be and ought to be done differently. I am a member of the party that has the interest of the party at heart because that is what Barbados needs to take us forward since the couple of years of stagnation that have been swept into the picture.
I believe that if the MPs need Mr. Arthur and that is the democratic choice, then the deed is done according to what the legal parameters suggest. Moreover, if Barbadians are calling for Mr. Arthur that has to be respected and considered without demonising the incumbent or other contenders because that will seriously become a factor once precedents are set.
Moreover, I believe it is an indictment on the people of Barbados, the Barbados Labour Party, and any others who will argue that ‘there is no one else that can improve the lot for Barbadians or rescue the economy from the bowels of recession’ except we return to an individual who has served the country well and distinguished himself among the very best ever produced to lead Barbados in the post-independent period.
That type of reasoning is backward, self-defeating, and does not inspire confidence for the types of persons we are producing and reproducing as a nation in order to take this Barbados forward. The final decision may strategically be the best one for winning an election, is it the best for advancing our people as a collective.
In wishing the BLP and the DLP well, in hoping that Barbadians get what is in their best interest (deserving or otherwise), I leave you with a quote that you may ponder on while the clutches of power shiver with shame and a sense of forlorn. “Nowhere are prejudices more mistaken for truth, passion for reason, and invective for documentation than politics” (J. Mason Brown). Please, BLP comrades and DLP members, ensure that truth and Barbados walk hand in hand and that they precede ambitions for power.
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