Submitted by June Naime
The Spirit of Independence means to me that ‘each individual have been given talents and abilities and should strive to magnify those gifts in appreciation of having received them’. The more we do so our awareness becomes sharpened and embellished as we excel unto perfection in our own unique way. This is the true Spirit of Individuality and Independence!
A good example of the Spirit of Independence and Self-Reliance is a Barbadian gentleman named Mr. Paul Bynoe the Managing Director of B‘s Recycling Barbados. Barbados #1 Recycler B‘s Recycling promotes a cleaner environment, B‘s Recycling Barbados.
A very good friend once taught me, “Humility is Our Friend”. Mr. Paul Bynoe certainly appreciates his humble beginnings, and with persistence and hard work he has forged ahead helping himself and others to be Self-governing. Through his Determinations and Struggles, Barbados is well ahead and a leading example thanks to the vision of Mr. Bynoe who cares not only about the environment but encourage others as well to be conscious of their surroundings. Mr. Bynoe is aware of the importance of raising individuals to higher standards as exemplified by his work ethics and his encouragement of those who work for him. And he is only one example. Nobody handed him his fortune on a silver platter and from what I understood it was by ‘the Sweat of his brow that brought him his Increase’.
What is happening with Barbadians is because of fewer Opportunities that stems from the Fact of Government Overreach? Big Governments are always very inefficient and because of pandering to the people and corruption we are in the position now where 2/3’s of Government revenue is paid to Service Debt. Imagine 2/3’s. The Nursery Rhyme comes to mind, where the little boy down the lane, meaning us” only receive 1/3”s of our increase. The rest is through legalized extractions of the peoples labour. Lots of people believe they’ll be getting free stuff. However a few people actually ARE getting free stuff, at the expense of others. Do you understand what happens when a nation defaults on its loans? Never has a society prospered from taking from someone else by force via uncontrolled Taxation. Society always prospers when the Entrepreneurial Spirit of each individual creates wealth. Collectivism, on the other hand is a scourge on humanity while Individualism is a boon to all humanity. We should always promote individual responsibility, virtue and respect for others and to beware of Envy (It breeds all manner of discontent).
5 Truths You Cannot Disagree With:
- You cannot legislate the poor into prosperity by legislating the wealthy out of prosperity.
- What another person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving.
- The Government cannot give anybody anything that the Government does not first Take from somebody else.
- You cannot Multiply Wealth by Dividing it.
- When half of the people Do Not Have To Work because the other half is Going To Take Care Of Them; and the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what he worked for, That is The Beginning and The End of A Nation.
A Casual Observation…
We have a drought of money in Barbados because of over- reaching Government through high taxation and endless bureaucratic regulations on the people. The result is that businesses are drying up and struggling to meet Payroll. Presently in Barbados we have a drought from the lack of rain fall and many are still experiencing water Shortages Island wide!
We also have a drought Of Leadership and to quote a famous Labour Union citation from the Scriptures, “Where There Is No Vision The People Perish”. In Ancient Days as is recorded in Holy Writ, people turning away from God caused these catastrophes. Do you think God is speaking and we are not listening?
Venezuela what you are experiencing is because of a Socialist Government Rooted in Communism (A Godless Conspiracy) who has now declared a State of Emergency in the Country to complete the Plunder of its people without their Consent! “Now What Liberty Can There Be Where Property Is Taken Away Without Consent”. –Samuel Adams 1772.
Socialism Is Socialism. There are different Degrees of Socialism, but it is All Socialism with guaranteed results of failure. People Voting-in this System of Governance is wilful suicide. Socialism is when you are forced to take money from yourself and give it to a Bureaucracy who promises to give you back a little if ya lucky! However I do not believe in Luck, I believe in making Correct Choices and allowing the consequences to follow!
We must be able to have a System of Governance that allows Free Market Enterprise without all the burdensome regulations and heavy taxation’s.
“Free-market Capitalism is a network of free and voluntary exchanges in which producers work, produce, and exchange their products for the products of others through prices voluntarily arrived at….
Man has rights because they are natural rights. They are grounded in the nature of man: the individual’s capacity for conscious choice, the necessity for him to use his mind and energy to adopt goals and values, to find out about the world, to pursue his ends in order to survive and prosper, his capacity and need to communicate and interact with other human beings and to participate in the division of labor”…
The lifestyles of Barbadians have improved tremendously in the past years. The big picture is not reparations due because of our forefathers were denied an inheritance; it is Opportunities we should seek. I should know, as both sides of my Ancestors were Slaves. I speak as half Barbadian and half Arab “sand negro”. I can relate in both instances, of a great heritage my husband John and I both share.
I was Born in Barbados in the parish of St. John, and lived in Messiah street as a child. My mother was a Reid of Barbadian Irish Ancestry who married Isaac Abraham from Syria. The spirit of Tyranny oppressed both sides of my Ancestry. One side fleeing an oppressive regime leaving the Middle East, while the other side travelled on Slave Ships bound for Barbados.
My husband John was born in Trinidad of Syrian decent. His parents immigrated to Barbados when he was seven years old. Both our families fled Syria as Christians many years ago under similar circumstance as to what we are witnessing now. In the late 1800’s the Ottoman Empire, controlled the Region, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan, were not separate as they are now. Our fore fathers land and valuables were stolen and they were made Serfs because they were Christians.
When the Ottoman Empire started to break down, many fled to The Americas in hopes of Freedom and a better way of life. My Father and my husband’s family were the latter generation who were left of this mass migration which started back then. They worked very hard and overcame many barriers including language, culture, reading skills & education while adapting to their new environment, often in rural and inhabited territories. The Inheritance our forefathers received were the Values and Morals that instilled in them the fortitude to overcome at all odds what ever challenges their circumstances presented.
Both John and myself were not born with silver spoons in our mouths. John worked and provided for his family giving me the opportunity to be a stay at home Mom while providing me the chance to develop many skills and talents, to which those that know me can attest. People often say that they are ‘self taught’, I prefer to say ‘God Inspired“ as Steve Jobs attest too, “listening to ones inner voice, and having the courage to follow your own heart and intuition”. Steve Jobs was half Syrian also.
“Your time is limited; so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary”. Steve Jobs
My Husband John was responsible in part for the Legacy of Chefette. He and his brother had a Restaurant back in the day called Cococabana in Fonatbelle and Roti’s was the signature item on the menu. Cococabana would be remembered by the older generation that morphed into Chefette in 1972. John would bring Roti’s from Cococabana to school for me and my classmates. I was seventeen and in attendance when the first Chefette opened 1972. The New generation does not know the origins of Chefette. I know because I was there Oh How History Needs To Be Re-told Least We Forget Our Origins! John helped to build the Company for 31 years, however that is another story yet to be told!
Challenges make Champions was a virtue that we taught our Son Nathan from young. Because of unforeseen circumstances our lives were challenged when John was in his 50’s and as a result we had to start over with very little.
As a result Big John’s was born and was also known for taking Roti to a whole different Dimension of Flavor, Size and Quality, including making their own Dal Pouri Roti Skins. I know because I assisted John in developing and perfecting the Recipes. Because of lack of finance to support the business during a tanking economy and because of outside forces working against us, caused the closer of this unique brand in the quick service industry with tremendous potential of healthier alternatives including more grilling and less frying.
After two years of closure, Nathan said to his Dad, who he calls BIG JOHN, “let us open a Bar & Grill”, which he had desired for some time. Nathan created a whole new concept to Chefette and Big John’s with our assistance. Yet another entirely new concept to what we had previously, now it would be a casual sit-down service concept, rich in hospitality including great food and drinks with generous portions at reasonable prices.
The moral of that story is, although others through their influence and money may take away your livelihood, no one can take away the substance and experience gained of a man. He is what he is and his knowledge can never be taken away. That is why it is so important to build strength of character and to learn as much as we can in this life on all levels possible, because when we depart this life, all material possessions we leave behind and we stand naked before God in the nature of who we have become, whether Good or Evil!
God created each individual uniquely different with gifts and talents to develop according to their desires. We are all given talents according to the law of the harvest or the parable of the Talents. We are each to use our own initiative to grow those gifts given to us. If you remember the person that was given only one in the story, buried theirs and had no increase. That which they had and did not use was taken away and given to another that used their talents.
Failure does not mean that you are a looser; it means getting up and taking your best shot once again with the opportunity to learn by your mistakes. By having learned life valuable lessons gives one with the incentive to do better next time round. In life we can be beaten down or take the opportunity to rise in spite of our challenges.
“I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed”. Michael Jordan.
What about the poor, the disabled, and… – The Objective Standard …
How do they fare under laissez-faire? … With this in mind, let us consider the position of the poor, the disabled, and the helpless in a truly capitalist system. What about the poor, the disabled, and the helpless? How do they fare under laissez-faire?
To answer this question, we must bear in mind that very few people are genuinely helpless or unable to support themselves; the great majority of people are capable of acting as their life requires. And if a person chooses to live and is capable of supporting himself, he has a moral responsibility to do so; if he refuses to support himself and, instead, steals, begs, or seeks handouts, he is acting parasitically and immorally.
With this in mind, let us consider the position of the poor, the disabled, and the helpless in a truly capitalist system. But we must take them one at a time, for they are not necessarily one and the same.
As to the poor: Free Enterprise (Capitalism) leaves each individual free to think, work, and make as much money as he is willing and able to earn. No other social system on earth does this. In a capitalist society, if a poor person wants to work his way out of poverty—as countless poor people have done—he is fully free to do so. Of course, if he doesn’t want to, he doesn’t have to; the choice is his to make, and no one can force him one way or the other….
We can all make a difference in making Barbados Great Again, starting with the importance of Individual Responsibility and using our God Given Talents and Abilities To Improve Our Lot!
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