May 24, 2007 – How bold is your vision; how forward your thinking? Have you ever heard of the Federation of Free Caribbean States? Such an entity doesn’t exist you say. And I say, “Why not?” Why can’t a group of islands, with a population of over 38 million people, encompassing an area in the Caribbean Sea of over a million square miles unify, instead of compete, against each other? Why can we not stand on equal footing before the world, politically and economically, as we did centuries ago before the tragedy of slavery and genocide?
In Maslow’s “Hierarchy of Needs” theory, he contends that as man meets his most basic needs, he seeks to achieve progressively higher ones, with “self-actualization” being the highest. Self-actualization is the instinctual need of humans to make the most of their abilities and strive to be the best they can.
That being said, are we basically striving to once again simply revise the Organic Act, or are we about to embark on the construction of an historic document that at least begins to plot a bold path into the future which will address all our needs as a people?
There are issues that need to be immediately addressed, but let’s not merely consider cosmetic changes to the status quo. We are failing as a community, and the problems that we face go beyond any infrastructural problems in government. They go deep into the post-colonial psyche of our people, and can only be addressed through an understanding of who we are, and where we need to go as a people.
The United States was also once a collection of colonies, and in less than 150 years, became perhaps the primary player in the international arena. From 1848 to the present, we have yet to make our forefathers proud.
