Dear Editor,
As we are tempted (and rightly so to do) to pat ourselves on the back, we need to be mindful of where we are as a nation and what else needs to happen over the next 50 and more years.
Now that the potpourri, glimmering lights, drone shows, national recognitions and sounds of Junkanoo are behind us, we need ask, “where to?” and more importantly, “how?”.
But more importantly, do we have the tenacity and gonadal fortitude to continue this transformative process. We still have a slew of issues to resolve.
Among those issues is the state of our roads. There are memes on social media suggesting that we now have a new sport called “street golfing”. And just the other day, a mother, socialite, activist and wife of a significant political luminary made a strong appeal in a social media post to have the road issues addressed after she had a near car disaster falling into one of those “street cavities” late one night.
To add salt to this wound, and shame us further, a driver posted a video of a banana plant planted in one of these dangerous potholes.
Then, there is the issue of crime. We still don’t know who was responsible for the deaths of those young men who were shot up not long after they were released from jail in 2021.
These acts along with others have caused us to reflect — have we “gone too far over the cliff” with this liberty called independence?
Indeed, as we celebrated Independence Day in the capital, we had a group of men (assumed to be resident in The Bahamas) involved in fight on Guana Cay with individuals believed to be visitors. The incident was captured on video and widely shared.
This, like a lot of other matters, seem to have been swept under the carpet.
This is the problem.
We don’t want to address the fact that we have road rage, “off-road” rage and an inability to resolve conflicts.
Yes, we have a new cruise port, but what about the garbage that is still found Over-the-Hill? What about the garbage in Freeport?
We haven’t even touched on education and border security.
Furthermore, from a financial perspective, until Bahamians are provided with the same red-carpet treatment that foreign investors receive, then it is all to naught.
Think on these things.
— Diogenes
