Put country before self

THE EDITOR: How can anyone justify criticisms that the Government should have taken part in the “Death March?” The organisers of the Death March have repeatedly cried that the powers that be are doing nothing about the crime situation in Trinidad and Tobago. If I were a member of the Government I could not agree with this accusation knowing of initiatives like bringing Police Reform legislation to Parliament; the investments in land and sea surveillance systems; settling industrial relations issues with the protective services so they are less distracted by issues of money; augmenting the policing capabilities with an anti-crime unit and the technical expertise of the FBI and Scotland Yard and making further financial commitments to invest in crime prevention/detection in the 2005/2006 Budget.

What self-respecting member of Government would take part in the Death March and in so doing agree to the claim that you have done nothing about the crime situation? Some might say that the initiatives are ineffective but I also do not believe that the Government alone is to blame for this. Opposition politicians believe their raison d’etre is to oppose for opposing sake. The judiciary believes the law is there to be protected by people and not the other way around. The media are driven primarily by the philosophy that “if it bleeds it leads” and it is not their role to find and tell stories about our goodness. Business owners believe that it is OK to force employees to suppress the needs of their families for the sake of the business.

After all, stressed parents that pay less attention to children are acceptable casualties for a developing nation. Crime reduction initiatives in our time are doomed to fail even before the ink dries on the paper they are written on. Criminals are guided by the philosophy to “Do what is in your own best interest when you believe you can get away with it.” Ironically, this is the same philosophy that drives most of our institutions, opinion leaders and other individuals. Until people really make the sacrifice of putting the good of the country ahead of self, no amount of money and marching will make a difference in the fight against crime, and that is the sad truth.

JEROME MYERS
D’Abadie