FETE OUR ONLY HOPE?
There is irony in the fact that the 115th anniversary of the Royal Borough of Arima will probably be remembered for no other reason than that two men participating in the celebrations were stabbed to death. One, a young footballer, was fatally wounded because he "bounced" somebody in a crowd. The other lost his life over the alleged theft of a necklace/gold chain. How much cheaper, irrelevant can life become? The two reports of the deaths made the front page headlines in all three daily newspapers. The television news reported the killings against a background of cavorting young men and women leaving many viewers to wonder whether a "fete" with wining and drinking and other lewd behaviour is the only way we can celebrate an anniversary. And what effect does this sort of behaviour have on crime?
The Arima Borough Council had arranged other functions, of course. I read about a military parade, a church service and presentation of awards to outstanding citizens of the Borough. These occasions prompted the spouting of the usual clich?s about "claiming our dignity." One of the ministers recommended that we stop complaining about the many "bad things" and "ugliness" around us because if we continued to dwell on these things we would remain powerless to do better. Is this not a case of burying one's head in the sand? How can we improve if we do not recognise our shortcomings and indeed the ugliness that is everywhere? The new Mayor spoke of Arima in terms of "a callaloo," not bothering to explain how it became a callaloo, but reminding the gathering that the "success of a great leader depended on the cooperation and unity of all," not recognising that a great leader's success depends on the leader's own sense of responsibility and discipline. Another religious head called for the church to be "visible beyond its walls for crime to stop." And while all these high sounding words from equally high sounding officials were being said, the crowds beyond the walls in the street were pumping up in a fete that saw the death of two young men.
I take it that the individuals who were honoured have lived their lives in Arima (probably for generations) and know a great deal about the Borough. Could the Council not have asked for their help in mounting a cultural or historical exhibition of Arima's colourful history? A parade is nice to watch and we are inspired by the discipline of the marching men and women. But could we not have done without the street fete and the level of behaviour that sets such a bad example to our youth and indeed encourages and contributes to the lowering of general standards of behaviour? When are we going to recognise the absolutely low level of life that touches every way we live? Apart from the total disregard of the value of human life, we fail to take any form of responsibility for ourselves. Self esteem is lacking in almost every aspect of what we do and it is this lack of self-esteem, particularly on the part of our leaders, that is at the root of our many problems.
I feel sorry for the many young people growing up today in a society that is selfish and so keen on material possession that all other values must take second and third place. There is little for these young people to look up to and to emulate. In fact to the young generation, their seniors are less and less relevant. Is it uplifting to see ourselves particularly our young people engaging in the sort of "celebration" that centres around "the fete"? I don't think so. I blame the leaders, the so called exemplars in our midst for whom "the fete" is everything or who see their role as pandering to the lowest level because that is what the people want. Who will stop the slide? I can't for the life of me think of anyone, can you?
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"FETE OUR ONLY HOPE?"