Peaceful Christmas to all

The core message of Christmas — “Peace on Earth and goodwill towards all men” — is this year somewhat tarnished. In the world as a whole, the cloak of peace has been rent mainly by the United States’ ongoing occupation of Iraq. In Dafur in the west of the Sudan, almost one million people, mostly Black Muslims, have been exterminated. Yet this genocide has passed mostly unremarked, with the US not even attempting to balance the scales by using its superpower might to stop this atrocity. AIDS and poverty in Africa remain ongoing problems, with the rich countries and African leaders themselves, such as Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe, only perpetuating the problem with their selfish agendas.

At the same time, all this must be put in context. The occupation of Iraq, and other minor conflicts around the world, are a vast improvement over what obtained in the last century. Although it will not seem so to those who live it and are unaware of the past, this is the most peaceful era in the entire history of humankind. It is also a period of unparalleled economic prosperity. Despite the rhetoric of those who criticise capitalism, the irrefutable fact is that this system has brought more goods, services and security to more persons than any other. Indeed, the regions where people still suffer from abject poverty are those which have been least exposed to capitalism’s mighty son, globalisation. To be sure, these systems are far from perfect. But they are better than those other systems which have been tried and which have led to few material and political benefits for fewer people.

So, globally, there is reason for optimism, even as the world’s peoples continue to fight against the ills that still bedevil our planet. Here in Trinidad and Tobago, despite being better off than many places, we have less peace on this portion of the Earth than we should. As Prime Minister Patrick Manning pointed out in his Christmas message, although this country is seeing “significant growth and economic prosperity,” there remains “too much lawlessness and recklessness” here. Crime has cast a long, dark shadow over our nation this year, and continues to do so on this day. Even as Trinidadians have gone about the season’s usual shopping and liming, it has been with a  sense of caution and even fear. It is to our credit, however, that citizens have more or less stuck to their usual routine.

In Port-of-Spain, the Downtown Owners and Merchants Association (DOMA) president Gregory Aboud and Mayor Murchison Brown have been cautiously pleased with the crowds in the capital over the season. And, though the month is not yet over, it seems that the action taken by the security forces has hampered the activity of the mysterious bomber or bombers who planted explosive devices over the past three months. So, although we may not have peace, we do have faith and generosity. And, even though the society does not have goodwill towards all men, we do still have a significant fount of goodwill towards most men and women. It is in this season of giving and sharing that these qualities are most clearly expressed and so, for today, we shed our cares and fears and celebrate a Merry Christmas.