We are the Common Sense Bench. We will not participate in political public relations for any party. We do not owe allegiance to Balisier House the Rising Sun, or any of their spin-offs. Our only loyalty is to Trinidad and Tobago.
We will support policy that serves the public good. But if it is political theater designed to mask institutional failure, facilitate and hide corruption, or perpetuate inequality and prejudice, we will criticize it.
Similarly, we will acknowledge good leadership without being sycophantic to leaders.
Make no mistake: we will call out and condemn unpatriotic behavior and betrayal of the national interest whenever, wherever, and in whomever we see it.
Politics in this country has become frustrating, exhausting, and above all, toxic. Political discourse at the highest levels has run out of mature adults debating the national interest.
Our Fish Market Parliament
Inside the once-hallowed Parliament where one upon a time citizens of class engaged in meaningful political discourse - today, the outcome of any debate, regardless of subject, gravity, or merit, is entirely predictable. It inevitably degenerates into a fish-market shouting match, complete with walk-outs, suspensions, and a Speaker whose voice tone and manner remind me of a Chief Fishmonger, forever trying to peddle his stock.Finger-pointing and petty arguments about "who did what first" - as if wrongdoing by one excuses wrongdoing by the other - dominate parliamentary proceedings. Womanish blaggard type cross-talk ["why yuh doh arks yuh dorter"] immediately comes to mind]. Two sides of the same battered and defaced coin, arguing about which party defaced the other side more while the People suffer the pain of the bruising.
"If de priest cud play, who is we?"
Outside, the Public's behaviour is no better; in fact, it is infinitely worse. Influenced by the rancorous rhetoric of their representatives inside the Parliament, political and social issues are viewed through ethnic lenses and expressed in personal "Coolie/Nigger" slurs. Simple disagreement with a party's policies is seen as a personal dislike of that party's core ethnic support base and support for the other side. In other words, disagreement with a UNC policy or the party generally is viewed as a dislike of Indians. And likewise, disagreement with the PNM is viewed as a dislike of Africans.
Independent Thought Isn’t For Everyone
If you decide to leave us here to head back to a comfort zone of ignorance, partisan bias, and tribal loyalty, we understand. We recognize that objectivity and reality can make some people uncomfortable; we acknowledge that independent thought isn't for everyone. So, the door is right there, WIDE OPEN. Make use of it.Take your exit. Just don't let it hit you on the way out.
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