The Tribune

Forty marks a generation!

“A Time when you ought to have sense” (The late Archdeacon William Thompson).

Those born in 1973 can now be considered among the sensible of the land.

It is significant to remember that the children of Israel wandered aimlessly through the Egyptian Wilderness for forty long years before navigating “The Promise Land”.

I drove from Egypt into Israel within six hours.

The forty years is significant of a brand new generation becoming recipients of God’s Promise. Those whose minds should not have been contaminated by the older generation. That older generation was one of complainers, with an axe to grind.

A cantankerous and ungrateful people.

Records show their stubbornness and audacity even to fly in the face of God. The more God blessed them, the more they complained. God was always generous in practical applications of daily bread, water and providing protection from an onslaught of enemies. Yet they were never fully satisfied. It reaches a zenith when “God’s chosen people” demanded Aaron to make them a God at whose feet they eventually worshipped. Such an idolatrous and stubborn people could not inherit God’s promises. They all had to die in the wilderness; a new generation only could qualify for the supreme blessing.

1973 to 2013 we have a new generation whose minds must be untainted from all prejudice of the past. We have gone through our colonial wilderness and the older generation of pre 1973 must not stunt our forward move as a free and independent people.

Truly, our evolution is a work in progress. Now the baton is being passed into the hands of a new generation. We expect you to be radical, even as we were in our time.

All colonial wigs and gowns must be gotten rid of.

Forward thinking Bahamians must find no glory in colonial honours.

Swearing allegiance to a foreign power is repugnant to our unique identity (Jamaicans swear allegiance only to Jamaica).

Our national days of celebrations must come in for an overhaul and fly in the face of those who say we have sufficient holidays.

The designation “Queen’s-Counsel” must be seriously looked at so as to reflect our uniqueness.

Many of these enslaving colonial trappings have even crept into the church, in which so many glory.

The church must lead the way in the liberation of our people and not get in the way.

To this new generation: Pindling and his generation were considered radical, in fact upstarts, for even considering independence. Many detractors said it would be the end of the Bahamas.

Others proclaimed, “Yes, but not now.”

It was a vicious campaign back in 1972 to hold back a progressive move. But there is no arsenal more powerful than an idea whose time has come. That radical generation brought us here. We celebrate this achievement now, but the challenge awaits us to again be radical so as to take us to an even newer frontier. The time is now we prepare our people to embrace The Republic of The Bahamas.

So let’s celebrate, Bahamas! We the people must now get into the celebration groove.

What are we doing as a people? Purify our minds from the “government-them”. Yes, the Independence Committee is planning a whole list of events, but we must bring the celebration into our hearts, churches, homes and communities.

Let us drape our private property and churches in the national colours. Given neighbourhoods can have competitions - best draped or best kept property. Put flags on our cars. Plan your community/church programmes and concerts. Our schools can take part before children are dismissed for the summer. Competitions like essay writing, speech, poetry etc can be organised at any level in the community or sponsored by business houses, or in our churches etc.

Think out of the box, Bahamas. It is our celebration, Our Bahamas! Claim it. Yes, the Independence Committee is working but this ought to be driven by we, the people.

PROUD TO BE BAHAMIAN !