The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune

ACCORDING to Wikipedia, civil disobedience is “the active, professed refusal to obey certain laws, demands and commands of a government, or of an occupying international power. Civil disobedience is a symbolic or ritualistic violation of the law, rather than a rejection of the system as a whole. Civil disobedience is sometimes, though not always, defined as being non-violent resistance”.

The continued lack of accountability and transparency of successive governments, the stifling suffering of many Bahamians, the inequitable sharing of the economic pie and the rampant and incessant disregard for the average Bahamian has put us in a state where we need to take collective and corrective action as a people.

The Bahamas does not have a system in place for enriching the average Bahamian. Only a select few, including many foreigners and a few other Bahamians who manage to beat the odds, are able to live comfortably in this country. We need to focus more on meritocracy, rather than privilege. This is why I am a supporter of the We March Bahamas and any other organisation that shares similar values.

It is time for Bahamians to stand up straight and demand how they want this country to be run. It is time for Bahamians to be able to access capital outside this country and have United States-based bank accounts. It is time for the average Bahamian to enjoy affordable and reliable energy. It is time for our society to employ our best qualified people as opposed to friends, families and lovers. It is our time.

Mahatma Gandhi said, “Civil disobedience becomes a sacred duty when the state has become lawless or corrupt”. We have hit an all-time low when it comes to lawlessness and corruption in the Bahamas.

It is our duty to march on January 10 so that our displeasure with our corrupt culture of governance can shine bright like a diamond. I did not attend the first march, but so help me God, I will be there next Tuesday.

Bahamians, it is time. Dr Martin Luther King said, “Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle. And so we must straighten our backs and work for our freedom. A man can’t ride you unless your back is bent”.

Stand firm Bahamians. Stand firm. We did not get a permit to march but we must.

DEHAVILLAND MOSS

Nassau

January 1, 2017