The Tribune

“The most important area of domination [is] the mental universe of the colonised, the control, through culture, of how people perceive themselves and their relationship to the world.” Jason Hickel

AMONG the lasting and pernicious achievements of imperialism is the pervasive colonisation of the minds and hearts of the colonized even after the independence of former colonies.

The mental universe of arguably most Bahamians is so thoroughly colonised that many cannot even begin to fathom why we should become a republic. We are mostly smug and blind to how toadying we seem to other nations because of our fetishisation and mimicry of most things foreign, especially that of the United States.

The minds and world views of many Bahamians are still dominated by a certain intellectual hegemony, including a tragic racial calculus, namely, an entrenched belief in the racial superiority of the white colonial powers and the inferiority of blacks.

A friend remembers walking into Princess Margaret Hospital, overwhelmed by a large photograph of a young Princess Margaret. It was a sort of iconography that reinforced the power and prestige of the former colonial masters.

Imagine walking into PMH, renamed the Milo Butler Hospital, with a statue and/or photograph of this giant of Bahamian political liberation and national life. Statues, paintings and the names on buildings reveal the sensibilities, aspirations and history of a people. They demonstrate a sense of pride and celebration of one’s culture.

Sir Winston Churchill was an extraordinary figure in World War II, deserving of praise for his leadership in that monumental struggle. He was also a vicious racist and dedicated imperialist, who deemed black and brown people inherently inferior.

Here is vintage Churchill: “I do not admit that the dog in the manger has the final right to the manger, though he may have lain there for a very long time I do not admit that right. I do not admit for instance that a great wrong has been done to the Red Indians of America or the black people of Australia.

“I do not admit that a wrong has been done to those people by the fact that a stronger race, a higher-grade race or at any rate a more worldly-wise race, to put it that way, has come in and taken their place. I do not admit it.

“I do not think the Red Indians had any right to say, ‘American continent belongs to us and we are not going to have any of these European settlers coming in here’. They had not the right, nor had they the power.”

When it was suggested to remove Churchill’s name from the building after majority rule, many balked, asking what message that would send to the British? Really!? Now that the Cabinet Office that bore his name has been torn down, do we propose to rebuild the Office and again place his name on it? One hopes the new building will be suitably named, evoking national pride and a new sense of who we are as a people and a country.

How we view ourselves

Sadly, today, many Bahamians are still more concerned with how foreigners view them than they are about how they should proudly portray themselves and our varied and unique Bahamian identities.

There are still many people of African origin in our country on the plantation, afraid to leave master’s so-called protection, afraid of mentally liberating themselves, incapable of new and fuller identities.

After last week’s column, there were a number of comments in this journal. One comment noted: “There is no appetite here for a republic says the author. I quite agree. The idea that it is ‘progressive’ to have a republic is nonsense. Most of the republics which overthrew their monarchies have turned out to be failed states with financial and political instability. Why would we want that here?

“We have a good system of government now with a Bahamian Governor-General, Parliament and impartial courts. Investors have confidence in our country that their investments are safe. Canada, Australia and New Zealand have all prospered. They are monarchies like our country. Barbados is hardly a democratic republic.”

Sadly, this commentary is suffused with breathtaking ignorance, a lack of understanding of what constitutes a republic, and replete with factual errors. This is also, to put it charitably, the level of “misunderstanding” in the country,

The commentator averred: “Most of the republics which overthrew their monarchies have turned out to be failed states with financial and political instability.” Oh dear!

The most successful

The most economically successful republic in the world is the United States of America, a superpower which overthrew the British monarch in a war of independence. The US republic is now 245 years old.

Singapore is one of the most successful countries in the world. It is a republic that no longer has the British monarch as head of state. Most of the successful economies in the world are republics, whether they were formerly British colonies or not.

India is the world’s largest democratic republic. While it continues to have tremendous challenges, it is the sixth largest economy in the world by GDP, and has a vibrant and sustainable democratic heritage, despite difficult periods in its modern history.

Australia, Canada and New Zealand are not economically successful because they retain the British monarch. Even after they become republics they will maintain a special relationship with the UK because of shared histories and language.

France, South Korea, Italy, Germany and most South American countries are republics, some of which are parliamentary democracies, as is now Barbados, which constitutionally did not require a referendum to become a republic.

The commentator also noted: “We have a good system of government now with a Bahamian Governor-General, Parliament and impartial courts.”

Yes, and after we become a republic we will maintain our parliamentary democracy, a Bahamian president who will replace the Governor-General, and impartial courts. There is a tremendous amount of public education needed on what is a republic.

Becoming a republic does not mean we are going to move away from our current system, which includes cabinet government. “Singapore is a parliamentary republic based on the Westminster system,” as is India and most former British colonies.

The list of countries which are parliamentary democracies based on variations of the Westminster system include: Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Canada, Dominica, Fiji, Grenada, India, Ireland, Italy, Israel, Japan, Jamaica, Kuwait, Malaysia, Malta, Mauritius, Nepal, New Zealand (which is unicameral), Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, Singapore, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Solomon Islands, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, the United Kingdom and Vanuatu.

These countries appreciate the genius of parliamentary democracy, with some working better than others based on their individual histories.

Another commentator on last week’s column simply wrote: “What’s best for the economy, FDI, tourism? Easy answer.”

Regrettably, this is a simplistic and fallacious non-answer, and a nearly 50-year-old nonsensical argument that was as specious in 1973 as it is now. It is a verifiably incorrect argument dominated by fear and absence of facts.

Since independence both our tourism and foreign direct investment numbers have increased. Investors will continue to come to The Bahamas, whether or not we are a republic as long as we maintain political stability as we have since independence.

Still parliamentary democracies

When Canada, Australia and New Zealand remove the British Monarch as head of state, which they are likely to do after the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, they will still be parliamentary democracies. Their economies, depending on good governance and global conditions, will continue to flourish.

The newsmagazine Loop in Jamaica recently ran a story entitled, “Make Jamaica a Republic by 2022”. The report quoted a letter by former Prime Minister PJ Patterson to Prime Minister Andrew Holness and Opposition Leader Mark Golding.

Patterson wrote passionately and movingly: “[It would be] repulsive to contemplate a Diamond Jubilee where our Constitution rests on an Order in Council dated the 23rd July 1962, and a Head of State who does not reflect our own image…

“I write to you jointly as our Prime Minister and leader of the opposition who have the political authority and the opportunity to capture a truly historic landmark by [the] establishment of Jamaica as a republic within the Commonwealth and simultaneously repatriate our Constitution during the 60th anniversary of our independence in 2022.”

Patterson urged: “… the political parties you both lead have repeatedly accepted the institution of our own indigenous president as head of state. This has been reflected in the election manifestoes of both the JLP and PNP since 2002.”

He noted: “successive Prime Ministers have reiterated that firm intention at their inaugural installations and also reaffirmed their policy positions in numerous Throne Speeches from the dawn of the millennium…

“Based on the work and reports of previous commissions and parliamentary committees, the single outstanding issue is whether the incumbent should be chosen by a two-third membership of both Houses [of the Parliament] sitting separately or jointly…

“It would be a spectacular contribution to building our parliamentary democracy; permitting both parties to share a single platform in a campaign to secure national approval and allow one of our own image to become head of state. That would inspire the fullest confidence in ourselves.”

Patterson pressed: “I sincerely believe that the solution to these and other problems requires unity of purpose and action, transcending partisan borders. I dare to suggest that a powerful signal of combined will when government and opposition are seen to act together, would be transmitted to our entire population.

“It would demonstrate our determination to act in concert by making the long-overdue constitutional change as we promote our common identity and make our National Motto — ‘Out of Many, One People’ — a meaningful reality.”

Approaching 50 years of sovereignty, it is embarrassing and depressing that there is little to no appetite by most in the political directorate and most of the populace to even begin a national dialogue on removing one of the last institutional vestiges of colonial rule.

Sadly, we remain deeply intellectually colonised in how we perceive ourselves and our relationship to the world and to the future, as many continue to live in an imperialist cum colonial engendered mind-set and past.