Letters to the editor
Newsday
Editor: I am a proud citizen of Trinidad and Tobago. I am proud of our warm spirit, our hospitality, our generosity. Our musical culture – steelpan, calypso, soca, rapso, chutney. Our food – the list is too long to mention. Our story. Our folklore. Our dance.
Our academic and creative talent often crosses our shores, shining in foreign lands. For a small country we have done well. I have traveled to over 40 countries and TT is by far number one on the list. As Denyse Plummer rightly said, “forget New York and old talk.”
In one of his early speeches as Prime Minister, Dr Eric Williams noted that the future of our nation is in our children’s school bags. I see myself as a product of this vision. From primary school in Morvant to a PhD from Oxford University, all at government expense. Thank you, taxpayers.
So yes, I am a proud national. And I am a grateful nation. But I am a sad national.
I notice a declining morale in my country. A level of self before country that manifests itself in rule breaking and corruption. It will lead to our downfall.
Many of us are no longer disciplined in our approach, productive in our behavior nor tolerant of our countrymen and women. “Together we aspire, together we achieve.” Are we really together as a nation 60 years later? What do we hope to achieve next? Do we have a vision for our country?
As we turn 60 this month, we definitely need to celebrate. We have achieved a lot and we should be proud of it. We certainly punch above our weight as a small country – a tiny speck in the Atlantic Ocean/Caribbean Sea. But we also need to reflect. We need to reflect on where we haven’t done so well, how we can do better and where exactly we want to go as a society.
When our children celebrate 80, 90, 100 years of independence, what will they be able to look back on? It is our responsibility to decide this now – for the love of our country.
XAMELIA HARRIS
biting
