GIVING UP?

 There is a palpable sense that many Trinidadians and Tobagonians have given up on their country. Those who can afford it are voting right now with their feet and leaving. Those who can't leave for one reason or another ranging from no money  to no visa and everything in between, are throwing up their hands in despair. 'Please somebody, just fix it' they beg. 

The problem really is that nobody who is in charge has any idea of how to fix whatever it is that they are in charge of ranging from the out of control crime situation to the health care system and onto the education system, not to mention the million and one other things that need fixing in between. 

Some people, like Phillip Alexander who quite blatantly says that he wants to be Prime Minister, focus on the "little things" (and yes, the inverted commas are deliberate) and either point out with observable delight how bad things are or they provide "solutions" which may or may not work, or they do both.

What is crystal clear is that the centre is certainly falling apart. There is an old saying that if you have a problem you should lead, follow or get out of the way. The present leaders in the Government are (or seem to be) ignoring this advice and falling into that other old truism that if you are not part of the solution then you are part of the problem.

Every government's policies and survival depend upon support from key pillars such as the business community, business elites, political elites, the media, security firms, cultural and religious institutions, athletes, civil servants and the like.

It is impossible to predict where and when these loyalties will begin to shift. People living under dictatorships often hide their views of the government until they see sufficient safety in numbers to publicly resist. This is basically what happened in 1986 when the country voted overwhelmingly against the African based PNM in favour of what they hoped could put an end to the country's racially divisive politics. The problem then was that the victorious NAR had over-promised and the cost of fixing things was greater than what people had expected.

It's clear that the country needs fixing - and badly. What is not at all clear is whether or not the electorate is prepared to pay the price of fixing the country. But, if we don't pay the price now it will just be that much harder for all of us down the road. Haiti has already shown that there is no "bottom" for a failed state.