Editorial
The Issues Matter Most;Not The Party
The most dangerous vote is an uninformedone.
As government's role has expanded into mostareas of society, political groups have offered policies to mirrorGovernment's reach.
Most of us have a far more eclectic rangeof views than the groups that seek to represent us. We have troublebuying into all of any particular political positions. Yet wefeel obligated to a party, or team, or alliance -- whatever thepolitical factions may call themselves --when we should be loyalonly to the needs of our nation.
Far too many times in countries like theUnited States, constituents step forward on Election Day and pullthe lever labeled with their political party's name. Decisionsare made based on a party line and not on what that particularparty stands for, what their philosophies are, or what their pledgeto the people will result in.
The end result is a risky one for the nation.Looking again at the US, there have been actors, singers, professionalwrestlers and even racists who have been put in office by theirpeople. Did no one question what is this person's credentials?What is their agenda? And, most importantly, what will they accomplishfor the people?
Careful contemplation of the issues of theday, the shortcomings of the country, or the placement of prioritiesare overlooked. We must vote. Therefore we often do, without therealisation of the consequences of our decision. Then when educationfails to keep up with the changing times, development grinds toa halt or a country suffers from a gross decrease in programmesfor the ill, the elderly, the poor, or the small business owner,we are devastated.
Those same people who stuck to the partyline are the first to complain when their "chosen" electedofficial spends the next four years, filling government officeswith supporters and acting on his or her own agenda with littleconsideration of the fact that they represent the people and mustmove on issues that are near and dear to the people's hearts.
Political parties face the problem of beingseen to represent their own professional group and not societyas a whole. They have to look for new ways to engage potentialrecruits from their own organisation and corporations and interestgroups in order to draw them into the fold. Sometimes those decisionsare based on who is the best representative of the party, notof the people.
Although that doesn't seem fair, how canwe complain when we are the ones who put them in power?
Crossing party lines is a maneuver oftenutilised by people who have become so disheartened by their party'sinability that they sway their vote in the other direction. Sometimesthis decision is made based on the issues at hand and sometimesit is made out of sheer frustration.
The people of the Cayman Islands are anintelligent, informed breed. And now is the time the people topick the person best suited for the job.
Simple queries such as, what are the keyissues each candidate is focusing on? Who are the members of theirparty that will follow suit and be placed in office and what aretheir agendas? Did the person, if he or she is an incumbent deliver?And, very important, is this person, not a party, who will actas a representative of the people?
Now is not the time to become complacentwith government. Or to go through the motions of participatingin the decision of who will decide the future of the people ofthe Cayman Islands without truly knowing why they are voting forwhom they are voting for.
It is staggering the number of times thatcampaign promises have been dropped once the election is over.But who are we to blame but ourselves if we do not make informeddecisions.
Loyalty to a party name may appear noble.But if the job isn't getting done, then one must ask, what's ina name?