Editorial
To Be or Notto Be a Party
While one of the responsibilities of anyjournalist is to ask questions, another is certainly to remainconstantly aware of popular sentiment from the man-in-the-streeton the urgent topics of the day and anyone with their antennaedeployed in that manner has to be aware lately of the questionsregarding the introduction of the political party system in theCayman Islands.
Many in these 'Islands that forgot to keepup with the times' question why we need parties at all, sincewhat we already have has suited us very well in the past. We havebecome an affluent and stable country while around us lie countrieswith political problems based on hatred of the 'other party'.
On the other hand, we see much indifferenceto the political system in general as shown by the 70-75% voterturn out in some districts during recent elections.
It seems quite clear then, that a quarterof our people just do not seem to care who runs the country aslong as we remain working and peaceful. This attitude may rapidlychange though, now that we see the situation with unemploymentrearing its ugly head.
On one hand there are some who wish to seethe party system pushed on the local population, while otherscall the same initiative by another name. We offer: if you partylike a duck, or you move like a duck, then you must be a duck.
By not accepting that the Caymanian mustcope with modernity, one cannot help but wonder: Where are allof the politicians and behind the scene supporters going withthe future of Cayman and that although there will be a formationof political liaisons, there will also always be an independentthinker who can win such as the new president of Columbia.
While the average voter in Cayman is notnow, nor ever really was calling for political parties to dominateour system of governing, we see more and more the mentality ofthe herd appearing here. One party starts up but did not havean impressive showing of their membership out to the first allday rally.
The opposition members of the house followright along with a movement (party?) of their own to oppose thefirst party. The pattern of party politics, wherever the systemprevails, is by its very nature, one of polarization and verymuch a case of "they are wrong and we are right".
This aspect is so intrinsic that, even inthe Cayman Islands with our newborn parties still in their politicalinfancy, such divisive characteristics are already showing up.This condition of contention and polarization, between large populationgroups, is found anywhere political parties exist, be it the pitchedbattles between Republicans and Democrats in the US or the Conservativesand Tories in Britain. And as bad as that is, we have only toturn our eyes to the Caribbean to see that there is worse.
Anyone familiar with the life of politicalparties in this region, from the days of Sir Alexander Bustamantein Jamaica and Eric Williams in Trinidad to now, must be veryconcerned that Cayman may be opening its doors to a politicalfuture that begins with early fractiousness and deteriorates intoanti-social behaviour, loss of security we treasure and a furtherravaging of our economy.
In the two most cogent examples of thisto hand Jamaica next door and Guyana to the South -we cansee the division dilemma in full cry, with citizens of both countrieslocked in a bitter struggle of hatred and violence with theirown brothers and sisters, over the simple fact of allegiance toa particular political party.
Do we want this kind of political evolutionhere in Cayman?
To bring this all to the point, might itbe in this little island that is so different from other placesin so many ways, that we should be introducing another systemof governing that is actually worse than the one it's replacing?
Enough food for thought. And does the Caymansuccess story suggest otherwise?
Mind you. We are only asking.