OURS is a society that has become one of inaction. Overtime, action has been replaced by the calls to action, which reflect an inconsistency with the birth and processes of development of this nation. A look into the foundational culture (i.e. lived experiences) of this society would see one of action, be it in the pursuit of self-empowerment or resistance to oppression, domination and marginalisation. Dependency on, or having expectation that others will do it continues to prevent actions on the part of institutions and self.

The decolonisation struggles of our forebears involved actions that led to the toppling of colonization and the achievement of independence and republican status. The building of this nation was precipitated by the desire of the people to realise the inalienable right to self-determination. When this was achieved in 1966, it did not find a people uncertain as to the type of destiny they wanted to forge, and how to get there. Where the differences existed was in regard to who should be the group or party assigned the privilege of leadership, which ideology the leadership should pursue, and whose ideas were better.

Admittedly, the political partisanship saw disagreements on the means to achieve the end, but it should be said that such was not pursued in a vacuum. The ventilation of ideas between and among forces, more particularly the government, parliamentary opposition and civil society, created opportunities to understand points of view that helped the society in forming opinions and lending support one way or the other. This reality did not obliterate an aspect of our politics wherein support is informed by political affiliation, not necessarily substance, but it points to the fact that, in spite of its competitiveness and at times ugly side, it also entailed getting things done on both sides of the political divide.

Whereas the growth of society is dependent on not being held captive to the past, in the sense of being stuck in bygone eras, the mistakes, achievements and positive factors of the past can serve as lessons and inspirations to guide the present and build for the future. To the attainment of these, it may be necessary to revisit, learn from, and build on aspects of the past, where actions were seen as integral to development and persons were prepared to play their part through support and leadership.

The politics of earlier periods notwithstanding, the features of divisions were not 100 per cent polarising. Things were done with collective support and initiation of actions by those whose portfolios they fell under.

Whether there is disagreement on the early developmental thrust of nationalisation, there is no disagreement that the parliamentary political parties had unifying legislative successes on major issues, such as sugar and bauxite.

The trade union movement, the mass-based force outside of the political parties, could attest to instances of camaraderie across the political divide for working class issues and treatment of workers by foreign owners or management. The history of this society shows where there were differences as to approaches or support for particular issues, support could have been had from either political force in pushing the other to act on behalf of the workers.

Unifying characteristics were also evident in matters of national import, and the major political forces engaged in deal-making to garner legislative or policy support. In recent years, the societal landscape has gone through a metamorphosis, not in alignment to build on the positives, but rather what can be considered attitudes that are contributing to inaction. Engagements have moved from the level of tolerance and inclusion to that of zero tolerance and exclusion.

It is not uncommon to find non-originators of ideas or actions refusing to support the initiator, no matter how sound that idea is, or go beyond blanket condemnation to offering counter-ideas in the seeming oblivion that none has the monopoly on all ideas. Changing the circumstances requires action on the part of both the leadership and the masses, which has to be borne out of recognition that if action were critical to this nation’s birth, further development requires the continuity of same.