Right or wrong, Bran McCartney’s DNA never misses the opportunity to seize public sentiment and make promises to grease the squeaky wheel.
Give the people what they want.
Want the government to give you a million dollars? No problem. Just elect Bran McCartney’s DNA.
Mr McCartney has been making promises left and right. He appears to be so desperate for votes he is willing to promise anything that will catch the public’s fancy.
Whether or not he will live up to any of those promises, or whether he is even capable of keeping the promises is irreleavnt. If there is noise in the marketplace, Bran is there to seize the day.
If the headlines are critical of the Privy Council, Bran says he’s going to dump them.
Some outspoken Bahamians want gambling, so Bran says he’ll (work towards) legalising it. (Note the words “work for”. That’s a long way from doing.)
McCartney says he will take the issue before the public. In other words, it’s not what’s right or wrong that matters, it is whatever the “majority” wants. Now, that might seem to be the thing for leaders to do in a democracy, but if the majority always got their way, societies would soon crumble. What happens when, like in the Bahamas, the majority are illiterate, lazy, selfish and criminally-minded.
If the majority of Bahamians want the government to pay their mortgages, should government acquiesce?
If the majority of Bahamians want to legalize the selling of cocaine (which almost happened in the 80’s), should government say “Yes”.
If the majority of Bahamians want to slaughter turtles and dolphins, do we let them?
If the majority of Bahamians want to kill Haitians and gay people, does that make it okay?
No!
Sometimes, it takes a visionary leader with morals, ethics and integrity to move a nation in the right direction, for long term good, even if it means taking an unpopular stance on certain issues.
Like in his previous term, when Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham tried to pass a referendum that would give equal rights to women in The Bahamas. It was the right thing to do. And it meant living up to an agreement with the United Nations that the Bahamas had made many years earlier. Not only did the ignorant majority reject the idea, they threw Mr Ingraham out of office for even suggesting it.
Too many Bahamians are like children. You can’t just give them everything they want. If a child wants to eat candy all day and stay up late, it takes a mature adult to say “no”. That is for the child’s best long term interest.
Citizens should vote for for politcians on the basis of their vision and integrity, not because the politician promises them anything they want.
Bahamians should be wary of any politician who promises whatever they want. That might make them happy today, but that happiness will quickly fade when it is discovered that what they want isn’t good for them.
Agree or disagree? Let us know your comments.
