Mediocrity is killing The Bahamas

Nothing short of discouragement can epitomize the faces of a nation and its people in a quandary about the present. The fundamentals of our modern society and the hopes we share for our children are being eroded by a culture of mediocrity that threatens the well-being of our future.

Mediocrity and our unwillingness to change are the greatest challenges of the contemporary Bahamas. They undermine good governance, distort public policy, lead to the misallocation of resources, harm development in our country and particularly hurt the most vulnerable among us.

Mediocrity in The Bahamas is a disease, a cancer that eats into the cultural, political and economic fabric of society, and destroys the functioning of vital organs. The constant unwillingness to engage a new perspective as we seek to reshape our country.

The idea of change is repugnant in our national community, which has fostered an ambiance of self-interested thinking that supersedes the interest of the people. An incoherent government and private sector that disingenuously disregards the talent of the people.

Our failures as a country are a choice, not an inevitability. We currently lack the political capacity and courage to force any tangible change. The operating dynamics of The Bahamas for the last few decades are no longer viable in meeting our current challenges. Our incapacity to focus on what is relevant and necessary is causing economic and social suicide.

If fundamental changes are not undertaken in The Bahamas, national economic growth and social development will stagnate to the detriment of our people. Our current state of affairs is unstable, unbalanced, uncoordinated and unsustainable.

The tipping point is our destination of uncertainty, and despite the obvious concerns of the people, we are penalized when it comes to challenging conventional wisdom. Censorship in a more educated society is improbable.

Our anti-participatory notions regarding anything beyond political party familiarity is counterproductive in engaging and emphasizing the broad participation of the Bahamian people in the direction and operation of political, economic and social systems.

Recycling ideologies and not searching for a new way of thinking is an incoherent approach to creating a better Bahamas. The “toe the line” culture that persists in this country is no longer applicable or sustainable for spurring The Bahamas’ continued development over the next decades.

We all share the perspective that The Bahamas faces daunting challenges and retooling The Bahamas requires going beyond the backward-looking thinking that got us to this point. The responsibility of creating an intellectual framework for the future of our country should fall on the shoulders of all Bahamians, not just a special few, guided by the principles and values of who we are as a people.

It is almost imperative that we undertake some transformation to create conditions in which the new forms of economic, social and political systems operate efficiently. This current atmosphere of mediocrity is inextricably linked to our inability to analyze the country’s priorities politically, economically and socially in response to well-identified national needs.

The revolution towards a better Bahamas begins in the minds of Bahamians and the kind of education we give our children. If we fail to change our habits as a country and continue to be set in our ways, the development of our country will always be mired in stagnation, with declining living standards and outdated social and economic apparatus.

There’s no shortage of talents and capabilities in The Bahamas, just the unwillingness to believe in the shared strength of our people. Someone somewhere in this country must share my belief in the liberation of our people from the conditions that hinder the flowering of their talents. This country has a peculiar paradox with regards to development, it has the human capital resources but lacks a political, economic and social framework to leverage them effectively.

By - Latrae Rahming

Email - [email protected]