EDITORIAL

We as a society have never needed heroes as much as we need them right now, and that is why this Saturday should be so important to Barbadians of every creed.

What is a hero? The Cambridge dictionary describes a hero as a person admired for bravery, great achievements or good qualities. In 1998, ten Barbadian heroes were identified and we continue to celebrate these fine individuals on April 28, each year.

It is at this time annually that our schools and the government try to expose these ten heroes’ contributions to our citizens in the hopes that there are aware of the sacrifices which were made in the strides to improve our little rock economically, politically, culturally, socially and morally.

The means to continual progress is well within each and everyone of our reach. Technological advancements over the past decades have been growing in leaps and bounds. What past generations would not even have dreamed as possible has now become a reality. There are breakthroughs in health care such as reversing paralysis and experimental cures for ‘terminal’ diseases, there are self-driving cars and quantum computers, which place unimaginable power within our grasp. Very little is beyond imagination.

We have made headway in several different facets of life. With all of this ground that the human race has covered, one would think that we would have also advanced spiritually, morally and socially and built on the foundation we were given, and yet when we examine these areas, one could conclude that we seem to have regressed.

Having been given every opportunity to build and improve upon the legacies that our heroes have left for us, many of our citizens find themselves in the position of entertaining self-serving and materialistic attitudes which are unworthy of any heroic measure at all.

Many of our citizens live for short-term gratification and lack conscience, morals and empathy towards their fellow man. These traits can be seen increasingly through the many reports of stabbings, shootings, fights, children being bullied, police officers being assaulted, husbands beating and or killing their wives, and parents being charged for cruelty to their children. To add insult to injury there is also a growing desensitisation to these tragedies demonstrated through the sharing of them on social media for all to see.

Therefore on April 28, The Barbados Advocate challenges you to not see it as just another holiday, but to see it as an opportunity to commit to making improvements in every area of our lives and in the lives of others.

Our intention should be to emulate these ten heroes. Fellow Barbadians, let us break this cycle of regressive behaviour and move forward into the future with vigour infused with moral fibre and positive action.

Let us awaken the potential hero that lies within all of us!