A GUY'S VIEW: A convenient gospel, an inconvenient truth

I become sick in the stomach every time I accidentally see or hear any American evangelist on my television or radio. I move as quickly as I can to get them out of my sight or hearing.

One suspects that few people take kindly to hypocrisy, and this group of people demonstrate that they are singularly the most hypocritical collection of human beings on the planet. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that, if there is a hell, there is a special place there for these bigoted, double-mouthed people who claim to believe in the God of the Bible and at the same time are supporters of Donald Trump and all things racist and deplorable.

A bit after the fact, some of our churches have decided to clear their throats and open their mouths in defence of what they say they believe. Others have quite timidly whispered that they still believe in some of what is written in the Bible. This now seems convenient because the winds of change are again blowing, but the horse has already bolted.

Other than to one’s own conscience, it is of no moment what anyone believes about anything. What is troubling is for people who pretend to be the mouthpiece of God to give accommodation to godlessness or become blind and deaf when it is convenient to do so. Let him who is a sinner sin more, let him who is pretending to be godly show his true colours and sin more too.

There used to be a Barbados outside of politics. People voted as they pleased and lived with a clear conscience. Now it is not so simple. One has to have a dead conscience to vote in certain ways. The thoughtlessness which pervades our society makes too many seem like zombies.

Thoughtless allegiance is not peculiar to any one party. It seems that major parties in democratic countries need undiscriminating, unwavering supporters for their long-term survival. The inability of the Democratic Labour Party to attract sufficient supporters of this type makes it a revolving door and a disposable stepping stone for many.

In 2018, Barbadian voters spoke more clearly than they ever had before. We can pretend that we did not hear them. What was important is that they spoke freely. No one tried to intimidate them or make them cower in fear to express their will. There was no Trump and no Republican in office in Barbados in 2018 to suppress the expression of their will.

Barbadians judged the last administration harshly for their stewardship. Everything in Barbados is worse now than was the case in 2018. There is higher unemployment, higher taxes, higher bus fares, higher number of violent crime, greater disregard for the rule of law, increased cost of governance due to the excessive number of ministers and consultants put in place by the Government, and one could go on ad nauseam. But the people spoke and will speak again.

In 2020, in addition to the usual flow of money, every trick in the book is being pulled out of the hat to ensure that there is no representation in Parliament of the at least 50 per cent of Barbadians who do not support the Government. The latest one is to try to shift the focus of the people of St. George North from their parochial issues by holding an irrelevant presidential-style debate on television in an attempt to showcase the garrulous and seekers of attention.

It is instructive that the BLP planned this election well in advance of its announcement. This is evidenced by the fact that their candidate was canvassing the constituency ahead of the former holder of the seat declaring his departure. It also appears that the party had posters of their can-didate in storage since 2018. And now that it seems that they cannot win the seat, they want other candidates to stop canvassing and prep for a debate that would be of no consequence to the people of St. George North.

In a demonstration of political savvy, Mr. Reifer and his party chose not to be bullied and he determined that he would continue his work in the field among his people. When your opponent has a head start of a few years, there is a lot of ground to make up.

This election is about the underdevelopment of the constituency of St. George North and the pulling back of Barbados from the one party dictatorship we have been living under for the last 2 and a half years; not the promised desalination plant in St. Joseph. Those sideshows will be addressed at another time.

In 2018, Barbadians thought that they wanted a saviour. In 2020, we know for certain that we need one. LORD, and St. George North, help us.

Barbados Advocate

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Advocate Publishers (2000) Inc
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