SPEECH GIVEN BY THE LEADER OF THE BAHAMAS DEMOCRATIC MOVEMENT A T TOAST MASTERS 3956 ON THURSDAY, 05 JULY 2007 AT MINISTERY OF HEALTH BUILDING.
Madam President Hon. Toastmasters, Ladies and gentleman good evening. Tonight is my first public speech since the May 2 general elections. I must confess, I was beginning to enjoy not having to give speeches or answers any questions. Your invitation to speak to you tonight was design to shock me back into reality. As I pondered your theme “Destine for Success” I am mindful of the complexities of the word success. Success should not only be looked at as an individual goal, but also as a collective goal.
In order for us to guarantee and sustain a successful Bahamas in the future, this Generation of Bahamians must come forward to contribute their ideas and efforts to the development of this great nation. As one generation fades, one arises. Every generation must define its values, beliefs and commitment to self and country. Our country’s future development should not be left to our elders alone. After all, our youth are among the many Bahamians who have the greatest stake and will inherit tomorrow’s Bahamas.
Older Bahamians tend to be guided by their past experiences, our country's history, the systems and environment in which they grew up. This generation, on the other hand, is not weighed down by traditions, history and mindset. We are less afraid of change and are more willing to look for fresh perspectives and initiatives. Hence, the perceived generation gap and the challenge for policy-makers to bridge that gap. What we really need is a combination of approaches, both traditional and unconventional, tested and new to meet the more complex challenges The Bahamas is now facing.
It is a challenge to reach out to this generation and get them to think in terms of country and society. Many of our youth are too engrossed in pursuing their own personal interests and careers. It is not easy to spark their idealism and to tap into our energies for the ‘Greater good’, especially when there is no life threatening issues. We can only successfully pursue our individual dreams only if the society, of which you are a part, works. If the society and environment are hostile, there will be few opportunities to pursue. Just look at Haiti and other countries in the region. These countries have many talented people, but their people remain poor. One reason why a country does not do well despite the talent of its people is because of its political leadership and system. The Bahamas may not fall under communist rule, but it can come under a bad, democratically elected government.
So many countries with much greater potential than The Bahamas have failed or become messy states. Western journalists refer to them as banana republics in Central America and the southern Caribbean. Their leaders have not measured up to the task. Worse, many of them were corrupt. They put the interests of their families and cronies ahead of those of the people.
The question, which concerns our future, is how to improve on the quality of government in The Bahamas. Each generation has to produce its share of competent leaders to do this. If this generation fails to do so, as has happened in many countries, the disastrous consequences for the country will last beyond one generation. Will this new generation of which we are apart, be able to produce effective leaders to improve our society? To build a nation, we have to develop a strong sense of belonging to our country.
Today’s generation is apathetic because it was spared by history, and has no cause bigger than “itself’ to believe in. It has not experienced powerful historic events such as Burma Road Riot, Majority Rule and Racial Oppression.
The older generation of Bahamians has created the environment for us to grow up in a better Bahamas in comparison to what they had. We in this generation have never experienced hostilities, like the riots that we had in the 1950’s, when three Bahamians were killed, or the fight for majority rule in the 1960’s. We have never had to seriously consider how our society could be improved by our involvement until now.
There is a vast amount of the present generation of youth who are seemingly only interested in clubbing, sports, popular entertainment and plainly just wasting time. Unfortunately only a few of us show interest in front line politics, nation building and civic matters.
It is important that more of this present generation of young people step out of their individual worlds and become more active players in the shaping of our society, and not be mere statistics. Only then will we better understand how our personal involvement could impact our future. However, to encourage this, the older generation must be receptive to the emergence of new leadership and their ideas.
The Bahamas needs more leaders of this new generation to rise up and become strong political leaders. Without strong political leadership to provide a vision and guidance for the country, the edifice the earlier generations have built will decay and crumble. Yes, all the hard work of Sir Lynden Pingling, Sir Cecil Wallace, Sir Kendal Isaacs, Sir Orville Turnquest and even our former Prime Minister, the Right Hon. Perry Christie and even Right Hon. Hubert Ingraham will come to nothing if this generation refuses to rise up.
If The Bahamas is to become a truly Great nation, the new generation of leadership must step forward and make their contribution to our society. The new leadership is not about being FNM or PLP our even BDM, but it’s about being Bahamian; standing on the shoulders of our past great leaders, united in one mission , to make the Bahamas a better place for our children’s children. It is important for you to remember, the rise and fall of a nation is the responsibility of every citizen.
The third generation of post-independence Bahamians has different aspirations and expectations from the founder and second generations. How do we help our youth in their quest to realise their dreams? What kind of Bahamas will make Bahamians proud? What values must we preserve? How do we strengthen our society? What political, social and cultural changes will make this a thriving economy and a cozy home?
These questions are as old as time but the change international environment and the new technologies at the disposal of mankind require us to seek fresh and better answers.
The new generation of Bahamians must come up with recommendations on how they would do this.
I invite and encourage all Bahamians, particularly our youth, not to take a back seat, but be more aggressive in your participation in the development of this great nation. I am confident that many young Bahamians want to be involved in improving our country. I charge you young Bahamians, come forward, and contribute your ideas, and let us all help to shape the Bahamas that we can be proud off.
We must keep our spirits up, for change will come. Together, let us remake The Bahamas into a thriving and prosperous nation in this changing world and build the best home possible for our children.
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