?Blessed with gas and oil but cursed with negativity. Trinidad is an island in which�the media seem to languish its peculiar form of negativity on an already insecure, suspicious, and negative populace. Everywhere you go Trinidadians have nothing positive to say about each other and the governing party of the day. From Brian Lara, the world's foremost cricketer of the day, to the current standing Prime Minister, no one escapes the negativity of the Trinidadian male. Pride and sensibility have been thrown out the window. What we hear now is why Trinidadians want to leave their native land. The island that builds fortunes for individual families is now being shunned by the very individual that benefits from Trinidad's very special place in the Caribbean. Mercedes Benzs and large powered yachts, cigars and expensive wines and champagne are not enough to make a Trini man happy.
Living in a multi-cultural and multi-ethnic island in which the Portuguese, the African, the Indian, the Chinese, the Syrian and the Lebanese, the Caribs and the Arawaks dwell side by side seem to hold no level of pride for a Trini man. Instead what we have done to ourselves is to find the things that divide us, the cultural differences and habits that make us stand apart and centre our attention on the negative connotations of each culture that instead of enriching us becomes a ground for controversy.�In order for a Trini male to feel good about himself he does so at the expense of the rest. To make ourselves feel better we have decided that the only way�forward is to criticise, to make a fool of or to downright defame our fellowmen. This fundamental sense of insecurity has been picked up by the media and the press rolls out negativity on a daily basis.
Bandits and murderers, rapists and drunk drivers are first-page stories, feeding the insecurity of an already negative populace with just more negative things to talk about. Whatever the Government does, what each minister says, is reported not in a positive manner but twisted by the media and published in a manner that increases negativity among the population. The public reaction is radio talk shows with patrons, mostly male, that appear never to hold a job other than calling from one radio talk show to another. The hosts know by name these individuals that spew hate, garbage and insecurity over the airwaves.�It has reached the point where if an employer needs a particular task accomplished the employee�can and do find reasons why the task cannot be done or argue with his employer that this may not be his role.
On the other hand no sense of accomplishment is possible in the eyes of the average Trini male without these accomplishments being founded in drug trafficking, money laundering or high-profile connections. A successful businessman cannot be successful doing business legitimately. All politicians are crooks. Doctors are only in the medical field for the money. The media have a very large role to play in the future of T&T. The quality of the reporting and, more importantly, the level of quality control within the media to a large degree will either serve to take us forward or keep us in the dark age of suspicion, lack of self-pride and negativity. Perception, after all, is 99 per cent mindset. I challenge the media to minimise the reporting of all that is negative and drastically increase and maximise all things positive occurring in T&T for a short period of two years.
If during that time the level of crime has not dropped and the average Trinidadian has not grown to be more positive about his island, I would be proven wrong.�Move quality control from the manufacture of beer and paint into the newspaper business, delete all contamination in order to produce a high-quality product and just try this for two years. I guarantee you the end product will be a huge increase in sales, but the results will be a better Trinidad. I challenge those that have been stating they are Africans to please leave Trinidad for Trinidadians and go back to Africa. To those that wish to call themselves Indians and speak of Mother India, go back to India and leave the rest of Trinidad's Indian population in Trinidad.�
To those that speak of France and England, you also are free to leave. Leave Trinidad to Trinidadians. Leave us to�build a nation where men of Indian, African, white, Syrian, Lebanese, Chinese and other heritage work towards building a better country, one in which insecurity, suspicion, negativity and prejudice have no place. An island state in which the media properly understand their role alongside true�nation-builders. What Trinidad needs most now are Trinidadians. People derived from all parts of the globe living in true harmony. Tolerant and respectful. Men of high character and noble vision. The days of schoolchildren jay-walking across our main streets, causing traffic to shriek to a halt as these young princes and princess cross in front our cars are gone. The days where young men can wear pants down to their knees, underwear showing, are finished.
The days when Government and private sector employees work little for much pay must stop. No First World country nor a Third World island state can afford to continue allowing rampant incivility to continue. Prosecutors, judges and magistrates must become tough to the extreme. Sentences must be severe and swift. If we are serious about building T&T, that seriousness must be expressed in actions and also in talk. We must walk the path, talk the talk and become serious, otherwise we will lose the fight.�Trinidad in particular with our oil and gas provides each and every citizen with a calculable level of responsibility, both at home and in public. We must stop negativity in every shape, colour and wherever it rears its ugly head in its tracks.
The alternative is partially what we are seeing now. Crime, lawlessness and gay abandon are the current watchwords that must be shackled, handcuffed and jailed. We must put these childish things aside and grow as a people who understand that T&T's fate lies not in Patrick Manning's hands but in ours.
We must demand a quality press. Pressure out the radio hate talk shows.�If we Trinis like to protest then we must do so positively, not in anger but in determination to shape a country of law-abiding, hard-working, happy-playing Trinidadians.�The State is only a facilitator of the people. Making T&T the crown jewel of the Caribbean in all ways must be our individual mission.�If we fail, so does Trinidad. However, if we succeed we do so not for us but for our children. Both the�choice and the future belong to us.
?Christopher Robertson
Santa Cruz
