Dear Editor,
I tend to spend the last day of the year reflecting on the events of the past 364 days, wondering if I have upgraded myself in any way, be it spiritually or materially, though the latter is not very important to me. Property does not last forever, and wealth may dwindle to less than nothing. I also remind myself that I am now 364 days older than I was a year ago. We are all 365 plus days closer to whatever God has in store for us, be it good or bad. I did not spend too much time pondering on the horrendous destruction Hurricane Irma left behind. Her name is now firmly embedded in our minds; we will be talking about her every September for decades to come.
Some anxious year-end questions never fail to pop up. I hate to start out the New Year with negative thoughts, but I am very concerned about our island's political future. What will the outcome of the upcoming elections be? Will the status quo – the persistent instability, political greed and corruption – go on forever? Bear in mind that it is no longer only the Dutch who claim our government is corrupt; two or three of our local politicians – those who have mustered up a good bit of courage – have publicly stated during a parliamentary meeting that there is corruption in parliament. Too bad they did not speak up sooner, but better late than never.
Will the same people keep returning over and over? If the same minds keep returning, how will there ever be a change? I am afraid that if the same faces keep coming back, people are going to get frustrated with our local politics to the point where they will stop voting. Several people I know have already reached that point. However, not voting will only serve to perpetuate the existing state of affairs. Voters are constantly being deceived by the eloquence of some politicians, ignoring the fact that although these politicians have been there for decades, they have failed to accomplish anything significant for the people. It's the skill of their persuasive tongues that sustains them, not their accomplishments.
Will the not-so-smart people among us continue to sell their votes? An acquaintance of mine was in a hardware store a couple of days after Hurricane Irma and couldn't help but overhear a phone conversation between a lady and a certain high-ranking politician. The conversation went something like this: "My roof is gone, what can you do for me? (She was unaware that her phone's speaker was on, and that several people standing in line at the cashier could easily follow the conversation.) The reply came loud and clear, "Don't worry, I will send a contractor there to fix it." My acquaintance looked around and saw several people looking at each other and smiling.
This politician – who has been in government for ages – knows that by fixing this lady's roof he is buying her and her family's votes for many elections to come. Any politician, I do not care how long he or she has been in government – who offers to buy your vote by whatever means – is untrustworthy.
They have been talking about electoral reform in order to put an end to vote-buying and ship-jumping for a long time, but have never carried it through, because it is clearly not in their favour.
Do we not yet realize that it is not just our wellbeing that is at stake, but also the wellbeing of our children and grandchildren? We owe it to them to sieve our non-functioning government and replace it with one that will honestly have the interests of our people (not their own) at heart. Replace the non-productive ones and re-elect those who are earnestly trying. By now, you should be able to distinguish them.
The Bible states: With men who have understanding and knowledge, stability will last. We have suffered under unstable governments from the outset of becoming a country; it is therefore safe to assume that we have always lacked people with understanding and knowledge in our government. The few of them who have understanding and knowledge have always been a small minority, and therefore ineffective.
Let us hope and pray that fewer voters will sell their votes this time around – even though they need the money now more than ever. I hope every voter will seriously consider in whose hands he or she wants to entrust the future wellbeing of his/her children. Moreover, let us all pray that God will raise up God-fearing men who have wisdom and understanding, are incorruptible and competent to govern this beloved island of ours.
On a pleasant note, a young niece of mine was feeling “depressed” on New Year's Eve, because there were no fireworks lighting up the night sky. However, looking heavenward, she said, "God sent me my first smile for 2018." She posted a beautiful picture of a full moon over St. Maarten.
God blessed us with a full moon on the very first night of the New Year! I believe that in spite of all the misgivings we have, He is telling us, "Fear not, St. Maarten, everything is going to be alright." May He spare us from Irma's twin sister and another unstable government in 2018 and many more years beyond. Praise His Name, people!
Clive Hodge
