Turning Judgement Day Into A Living History

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Dr Newton

Tuesday, 26 October 2010 12:29

By Dr Issac Newton

The most significant single syllable to emerge from this collective theatre of impatience, after the Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal delivers its studied findings on Wednesday, is the opportunity for Antiguans and Barbudans, to express to the fullest, their struggle to convert lingering questions into nation-building endeavors.

It is expected that political players exercise prudence and maturity in the interest of national interest.  Should the ruling evoke parliamentary proceedings and the nation returns to the polls to determine leadership certainty or should the judiciary rule otherwise, it is further expected, that the relationship encompassing the rights of the people and the justice of the land will remain sacrosanct.  There is no need for public dramatics of mutual distrust mixed with fear and trembling.

Won’t it be a wonderful testimony to posterity, that we, in our momentous present, transform our country from a wild fire into a glittering light?

The Court will either uphold or overturn Justice Blenman’s ruling in the exercise of its final authority. A range of responses and reactions will flow and follow as various legal and political interests search for legitimacy in the loopholes between the spirit and the letter of the rule of law.

At stake are three critical issues worth exploring. First, before the entire world, our cultural values and national integrity are about to be brilliantly tried and attentively tested.  For Antigua and Barbuda to shine as a nation committed to the impulse of democratic governance, the leadership and follow-ship must demonstrate full respect for the potency of freedom and fairness built into our system of democracy.

Second, on full dramatizing display, will be our tendency to bequeath to our children thriving and surviving attributes in the face of storm and stress. We can pass on the angst of immeasurable misery, in which we become overburdened by our trials and perpetuate further social tension and emotional violence. Or we can revise our partisan mindset towards an infectious resolve, in which we oversee a more cheerful future during these crucial moments.

Third, although we have travelled an unimaginable short distance of 29 years together since our independence from Britain in 1981, and although we have irritated each other, we have also shared a love for family, politics, religion, laughter, beaches, cricket, carnival, grandparents’ stories, peace, gossip, and neighborly concerns.


Perhaps now is the time that political blindness, social rancor and power-hungry ambitions, must not live. We have every reason to emerge out of this of limbo-ism with uncommon strength. Shall we face our bitter nights of crossroads challenges with dignified reflection and action?

Ultimately, leaders do not achieve positive outcomes by imposing unnecessary constraints and forced limitations.  They provide ample opportunities for consensus building and conflict management. Governance through popular buy-in isn’t afraid of freedom of expressions. We ought always to encourage a national ethos where being our brother’s keeper and our sister’s neighbor is everybody’s business.

Let’s make Wednesday’s ruling a mirror reflection of a legend-making moment. Therefore, we should not unleash conditions that descend our nation into democratic decay. Right now, a history of dying growth or bountiful expansion dares us to seek the greater good. To the exact degree that we position ourselves to turn ‘Judgment Day’ into the most redemptive moment the nation has ever known, is to the same degree, that we give birth to responsible people-hood.  

Dr. Isaac Newton-International Leadership and Change Management Consultant and Political Adviser who specializes in Government and Business Relations, and Sustainable Development Projects. Dr. Newton works extensively, in West Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America and is a graduate of Oakwood College, Harvard, Princeton and Columbia. He has published several books on personal development and written many articles on economics, leadership, political, social, and faith based issues.

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