KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent, Mar. 3, IWN — This country is engaged in an exercise to determine who, if anyone, should join His Excellency Joseph Chatoyer as National Hero.
But historian Dr. Adrian Fraser says there has not been any serious discussion as to “why there is need for national heroes and what this national hero issue is all about”.
Fraser made the point on Thursday as he presented his case for George Augustus McIntosh as a national hero.
“Why do we need national heroes? I believe that this should have been part of a national discussion and, in making this point, I have to put up front a simple point that we often overlook. And that is, a national hero is not a god. Our heroes are human beings and will have fault like any other human beings.
“These have to be taken into account especially when we examine the times in which they functioned and the circumstances they faced. Chatoyer, for instance, was said to have slaves, but we have paid little attention to this,” Fraser said.