The building block or a wrecking ball?

Happy independence to my sweet SVG, an unrivalled beauty situated in the lower part of the eastern Caribbean.

As we celebrate our 45th year of political independence from Britain, I want to remind us that we should support each other on this journey called life.

In the 1700s, there were laws called the manumission laws in America that allowed slave owners to set free slaves on their own volition based on the slaves’ fidelity and performance on the plantation. No doubt this freedom was beneficial to the slave owners as well as the slaves. More important for the latter because in one year up to five slaves can be freed by plantation owners.

The manumission laws caused slaves to work harder and be obedient to obtain their freedom. This did two things for the slaves.

1. Obviously, it made slaves free from bondage and made “freemen” and “freewomen”, and brought greater productivity in some instances to plantation owners

2. Most significantly, it created competition among slaves. As a result, they started pulling down each other, “ratting” each other out and trying to outshine each other at any cost.

The latter is most significant as it is a mindset that was created then plagues us now. As an independent people, we still can’t see that there’s space for everyone to thrive and progress. Instead, we’re seeing competition that we must pull down and defeat to make it ahead. So we have become prideful and hate people when we see them making it in life ahead of each other.

If we take a page from out of our Arab and Middle Eastern countrymen, we will notice that for example, they sell their products for the same price because their mentality is “we all must eat”. For us, we no longer can sell bakes and codfish side by side for the same $2. Instead, we sell for $1.85 to put our brother out of business because of cheaper prices. That’s the competition that was created as a result of the manumission laws.

So, although Britain abolished physical slavery around 1833, the mindset of 1700s America is still evident. I know this is not emancipation but I see emancipation as a form of independence so I cannot separate them at this time. Nevertheless, the mindset is still prevalent in the 21st century, in business, education, religion, and social mobility among Vincentians.

My message is simple and plain, Vincies. As we move forward to greater things, even becoming a republic someday, we must learn to support each other. We have come through a volcanic eruption, hurricanes, COVID-19, and other social problems because our faith saw us through and our support for each other. Let this faith in God and support for each other be the catalyst that drives social cohesion so that we all can be a building block instead of a wrecking ball.

Happy 45th SVG, onward and upward we go.

Dr. Joseph Bobb