What Haitians never seem to grasp about civic responsibilities and obligat

Max says...

If "The whole is greater than the sum of its parts," a universally accepted principle that's been around since the time of Aristotle, Haitians seem to have mindlessly disavowed the veracity of this concept by excluding themselves from the requirements which citizens the world over, are from time to time called upon to meet in managing with skills the affairs of their State.

In so doing, Haitians have not only excluded themselves from all civic responsibilities and obligations vis-à-vis that State, but also removed Haiti from all possibilities to profit from any blessing, be it natural or divine.

This withdrawal explains in part, Haiti's perpetual class wrangling and never-ending political strife--an environment which attracts international scoundrels in much the same way a dead carcass attracts vultures from miles around.

Haiti has become a puzzle to the world and an embarrassment to the region in which she is geographically located.

This change in Haiti's profile hinges on Haitians' lack of a civic character, on the one hand, and a deadly combination of an international and home-grown brand of Gangsterism, on the other.

But on the whole, Haitians themselves with their cowardly perception of things(refusal to grab the bull by the horn), their attitude of {'well, God will provide'} and the total loss of a sense of human dignity, must bear the brunt of criticism for what Haiti's been turned into today.

As citizen of a country, you can expect to be forced to take part in State sanctioned activities and practices that may go against your personal principles.

And because you are citizen of a country, some unwritten 'Golden Rule' decreed that a time may come for you to take it upon yourself to initiate steps that may go against established norms, be they domestic or international.

After all, nothing earthly or heavenly can be more sacred than to defend the honor and integrity of your homeland.

That's what true citizens do in times of war, for example.

When the security and well-being of the homeland is threatened, entire government may go in hiding until the storm has passed.

But the citizenry is left to fend for itself as well as counted upon to assure the defense of the motherland by whatever means necessary.

That's what true citizens do in a country they call their own. Unfortunately though, this concept is alien to the Haitian mind. Hence, this perpetual spinning of wheels in a country that gets nowhere in over two hundred years of nationhood.

Now, the world conveniently calls Haiti a 'Failed State.' And today she is in tatters, literally.

Not because all is lost by any stretch of the imagination, but most likely because Haitians may have long lost their every last nerves needed to rescue Haiti from Haitians themselves.

Haiti has become a nation made up of cowards; people who rely upon the benevolence of outsiders, to do for them what they should be doing for themselves.

They go on telling the world that they still have the blood of their founding fathers running through their veins.

But it's just a put on. Haitians have such a soft spot for the easy way of life, even though they won't lift a finger to create and maintain an environment where living can be easy even in relative terms.

The reader who finds this characterization of Haitians to be polemical at best, or a form of piling on at worst, will have to prove the writer wrong with concrete proofs of actions Haitians took since 1804 to change the socio-economic and political course that's been chartered for them. Otherwise shut the heck up
When it comes to the "Whole" Aristotle spoke about, Haiti is that 'whole'.

Haitians need to understand and believe that in defending the honor and integrity of that 'whole' no one man or group of men's idea or notion can ever take priority.

The Whole must prevail in all things.

Had Haitians been willing to consider this concept, Rene Preval would only dare to tell that battered nation of his Continuity Plan at the risk and peril of his own life.
Moreover, If Rene Preval knew that Haiti is the kind of nation that nurses men and women capable of separating his head from the rest of his body, he would break into cold sweat at the very thought of pulling, let alone carrying out the selectoral stunt he carried out last November 28th. Once again, Haiti and Haitians have failed and Rene Preval and the rotten system have prevailed.

Make no mistake.

To prevail over this cesspool of a political system like the one in Haiti, may very well mean the systematic elimination of any one man or group of men whose notion of things run counter to what is good and advantageous to the interests of that 'whole.' Oh, please, spare this writer the nauseating sermons of non-violence often preached to pacify those born without back bones.

It is high time for Haitians to learn the order the horse and the cart come in.
Those who speak of social change through non-violence often are high on some mind-altering substance, and think more about their own political career rather than the victims' suffering.

Haitians can ill-afford to allow themselves to be lumped among those born without back bones.

The story of their ancestors evokes thoughts that are awe-inspiring.

Haitians ought to be tired of this weak, irresolute, wishy-washy image that the entire world has formed.

perehaps justifiably so, about them. A case in point,
if some circumstances should ever force Haitians to work hard towards a certain goal, they seem totally incapable or unwilling to charter on their own a course that would bring about the desired result.

In light of this observation, one must wonder candidly the questions that follow: if Boukman did not leave Jamaica to go to Haiti where he became instrumental in fermenting and inciting the slaves' uprising in that Island, would that which became known as the Haitian Revolution ever takes place?

And is it any wonder why former Jamaican Prime Minister, Edward Seaga, would sarcastically urge then President of Haiti, Jean Claude (Baby doc) Duvalier to "give the Haitian people democracy, if he said, democracy is truly what they want."
Now, those among you who are not very familiar with coded political jargons of international gangsters, may think Mr. Seaga's heart and mind were in the right place and his intentions honorable.

Except that when you read between the lines, it becomes crystal clear that he was alluding to the kind of democracy that is brought down the barrel of an M-16. Simply put, he wanted Baby doc to massacre the Haitian people.

In a somewhat contextually connected statement, Mr. Seaga forbad Jamaican Nationals from going to Haiti to buy goods for resale purposes (see Jamaican Hicklers).

Haiti, he said, is not a country Jamaicans should go to, to buy any thing.

Now, as much as one's sense of national pride and patriotic pudeur may make you want to spit in the man's face, you can't help but respect, admire and appreciate his excellent sense of national stewardship.

Obviously he wanted to avoid letting his country's finances to be compromised by a conceivable trade imbalance between the two islands.

That is precisely the role of a national leader.

And perhaps if Haiti ever had one leader of Mr. Seaga's caliber, she would not be in the socio-political and economic cesspool she finds herself today.

But all that aside, nothing exposes more glaringly the hands of the so-called international community where Haiti's on-going political turbulence is concerned.

Mr. Seaga knew instinctively that when the smart and politically conscious Jamaicans get together with the not-so-gutsy, not-so-creative Haitians, the international goons and gangsters will not be able to sleep easy. So he made sure, in fact he made damn sure that this nascent commercial friendship between the two islands is nipped in the bud from very early on.
Still a number of very ticklish questions remain unanswered.

If the Jamaican Negroes managed to extract a minimum of living standard from the Jamaican Syrians who control that island's wealth, what is it about the Haitian -Syrians who are in the same enviable position as their Jamaican-Syrian counterparts, that makes them so obstinately unyielding, even after almost two hundred years of confiscating what is rightfully the Haitian-Negroes' birthright?

And by right, the reader should understand the writer to mean simply, the right to live like human beings.

Is there some formula somewhere that can be used, some special force that can be applied, and what is it?

Haitians are going to have to question seriously how the Jamaican- Negroes negotiated with their Jamaican-Syrians compatriots the living standard they both currently enjoy.

If living in Jamaica is so much better that Haitians think it's worth while to risk their lives by getting to the sea in some dinghy to reach Jamaican shore where they hope to beg for political asylum, Then, Haitians would be well advised to consider taking the Jamaicans approach to negotiation and apply it to their needs wherever applicable.

If that fails, since failure seems to be this people's greatest accomplishment in over two hundred years, Haitians will have been left no other option but to call up plan 'B' which can be no less than a Second Revolution.

Haitians have been made to accept the unacceptable, tolerate the intolerable for too damn long. Humanity itself ought to be ashamed for what Haitians have been put through.

If indeed, 'the Whole is greater than the sum of its parts,' let those parts learn once and for all, to submit to the supremacy of that whole.

If need be, let someone teach those parts to defer with reverence to the potential of that whole.

Max

Posted by Max on January 5 2011 at 9:08 PM

Messages in this topic

Max, I say amen and insiswatil to this master piece. I take my hat off to you. Damn you're good! I couldn't have layed it down any better. In fact, no one else could. You just made a believer out of me to the saying "save the best for last. > >
Tiba, 6-Jan-11 7:38 am