By this time next week, it will all be over: the political campaigning, the chants, the songs, the maypwis, the mudslinging.
Wounds will have deepened, tears will have been shed, and in the end, there will be winners and losers. There will be celebrations, and there will be retreats into disappointment. Such is the framework of the parliamentary democracy we inherited, part of our five-year cycle, part of life here in Saint Lucia.
It is a winner-takes-all scenario under this British system, one that inevitably inflames deep-seated passions of political allegiance. The electorate rallies with fervour, hoping their party secures control of state resources. The defeated, meanwhile, are left feeling ostracised.
Although the campaign has been short – just three weeks since the prime minister announced the election date – it has been intense, brimming with passion that at times boiled over into malice, vandalism and sporadic violence.
From political platforms to communities and homes, brothers, fathers, sisters, mothers and neighbours have been pitted against one another. This system is deeply divisive.
In our West Indian society, many things unite us: culture, music, carnival, and our shared ancestry. Politics, however, is not one of them.
The December 1 General Election comes just a day after the start of Advent, the season Christians set aside to prepare for the celebration of Christ’s birth. Advent is marked by peace, goodwill, joy, love, and the spirit of giving – a time of coming together.
Yet the fruits of Advent were scarcely visible in the recent campaign. Quite the opposite: love was replaced by vitriol, and serious discourse was too often reduced to clownish, even puerile, behaviour.
Meanwhile, our children are watching.
These are the same children ushered onto sidewalks on nomination day, urged to chant for one party while being handed partisan paraphernalia – often without their parents’ consent. The indefensible has been defended, and our children are not only exposed to bad political habits and breaches but are now being used as pawns.
Our children deserve better.
We hope the framers of the recently signed code of conduct will review what has transpired this season and publish a document acknowledging our shortcomings – and how we can do better moving forward.
We also hope the country can return to normalcy quickly, and that those in a position to counsel and support the inevitably hurting on the losing side will do so.
There must be a time of celebration for the victors, and a time of healing for the defeated. In both, let us act with civility and compassion, remembering that at the end of it all, there is one Saint Lucia – a nation we must all strive to make better for our children.
And as we move into the Festival of Lights and Renewal on December 13, and then into Christmas, may we share a spirit of forgiveness, compassion, love, peace and joy.
The voices of our children are crying out for no less.
