Barbadians have been on a political roller coaster ride since the 1960s. The problem with a roller coaster is that the fun only lasts for a short time. Barbadians had some fun under the BLP and the DLP. Barbadians also had some victories under both parties. Victories in labour. Victories in social development and sports but the world has changed since that time.
The West Indies cricket team was formidable and almost untouchable in the 70s and 80s but somewhere along the line the other cricketing nations learnt from us and evolved. We didn’t. Now we are playing catchup.
FILE PHOTO: Cricket – ICC Cricket World Cup – Sri Lanka v West Indies – Emirates Riverside, Chester-Le-Street, Britain – July 1, 2019 West Indies Carlos Brathwaite runs out Sri Lanka’s Kusal Perera Action Images via Reuters/Lee Smith/File Photo
As a society in 2025, we are still playing catchup. The unfortunate thing is that the Bees and the Dees are still living in the golden days of Adams and Barrow and resting on their achievements while playing partisan politics with each other and with Barbadians. The world has changed since those days. In fact the world, politics and leadership has evolved since those days.
We put so much effort and time into talking and cooperating with international organizations such as the UN and the IADB who are only in it for their own agenda and survival but we refuse to spend one minute talking and cooperating with our own people because our own people are not in our own party.
The time has come for the way how we do things to change. The way how we lead must change. The way how we make decisions for this country must change. The way how we practice politics must change and it must change now.