Trinidad and Tobago will be celebrating its Golden Jubilee day of Independence on Friday 31st December. I am very proud of my country in many way. We have achieved so much for two islands that look like dots in the midst of the huge landmasses of planet Earth. Just look at Keshorn Walcott. He is the first black man, from the Western Hemisphere to get a gold medal at the London Olympics for javelin throwing, a sport long dominated by white European countries.. Two of the three black Miss Universes (Janelle Penny Commission Chow and Wendy FitsWilliams) are Trinbagonians. Sir Vidia Naipaul, A Nobel Peace Prize winner famous for his books A House For Mr. Biswas comes from my homeland Our island even created the steel-pan, the most modern musical instrument. Yes, indeed we have much to thank God for.
But this twin island republic also got a lot of "blessings" that proved to be mixed. One of them were free education. Our founding father and first Prime Minister, Dr. Eric Eustace Williams, in a famous address said, "the future of our nation is in our children's schoolbags." Dr. Williams made it possible for the poor people who did not have access to schools to get a good education. He also instituted the public assistance programs and other government aid schemes to help the less fortunate of this country.
Unfortunately, many people have gotten into the mold that the government is totally responsible to supply jobs and other amenities. They feel that they are entitled to these things,and get extremely angry when they don't. They refuse to move beyond the 'help me' stage of entitlement and come together and find some way of helping themselves. There are so many extremely brilliant young men that use their talents and abilities to steal, kill and destroy people as gang members, when they can use these same abilities to help themselves and their communities.
As our Independence Day dawns day after tomorrow and we have our Independence parades, let us resolve to move from a "you owe me"attitude to "what can I do to help myself and others?" mentality.
"Also, make it your goal to live quietly, to do your work, and earn your own living, as we ordered you." 1 Thessalonians 4 verse 11. (God's Word Translation #1995)
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