“When the streets get a chance to speak up
They want a brother that's gon' eat with 'em
Speak up about the same issues and run it straight
Ain't gon' play with 'em
My contents done changed up, so them twelve year olds need a young shepherd”
Fern in “The one with the friends”
Growing up, the only thing that concerned me during election time was collecting as many shirts as possible. Seeing all the billboards and flags lined up on all the street sides was also exciting, but not as much as who’d have the coolest shirt designs and slogans. With my mom not being originally from Sint Maarten, there was never a “culture” of voting at home; however, we did entertain party talks.
It’s weird not being able to remember what year it was when I first voted, but after a Google search, I saw that it was in 2010. Knowing absolutely nothing about what parties and candidates stood for, or what the government structure was and meant, I did the only logical thing – vote for who my mother told me to vote for (Hi mom!). Though at the time, listening to my mom seemed like a great decision and looking back, the vote was not a bad one, it just feels like I was silenced or didn’t allow my voice to be heard. Thinking back on this made me realize that once again, we are the biggest part of the problem. We have a generation of people who are loyal to parties and vote for “gifts,” pushing a younger generation in that same direction, increasing the number of “empty voters” instead of shaping a generation of critical thinkers.
Politics isn’t really my thing, but I decided from that point onwards, I needed to figure out a way to select and vote for the best candidate myself. Also on the list of things to figure out was the whole government structure and vote to seat ratio. Since then, it has become my mission to better understand “the process.”
I’m BIG on character. Who are you outside of politics? Do you really care about people? Do you really care about seeing people grow? Are you “edumacated”? Are you trying to sell me on false promises? Or are you trying to show me what’s really possible and how we can achieve it?
“Show me something natural like a** with some stretch marks” (Please, I hope you know the song to these lyrics lol). [Coordinator: These are song lyrics about a man being fed up with illusions; had they not been, I’d have taken them out. First warning, Cam.] It’s so played out now to be forever loyal to a particular party, they change like underwear (and drop like them too). [Coordinator: I understand you’re passionate, but second warning, Cam.] It’s so played out to sell your vote. Fam! It’s so played out to sell your vote. We’re entrusting our livelihoods, our futures, and our kids’ futures to a small group of people; why would you not invest more time in making sure you made the right decision?
Recently, I spoke with a friend of mine, who’s decided not to vote this year. She can't be bothered with politics. To her, it makes no sense if whoever does get elected doesn't actually make it to form the parliament; and on top of that, they still put their friends as ministers, even though they can't do the job. Aren’t they tired of failing screenings? My friend would prefer if all older politicians got out and not have any contact or affiliation with any new candidates when they are out, because it’s so easy for new candidates to just be groomed by the old heads; forming one big head with a lot of bodies.
I pointed out to her that we have to start breaking the cycle. It’s going really slowly, but I think the filtering out of old heads is happening. Last elections, we saw the youngest Member of Parliament. This election, we have options! WE need to try and get in one or two more. I met with a small group of young people last week to talk about “who we voting for” and it went really well. During the discussion, I brought up that we won’t see a huge change this election, but two new members this year and two new members in four years (PLEASE) and pretty soon, we’ll have a new regime. Imposing my opinion on people isn’t my thing, so we threw around different candidates we could see ourselves supporting.
Again, I’m not politically savvy, but I’m big on character and a pretty good judge of it, too. If anyone wants to meet up and discuss “why we should vote” and “how to choose where we vote,” just hit me up. There’s at least one person on each party that I’m considering and I’d be open to hearing your options too. [Coordinator: Good initiative, Cam. Way to stay open. Please use more discreet terms next time.]
Let’s break this cycle.
*Cues Marty’s “The one with the friends”*
[Coordinator: *Personally cues Pitbull ft. Stephen Marley – Options*]
