It has been confirmed there will be no election debates this year. The decision has been made but no doubt the kass-kass will continue. I had a few questions on the matter:

1) If America wasn’t currently staging endless presidential election debates, would we be boiling up like an overheated kettle to ensure that we have ours too?

2) What should the audience expect? A knock-down, drag out, kick in the head evening’s entertainment, or a solemn discussion of where the money is to come from, or promises descending like rain on a drought-stricken land?

3) Which of the protagonists will the people believe? The promise of get rich within 24 hours after the ballot counting ends, or the spoilsport who will warn that we will have to “band wi belly and suck salt” through the usual wooden spoon?

Will we get a chance to trace one another? What would it be worth if we can’t trace somebody’s lineage? We will have to await the final count and see who will be the successful candidate and — although not meek — will they inherit the Earth? In the meantime threats of lawsuits and countersuits abound. Will the bout end early or we’ll go on so late that we can ask for time off and continue the battle next day, at which point Trump may arrive by private jet to teach us how to tek more liberty wid one another? Poor him. Nobody has told him that we can’t be beat when it comes to “liberty-tekking”.

Well, up to the time of writing this column, Party Orange and Party Green continue to bicker as election day draws closer. Are the debates the only way to discuss matters? How else would ‘A’ claim supremacy over ‘B’? Now, as we go forth, dare we pause for the cause? Meanwhile, a new song is born. You are invited to sing: “Debate, oh debate…Why must we wait! Media is pounding at the gate, while pastors pray for the nation’s fate.” Respect due to who and who! We move on!

Whose community is it, anyway?

If you ask me — and even if you don’t — what really do we expect from elections? What drives some people to insist on declaring that they have no intention, whatsoever, of going to a polling station. To hear them talk, you’d believe that some kind of deadly virus lies within. “Vote? No, Sah. Not me. Don’t get me mixed-up in that foolishness. I don’t trust any politician. Vote? No way! No, Sah!”

So, if there were no politicians to rule over us, who do you think should have responsibility for the administration of the country’s resources? Who is to fix the roads, see that schools are built, ensure that the health system is maintained? We want water, electricity, and nuff money, to quote a few. Things should get done but who will do it? If we do not vote, what will happen to Parliament and the parish council? Shouldn’t we, as citizens of a once-proud nation, have a responsibility some time or other? Who say is only politicians can take charge?

The reluctant community

Quite recently, there was a report of a community in one of the parishes where citizens have declared that they have no intention to choose any of the candidates who want to lead them. Say what?! The community leader, it is said, has made it known that he will not endorse any of the political representatives who come a-calling (they say) to satisfy his community’s needs. They say, they’re not going to reward anybody by electing them to any high office. Question, then, how will the community attain the goals of an organised community? Can the people do it themselves…fix potholes, maintain the water supply, bargain for electricity, set up schools, arrange for health care, establish a police post, and see to other necessities to create the kind of community which they want? Given a chance, perhaps they can manage for themselves, but for how long?

It is an intriguing thought. There are two candidates competing for the honour of one or the other being the elected to run the show. However, the people are alleged to have declared that they favour neither one — action known as “getting a bulla”.

So, what then? There must be a leader of some kind, some centre of authority to hold things together. Could it be that everyone in the community might come together with one goal in mind? Will everyone accept the responsibility to maintain their part of the community?

There was a time — albeit long gone —when the concept of community meant involvement by all the people who lived there. It didn’t need a member of parliament to clean the streets. Those long-ago people took pride in maintaining cleanliness of both public and private space. People lived up to the maxim of “cleanliness is next to godliness”. Why can’t that happen today?

Today, if “di Govament” doesn’t make arrangements for the community to be cleaned, then is bangarang; and is their fault why we throw the garbage in the gully. No one likes being charged for necessities. Everybody wants jobs, but nothing too hard. Is it politics which rules, or is it the politician? Things change. People change. Life ain’t what it used to be. So, how do we go forward now? What if there were no politicians? What would happen? Would the leaders have to be led? Would we continue debating while progress stands still?

Calling all communities

In the name of life, health and sanity, please don’t let the Zika virus be turned into a war, like we did with CHIKV when the excuses were that the public was not informed. Today, there is no shortage of information made available, not only here but throughout the rest of the Caribbean, Latin America, and even more distant lands, all accessible to us by global communication. This time, can we really say we didn’t know?

Since children are the most vulnerable in this plague, have a heart. Give the children a fighting chance; the newborn especially. Come on, clean up the place. It costs nothing to get hold of the information material. Get it and learn what is to be known. The child who might be saved just might be yours or a grandchild. Get going. For Heaven’s sake, don’t let it get tangled up in politics. We’ve had enough of it now.

By the way, this should be mandatory subject matter for debate, not for contention’s sake, but for the good of the people, real good at that.

Barbara Gloudon is a journalist, playwright and commentator. Send comments to the Observer orgloudonb@yahoo.com.