In a world where power - political and economic - determines who gets to shape the destiny of countries and individuals, "Vision of Change" introduces a completely different paradigm by which those who would lead must live. What is proposed, though not utopian, requires that leaders take an objective look at what has been the status quo for eons and admit that the various -isms have not worked. In "Vision of Change" a call goes forth for the dismantling of the present socio-political system which thrives off evil machinations, mal-intention, misinformation and misfortune, and proposes, instead, governance characterized by spirituality, servant-hood, mutuality and humility. This book will challenge and at times confront.
Vision Of Change
A Caribbean PerspectiveBy JOAN M. PURCELLAuthorHouse
Copyright © 2011 Joan M. Purcell
All right reserved.ISBN: 978-1-4634-3260-7Contents
Dedication....................................................................................................viiAcknowledgments...............................................................................................ixForeword: Dr Wendy C Grenade..................................................................................xiPreface.......................................................................................................xviiIntroduction: The Call For A Vision Of Change.................................................................xxiA Caribbean Perspective.......................................................................................1Political Power: The Caribbean Dilemma........................................................................3Power: Humanized And Compromised..............................................................................8Power: Redeemed And Reconciled................................................................................10Spirituality Of Power.........................................................................................13Spiritual Power And Cultural Power: The Caribbean Hope........................................................16The Constructing Of A Vision Of Change........................................................................27A Dirge To Dreams—The Traditional Paradigms.............................................................29A Song Of Victory: The Fundamental Paradigm: Human Transformation.............................................37A Prayer Of Hope—An Alternative Paradigm: Structural Re-Creation........................................43The Character Of A Vision Of Change...........................................................................67Developing A Wholistic Model..................................................................................71Psycho-Spiritual Change: Principle-Centered Leadership........................................................72Religo-Cultural Change: Soul Force............................................................................78Socio-Political Change—Community Governance.............................................................84Socio-Economic Change: Development As Stewardship.............................................................92The Cornerstones Of The Vision Of Change......................................................................99The Imperative Of Faith.......................................................................................101The Challenge Of Politics.....................................................................................111The Calling Of Leadership.....................................................................................122The Centrality Of Faith: Faith, Politics, Leadership—The Greatest Of These Is Faith.....................142References....................................................................................................145Bibliography..................................................................................................164
Chapter One
POLITICAL POWER: THE CARIBBEAN DILEMMA
Power that is no longer exercised under God seeks to play God. Darrell Johnson
The struggle for political power in the lands of the contemporary Caribbean has been disheartening. It is a tale of woe, compounded by economic and industrial unrest, interpersonal and racial conflicts, street violence, criminal activities such as drug trafficking and kidnapping, national rebellion and revolution. In this part of the world, comprised mostly but not entirely of island-states, parliamentary principles and constitutional processes have been perverted and derailed. Political leadership has undermined people-power through personal charisma, intellectual snobbery, deliberate mystification and party manipulation. Underlying the façade of nevertheless touted success is a system of graft, corruption and institutional deceit. Evidently, the cause of democracy has been ill served by persons declaring commitment to gaining and keeping political power while in reality accomplishing no more than the support and maintenance of the 'status quo'.
Consequently, Caribbean people have become, in general, disillusioned and disenchanted with their political realities. After decades of mostly 'dashed' hopes, the rhetoric of politicians today is greeted with much apathy, muted indifference and at times scepticism and even cynicism. In some instances politicians are made to feel the pervasive pessimism that is packaged with insults and even rudeness. Yet, strangely, every five years or so hundreds of thousands of nationals continue to go through the oftentimes violent process that involves campaigning expensively and then casting unwisely a ballot to put a party 'in power'. However noticeably, once that seemingly distasteful task of voting is done, the majority of citizenry retreat into political apathy marked by non-involvement and unreasonable expectations! In some instances, there are individuals who organize chicanery, but most persons retreat to engaging in what may be termed broadly, living a life of indifference to transformational possibilities.
The ruling party ascends with pomp and pageantry and then proceeds to flout the newly acquired authority they once espoused to despise. The now chastened 'Opposition,' both official and unofficial, proceeds to systematically discredit whatever good, bad or indifferent programs that the party in office chooses to announce or attempt. In that regard they tend to have dependable allies among some influential groups in the community. In that social situation among deprived, underdeveloped Caribbean people, the spoils of victory are expected to go to winners and their adherents while members of the 'defeated' community retreat into bitterness and disinterest. The consequence is that the best interest of the people is abandoned in favour of a pervasive spirit of negativity and divisiveness and underdevelopment and poverty remain persistent allies of our rapidly aging democracies.
In regard to this assessment, I found the work of Caribbean scholar, David Hinds' in his discourse on Democracy and Governance in the Anglophone Caribbean to be extremely useful in corroborating my own personal insights and even more importantly in providing ananalysis drawn from the work of notable regional scholars on the state of parliamentary democracy and governance in our nation states. Permit me, therefore to draw attention to some significant comments and conclusions from this paper.
One of the significant observations he made is that while it was generally agreed by several Caribbean scholars that the Westminster model of democracy that characterized our pre and post independence eras had provided some significant level of constitutional order and stability in the region, except for the experiments of Guyana (1968-1992) and Grenada ((1979-1983), it had not contributed to the expected political, social and economic equality and advancement. Hinds remarks:
Instead, the antidemocratic culture that characterized the pre-independence order, despite some modifications at the time of independence, has persisted in the post-colonial era ... It can also reasonably be argued that there has, in our region, been too destructive a competition...
