Saturday, June 7, 2025 at 9:45 PM
In the end, it is not the lawyers or bureaucrats or politicians, or all the institutions that make a society function smoothly and honestly, but an independent press. One that refuses to be trampled over by untruths and threats by governments who do not have the wellbeing of the nation as their primary objective. Politicians, whose goals are to run roughshod over anyone and anything that might expose their corruption and disregard, contrary to the wishes of the people. The press is that fortress that stands, mighty and strong and unbending, protecting us as citizens, in a civil society!
An unbiased press is becoming increasingly important in these troubling times, in Belize, in America, in the world! I am proud to acknowledge how aggressive and detailed Amandala’s editorials have been, when and where they find corruption in government or wherever, in the Jewel. Channel 7 and the indomitable Jules Vasquez, a thorn in the side of the establishment, the PUDP establishment, are unrelenting in getting to the truth. I’m proud that people of Belize still have that luxury of getting facts from their press, and not propaganda. That the government still recognizes the importance of the freedom of the press, which I’m sure they hate, most of the time.
In America, the Trump administration is doing its darnedest to suppress free speech, and honest reporting. It is alarming, the amount of disinformation that is dished out every day, and if not for that dwindling list of unbiased media still left, we would be living in a Soviet-style democracy, not a dictatorship yet, but a semi-democracy. Where truth is what the government wants it to be, not what you can see with your own lying eyes! He is trying to destroy the press’s credibility through intimidation and lawsuits, and with a Republican Party that is too afraid to confront his lawlessness. He is copying the Orban playbook in Hungary. The Washington Post has already buckled under the pressure, where truth or fact can now be subjective. That is the same paper that broke the Watergate scandal, which in turn brought down a president. The Wall Street Journal and the New York Times are still being steadfast in reporting facts, along with the few local newspapers and television stations that haven’t as yet been bought out by corporations.
The exposure and cancellation of those sordid contracts to security firms in the Jewel makes everyone understand, if they hadn’t already, that corruption is still rampant in government, no matter the Party. It makes one want to take a bath, to rid oneself of the stench that emanates from the swamp of greed and larceny. The Prime Minister spoke about hubris in his inaugural address to the nation a couple of months ago and gave me, for one, hope that a new day was dawning. Yet they are now appearing to be as corrupt, if not more so, than the last administration. Apparently, they have failed to realize why they have no opposition to contend with. He might realize it, but those around him obviously do not. They see this Jewel of ours as their personal piggy bank, to enrich themselves and their families and friends, while ordinary citizens are struggling to survive.
Meanwhile, teachers are trying to keep their heads above water in an economy that does not include them, where they are invisible and forgotten or inconsequential, in the larger scheme of things. The government whines about the possibility of having to raise taxes to pay for those raises which are long overdue. No, no, no, no! Stop giving away money to your pals and associates. Stop the grift. Stop rewarding employees with undeserved fat salaries. Cut out the fat and give the educators a respite from barely surviving. Give them back their dignity in order for them to fulfill their purpose, to educate those who are the future of Belize.
The Publisher reminds us in his columns that the PUP was founded on the backs of unions, the very same unions they are now betraying. Why is it that politicians, after being elected, turn their backs on those who “brung them here” and start catering to the rich? It is one of those unexplainable phenomena that happens 90% of the time, except for leaders like Sankara, a leader who remained true to his base and lost his life because of it. Again, to quote Stephen King, you have forgotten the faces of your fathers!
I am so glad that we still have investigative journalists who root out corruption and abuse and nepotism and kickbacks. My goodness, look at the Belizean beach fiasco! And no one is going to jail for that either? And when I talk about jail, I don’t mean for the beneficiaries of graft, but for the politicians and their allies who perpetuate that fraud on an unsuspecting public. But, as the saying goes, hand wash hand.
It is so disrespectful to the voters, to not even be embarrassed, and to continue to deny them their opportunity to grow and compete and prosper without the odds being stacked against them. It is so disgusting that politicians believe that memories are so short that their greed and grifting will be forgiven or forgotten by the next elections. It is blatant disregard and a sense of entitlement that enables them to do the very things they campaigned against, and at whose expense? We, di pipple, of course. And the beat goes on. Wat a ting!
“Greed is good!” — Gordon Gekko
Glen