Sunday, July 23, 2023

Marie-Therese Belisle Nweke recently wrote a very important column on the difference between rich and poor nations. As she correctly states, it has nothing to do with the age of a country, but the attitude of the inhabitants. I believe it is the same reason why Third World nations remain third world in status. Some of these so-called underdeveloped nations produce some of the greatest minds the world has ever seen, but because of the brain drain, and with little hope of thriving to their fullest in the country of their birth, they migrate and make the rich countries richer. There are no incentives for them to stay and help their own rise up and advance. There are the few that stay, in spite of the odds against them, and prosper, but always too few to make a difference.

Attitude, yes, is absolutely important, but attitude alone does not explain why poor countries remain bogged down in their poverty. Neither does education, or lack of it, explain this lack of enthusiasm towards the goals, the aspirations to excel and build a better society and a stronger economy. Singapore is a perfect example of what attitude can do for a country. In that case it comes from leadership, instilling pride in its citizens, letting them know that they could achieve anything through hard work and dedication. Singapore was also a colony, but they did not allow colonialism to temper their spirits, to make them look for handouts. Lee Qwan Yew, the first leader of Singapore, dragged his citizens, kicking and screaming, into a more prosperous way of life. So, it can be done!

You can have all the attitude in the world, but without leadership to inspire, to insist that citizens excel, guiding them, giving them the tools to succeed and overachieve, you will remain stagnant. Most of the poor countries lack that leadership. The politicians are mostly in it for themselves, not for the common good. They see the art of politics as a business, not a calling for the betterment of others. Some don’t even believe or trust that the people they govern are capable enough to handle prosperity; they import foreigners to do jobs that are for, or should be done by, locals.

Jerry Jones, who owns the Dallas Cowboys, had this picture in his office of 2 vultures sitting on a branch. One says to the other: “Let’s go kill something!”

Attitude! Such a powerful message; don’t wait for it to come to you, go get it done yourself! Look at the difference between North and South Korea. The North is starving while the South is an economic behemoth. Attitude!

Marie-Therese Belisle Nweke, you asked for comments. You are 100% correct in your analysis as to why wi po, ahn wahn stay po. There’s neither the incentive nor the pride and especially the know-how, to better ourselves. We will remain rat catchers all our lives because we don’t know any better. We were never offered the vast possibilities that exist for us as a people. We have to go dah fareign fu find dat out. Then we don’t come back. We leave the rest of the rat catchers to fend for themselves, to their own devices, and the cycle of poverty and dependence continues. I blame our leaders for this catastrophe; no foresight, no vision of the endless possibilities that are there for the harvesting. And the rich nations become richer! The difference is indifference.

Sad but true. My 2 cents.

Glen