Posts tagged as:

democracy

On the mis-education of the Bahamian citizen

1 February 2012

One of the reasons I am unmoved by either any of the current political parties’ manifesti, plans or proposals, is that I have the pleasure of teaching new groups of young Bahamians every year. This is a pleasure, because they are far more open and interested than they have any right to be, given the abysmal [...]

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Answering the challenge: a consideration of patriotism, democracy, and voting – part I

24 January 2012

Of all the responses to the Voter’s Manifesto I received, it was the one that challenged it that I appreciated the most. Not that I didn’t welcome the people who commented and wrote in support of the Manifesto, or that I am not happy to know that the original seemed to have struck a chord [...]

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A Reader Responds to the Voter’s Manifesto

17 January 2012

Got the following response to my Voter’s Manifesto. It was sent privately, for reasons the writer makes clear, but as that individual has encouraged me to post the response and to respond in my turn, I’m honouring the request. Happy New Year I wish to challenge your Voter’s Manifesto as ill-conceived, emotive and racist. You [...]

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A Voter’s Manifesto

16 January 2012

With elections around the corner and three political parties, none of which appear to have formulated, much less articulated, any new or credible plan for Bahamian development or growth in twenty-first century (and no, planning to beg more rich people for more money to buy up more of our precious archipelago does not count), I [...]

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The Duty to Vote – by Simon

2 January 2012

I’ve been thinking about this commentary by “Simon” of Bahama Pundit (and the Nassau Guardian): To refuse to vote is a decision.  It shows a level of disdain and contempt for our democratic system.  There is certain arrogance to those who feel that voting is beneath them and that they won’t participate in electing “those [...]

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Global Financial Crisis Highlights the Threat to Liberal Democracy’s Survival | The Jakarta Globe

5 September 2011

A commentary well worth reading in full. I’ve been thinking along these lines for some time–not with regard to the democracy part so much but certainly with regard to the conflation of liberal democracy with free-market capitalism, and thinking, as these commentators are saying, that it is coming to an end. I am not so [...]

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Larry Smith on The Alternate Reality of Bahamian Squatter Settlements

4 August 2011

This is an issue that needs research, reflection, and discussion, not knee-jerking. Larry Smith starts the ball rolling at Bahama Pundit. … the deeper we delve into the so-called ‘Haitian problem’, the more we come face to face with ourselves. The squatter settlements that give rise to so much public angst are a clear example [...]

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On Emancipation Day

2 August 2011

Wanted to post something all day yesterday but was working to finish one of the two reviews and so I didn’t. (I did finish the review though!) This is the beginning of what I wrote: Today is Emancipation Day. It’s the last public holiday for the summer, but that’s not really the point of the [...]

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Developing democracy in The Bahamas

22 October 2010

A year and a half ago, I had the privilege of attending a weeklong faculty seminar in Maryland. The topic: globalization and democracy. The Wye Faculty Seminar was established to bring faculty from all over the USA together to think deeply about democracy, particularly, though not exclusively, the democracy practised by the United States of [...]

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Bahamas B2B: Elizabeth Lessons

18 February 2010

There at least three important lessons to be learned from the Elizabeth by-election. Bahamian voters are fed up with “politics as usual”. Voter turnout for the by-election was around 64%, low for The Bahamas, where the usual turnout is over 90%. Independent candidates are now a formidable force in Bahamian politics. The governing FNM party [...]

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