From a Chasm to a Crack: National Day Revisited

When formally invited to write a 2020 National Day Message for the STAR newspaper, I immediately responded with a negative exclamation, quickly followed by a searching question. The exclamation: You surely can’t be serious! The question: Whyever me? I then sought to explain the patently obvious: “The whole world knows how solidly planted I am on one side of the divide—the right side of course—and not exactly generous-spirited in my defence of it.”

It was only after the STAR publisher himself had managed to sell me on the idea that it was for that very reason that I should extend a unifying message at this time, and what’s more, he intended to invite someone from the other side, equally robust in their convictions, to do the same, that I acquiesced. So, let’s get serious then.

St Lucia’s National Day marks the feast day of St. Lucy (Lucia of Syracuse) which we celebrate at present on 13th December. I say “at present,” as for years we’ve been hearing calls for discontinuing its existence, and more so, recent ones for a variety of named Days to replace it. At least one of those springs to mind: Vendors’ Day!

But who was this St. Lucy, who is venerated in many parts of Italy, Croatia and Hungary and is most ardently supported in Scandinavia where her feast day brings hope and the prospect of a return to light from the near permanent darkness of their bleak mid-Winter? Legend has it that St. Lucy was a woman of great virtue, committed to chastity, to charitable works and to her Christian faith. Having been betrothed to a pagan by her mother, she refused to submit to an arranged marriage. Her enraged suitor threatened to send her to a brothel if she would not abjure her faith, but the one thousand men and fifty oxen that he sent were unable to move her.

She berated them ferociously and continuously, even after bonfires were lit around her. A spear was forced through her throat but she would not be muted. She displayed stubborn intransigence and a refusal to stay silent in the cause of virtue. Yes, this is the measure of the woman whom we should have no difficulty upholding on our National Day along with, I daresay, any honourable group who chooses to have their Day coincide with hers, subscribe to her virtues and bask in her reflected glory.

However, it often seems that the people of St Lucia, of all stripes, creeds and political persuasions, though more than ever possessed by similar intransigence and a reflexive refusal to be silenced, even where silence is indicated, are not necessarily driven by a commitment to virtue – either cardinal or theological. Though most, if not all of us, were reared on the theological virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity, whether we practise them, when, where, how, to whom, to what extent and why, is debatable.

What of the cardinal virtues then? Are we familiar with those? Perhaps not as much. Yet they are, importantly, the fundamental virtues around which all others are grouped, and are, I believe, more than ever relevant to today’s Saint Lucia. The cardinal virtues are Prudence, Fortitude, Temperance and Justice. And, in fact, therein lies the brunt of this national day message to all citizens, myself included, and without doubt, the politicians as well.

In colloquial terms, Prudence can be expressed by the maxim “engage brain before opening mouth” or putting pen to paper, or starting a fight, or lying and thieving in their many, many guises, or committing murder, rape etc. The list is endless. Go ahead and add to it.

Fortitude refers to showing resilience and acting correctly in the face of violence, opposition, shame, scandal and any other hardship which life may throw your way, or which you have brought upon yourself. Difficult for sure but definitely doable with a little determination.

Temperance (not only the refraining from alcohol bit) is basically self-restraint personified by refraining from the excesses of revenge, arrogance, rage, sustained abuse, extravagant consumption and, for sure, alcoholic consumption, something which I am compelled to comment on, before I move on. If it wasn’t before, it should now be abundantly clear to the whole of Saint Lucia that we have a very grave problem and serious challenge on our hands in relation to the consumption/overconsumption of alcohol. It is clearly not just a social issue; it has shown itself to be endemic in our island. Its absolute seriousness has been brought to the fore by the actuality of the extant COVID-19 pandemic, and from all accounts, we have learnt that all strata of the society are so affected. A tall order, but obviously something which calls for a whole range of professional attention.

Now we come to Justice. In ancient Greece, Justice was widely seen as whatever happened to be in the interests of the ruling classes. Some might think that not much has changed in our modern-day world, but I think I can say that we here (both government and citizens) have happily long moved on from that self-centred outlook. The cardinal virtue of Justice can be summed up as the moderation or mean between selfishness and selflessness—between having more and having less than one’s fair share—and consequently committing oneself to engaging in the regular practice of helping in concrete ways to create a society of greater material equality (in the broadest sense of the word). So very important, and again, more than ever relevant in these confoundingly unforeseen and unfathomable times, wouldn’t you say?

Therefore, in conclusion, on this our National Day may we have hope that the current plague of COVID-19 will be fully overcome—and sooner rather than later. May we have rational faith that our leaders are indeed doing their best for the country and its people in these times of great economic and social hardship. May we show charity to our fellow citizens by not being quite so irredeemably obnoxious to one another, especially on the political front. May we demonstrate fortitude in accepting present deprivations and loss of personal liberty for the good of all. May we practise temperance (although having a couple of beers or the odd shot of rum is probably in order today—it is, after all, our feast day).

And certainly, let us all look forward to rejoicing anytime justice is seen to be done and our citizens get what they rightly deserve. Let us together be sufficiently magnanimous to openly celebrate both the small and big successes of our country. When’s the last time you allowed yourself to do so? As a nation, we’ve become so stingy with our praise, even when clearly warranted, haven’t we?

Lastly, let us all pray that, for the sake of lasting progress and peace in this land of ours (Oh Happy Day!), the chasm begins slowly but surely to look more like a crack.

This article first appeared in the December 2020 edition of the STAR Monthly Review, available on newsstands and here: https://issuu.com/starbusinessweek/docs/star_monthly_review_december_2020