It’s that time of year when our thoughts turn to Belizean patriots, both those whose bold actions and great strength of spirit were and are vital for the very existence of Belize and the unsung heroes whose daily kindness and integrity help sustain our beautiful country. We need both the few patriots who stir men and women to fight great physical and mental battles or who endure great hardship and even imprisonment for their ideal. Also indispensible are the many neighbours who regularly send a plate of food to an elderly shut in; teachers who quietly ensure that a hungry child has something to eat every day; policemen who unofficially mentor a young man in danger of straying; parents with no education themselves who struggle against the odds to send their children to school every day. Let us not only praise these people in song and acclamation but also in our hearts and in our efforts to emulate them.
But though we do not want to and it hardly fills our hearts with joy, we must take time out to consider the traitors amongst us who, by commission or omission, do incalculable harm to Belize. Instead of handing out accolades and praise maybe we should consider ways to revoke the privileges that come with nationality. Again there are two lists – those few who use their positions of power and wealth to the detriment of Belize and the many more who sell their integrity cheaply and allow themselves to be used. The names of the big time Traitors will live in infamy in our history books and archives.
These are the ones who have been fifth columnists for Guatemala; the big men who treated the funds from the public purse as if it were Monopoly money; the men and women who schemed and benefited from the transfer of national assets to themselves and to their friends and cronies; the economic fools who have left Belizean with a debt that is diverting scarce recourses from improving the lives of ordinary Belizeans and from which we cannot hope to be free until 2027. It is difficult to decide who amongst them can be considered the worst traitor, for all have committed heinous acts of treason. Certainly, the Lord bears additional responsibility for so debasing the nationality that was a privilege and not a right for him.
He also is guilty of helping some of his fellow traitors to expand their treacherous careers when he funded their rise to power. However, possibly his worst sin is searching out the weakness in many Belizeans whom many consider to be persons of integrity and exploiting their weakness to corrupt them and make them mere puppet instruments of his treachery, to be discarded with their reputations in tatters when their usefulness is done. The Lord might consider that revenge is a dish best eaten cold, but he reserves his grudges for only the mighty patriots and uses the small fish only as a side dish. Thus in his battle for BTL, he has his sleuths investigating the mettle of union leaders and management personnel with whom he may have clashed in the past. Expect him to tempt them with the usual enticements – payments of money, scholarships at prestigious universities, opportunities to grandstand etc. We must keep a careful eye on these small fish so that we are not misled as to where their current loyalties lie.
As we celebrate, Belizean patriots in this month of patriotism let us remember that it is no easy task to accept the challenge of remaining true to what is right. Not everyone has the opportunity to become a great figure in the history of Belize, but each of us is faced with the daily temptation to sell a small piece of our soul. Let us vow to be patriots in our own small way not only in September but throughout the year.
