No Replacement Please

 

 

It is not good, I dare say,

To remove National landmarks

And what the authorities tried to do

Really hurt my heart.

 

Independence Day was to go

To be replaced by the Republic,

This landmark, until public uproar,

Was to be the edict.

 

I recall at some point

The promised of a referendum

But suddenly, a decision was taken

Without public consultation.

 

Well it did not go down well

Given the promise that was made

And the public with one voice

Shouted it was to fail.

 

The Government reneged

Via its public relations setup

And a certain minister apologized

For the unfortunate mix-up.

 

It shows, someone had said,

We are a Government that listen,

Then was certainly not the right time

But it could eventually happen.

 

 

To sneak it in the backdoor

Could be the considered plan,

After all, we have seen such before

When the door was unjammed.

 

If this is the present thought

I say, “No replacement please,”

Independence Day is not nomenclature

So, you'd better freeze.

 

It is far deeper in significance

Than any political party

That has grown too big for its britches

With its perceived superiority.

 

From Independence to Republic

Sounds like a complete erase,

Independence becoming a means to an end

Achieved in this BLP phase.

 

An eradication of an era

Indelible in our minds and hearts,

Independence Day to Republic Day

Sounds kind of BLP smart.

 

Will Independence Day finally go?

I sincerely hope not,

And so, I plead with this Government,

Please don’t change the locks.

 

 

Do not remove the shoulders

Upon which you now stand,

You will plummet from your lofty height

And fatally crash-land.

 

And no Tom-foolery either

Bringing Barbados National Day,

This is more than nomenclature-

Now way Jose!

No replacement or displacement

Of Independence Day,

Merge the two since the dates are alike,

If there is no other way.

 

Stewart Russell © November 17, 2023

 

Majority Rules! Really?

 

 

This morning I got to thinking

Regarding something we often say:

“The majority rules!”

But really, it never held sway.

 

I am not “off my rocker”

Just give me a chance to explain,

I know that I am only one

But let us examine this claim.

 

That we live in a democracy

Is felt by the majority of citizens

But, particularly here of late,

I have detected a problem.

 

It has been there all along

But this crack is widening fast

And from where I sit it appears

Democracy is already past.

 

There is a crick in every system

Or a twist you’d rather me say,

It’s becoming worse in democracy

As apathy gets in the way.

 

 

Let me start with Parliament

That is elected by the majority vote,

Here is where the laws are passed

And this is of serious note.

 

Note the weakness of democracy

That puts leadership in a few

To handle the affairs of the people

With a narrow-minded view.

 

Thousands vote in an election

Once in every five years

To choose thirty members of parliament

To handle the country’s affairs.

 

Tell me if you can

When did thirty become a majority?

Considering our population size

Our rule is by a minority.

 

This must certainly be a flaw

In our much-vaunted democracy

Where the majority on polling day

Decides on a ruling minority.

 

 

 

 

The majority rules: really?

Are you seriously holding to this?

I dare say if you are,

There is a lot you have missed.

 

For sure in our country Barbados

There is a lopsided view,

All thirty MP’s come from one side,

I have no doubt you knew.

 

If thirty is really the majority

Then the majority rules,

However, like me you know better

For after all, we are no fools.

 

Thirty MP’s sit in Parliament

And pass legislation left and right

Usually without any referendum

And this is not an oversight.

 

This is deliberate and by design

To show us who is ruling,

And the fact they do it repeatedly

Shows they are not fooling.

 

I could make up a list

From the last Government and this

And I am sure you would point out

Several that I’d have missed.

 

The times that they promised

They would be a referendum

But the promise was never forthcoming

And along came the legislation.

 

 

 

 

Majority rules!  Really?

Man, give me a break!

When 30 is more than 240 000

Then the genuine will be a fake.

 

Stewart Russell © June 15, 2023

God Needs No Consultancy

It is a biblical fact

God needs no consultancy,

No man or establishment

With whom to agree.

He is no man’s debtor,

Cannot be hung out to dry,

He, in fact, is the Creator

No matter how some deny.

There is a fallacy

That is making the rounds

That God needs permission

To work in this earth’s bounds.

It’s from the pit of hell,

Can’t be from anywhere else,

If you are thinking so

It’s time you check yourself.

Or better still,

Let God check you out,

His omnipotence and omniscience

Is without doubt.

When He said,

“Let us make man,”

It was not a consultation,

It was already a plan.

Conceptualized before

Earth’s foundations were laid,

The Trinity was in agreement

Before anything was made.

It was not a consultation,

Not even a discussion,

No memorandum or referendum

But a Trinity decision.

They did not talk it over

It was nothing like that,

God simply said, “Let Us.”

And the rest is fact.

 

I am sorry for those people

That feel they can wag God,

I would like to tell them

They are wagged by the Fraud.

Satan, the knave,

Has them believing this,

They are not on target

Theirs is a colossal miss.

Job 38 and 39

They should consult with Job

Via the book so named,

In every question God posed

Job failed again and again.

He didn’t ace his examination

More like he zeroed it,

Zilch was his score line,

It had become his habit.

He couldn’t answer a single question

That the Creator God had posed,

He didn’t have what it took

That’s what Job, himself, diagnosed.

We had better come to that conclusion

Before it is too late,

Many so-called intellectuals

Are at standing at hell’s gate.

  

The fear of the Lord

Is the beginning of wisdom

Even some attending church

Are lost and undone.

Whether they know this or not

It is not me to tell,

If they heed the Spirit’s counsel

I know they would do well.

God needs no consultancy

In this earth realm,

The earth is His footstool

His creation He transcends.

 

God does as He pleases

He has infinite insight,

A word to you intellectuals,

You are not that bright.

It’s time to admit,

Whether scientist or philosopher,

We are His creatures

God is the Creator.

Thus, He needs no consultancy

This is demonstratively so,

Don’t you think, that like me

It is also time you know?

Stewart Russell © April 2020