Just A Thought

“One bad apple spoils the whole bunch,” so says an old adage. However in this millennium when we have overturned so many old adages and turned impossibilities into tangible realities it's within the realm of possibility that the Bahamas can be returned to its former relatively crime free status.

However it will take the hard work of every last Bahamian rich or poor black white or in between as well as the government to do a task that while difficult, should not be excessively hard in a nation composed of only some 20 thousand citizens.

For this to happen though, government officials would have to take the lead and become less self absorbed and be willing to take pay cuts so as to facilitate money going to other persons who really deserve it and who are playing a more hands on role in society. Policemen, nurses, garbage men and especially teachers fall into this category. Government would also have to be willing to make and enforce laws which would not only apply to other people's families and friends but theirs also.

This new government would not be interested in longwinded speeches [obviously made up by assistants] to avoid answering pertinent questions (for example the one about why children are being locked up in Her Majesty's Prison (when by law any place can be declared a detention center) but instead would be able to answer questions asked, because they know the issues and are actually interested in them.

This new government would be able to make laws pertinent to the development of the nation and the advancement of women in the Bahamas not as political groupies or puppet figures but as equals in every respect.

The government would then make education number one on its list of priorities and empty the classrooms of all the teachers who are only slightly ahead of the kids that they teach in intelligence. They would fill the classroom with elite teachers who are well educated and love the idea of teaching. These teachers would of course be paid ministers of government salaries. This would attract quality male teachers back to the classroom as they would be now able to support a wife and kids with their new salaries. Now they would also be able to drive to and from school in comfortable luxury cars then in the evening kick back in huge houses in gated communities, where they could rest peacefully after a hard day's work…

Of course with attention now being paid to education. The government would also allocate in the budget a huge chunk of money to fixing public schools in the ghettos and throughout the country. Serious dollars would go into painting the drab and dreary schools with cheery colors similar to those used on police stations. Playgrounds such as Ridgeland Park Primary School would be paved so that little children would not have to play on brown dirty dusty grounds all day long. It goes without saying that every school would be jam packed with materials that teachers did not actually have to buy themselves.

It goes without saying that this ideal government would also have implemented after school programs in all communities with persons of reputable standing at the helm [no pedophiles need be handpicked because of nepotism and friendships] to keep juveniles occupied in the evenings. With something positive to do kids who congregate on the street corners [due to overcrowding at home] would actually have something to look forward to rather than be led astray by retarded adults.

Due to the rising grade point average mainly because of this wholesale government initiative on education, The government begins to take note that in order to get the country out of its crime ridden situation, all they needed to do in the first place was educate the people. As education increases reasoning skills- which enables better problem solving [Keod and Kenyatta were isolated incidents] thus more thinking before acting and so less crime- also increases.

Acting in the best interest of the people they would then pour money into educating policemen while also giving them minister's of government salaries. They take this attitude to every ministry and to themselves ultimately getting rid of or salvaging the bad apples before they spoil the bunch and thereby cleaning up the country and what ails it.