Perhaps if we had the majority of our nation's "parents" go to a parental boarding school in China we would get better results. After all, who is it that controls the neighborhoods, the police, the social service funds, the schooling....
We keep hoping for better for our children, all the while allowing uneducated adults to control their lives.
Just who will be running these boarding schools on the Family Islands?
What will this do to the last remaining vestiges of decency on our Family Islands?
Don't get me wrong. The only salvation to the immense social problems we face as a nation are our children.
However, I have seen very few in leadership positions who have any clue how to solve any of these problems.
Our politicians are the bottom of the barrel. They are a financial and moral drain on The Bahamas. From the top to the bottom.
Our Christian leadership is even worse.
Could be a downside of our Bahamianization strategy, Hey?

A clear indication that BPL. BEC and all governments in the past have utterly failed.
The condition of our electrical infrastructure, the prices we pay and the reliability of the service we get are complete failures.
A terrible joke on the Bahamian people.
It seems as if we are unable to operate within the bounds of reason, efficiency and legality in this country.
And, just where the fish rot start from?

As we despise education, we will despise this editorial.

"The days of accepting bullshyt from the pulpit, and politicians kicking the can down the road, ducking, dodging, and deflecting responsibility are over! "
If only.........

Art is essential in times such as these.

Hopefully, we would address the land-based activities which contribute thousands of times more pollutants directly into our precious waters than sailboats around Nassau.
Many years ago, experiments in the Florida Keys proved that it took only 24 hours from flushing a toilet on land, to the effluent reaching the nearshore waters. Our limestone substrate is no different here.
This, before we start talking about the gasoline, diesel, brake fluid, and the whole host of residential and industrial pollutants which are dumped directly onto our porous limestone.
If truth be told, from my perspective, there are few places where environmental protection is less a concern, on a national level, than The Bahamas.
If you don't believe this, get out of the office a bit more.
The vast majority of us simply don't care, or are completely unaware of what is going on environmentally. It is not a pleasure to say this, but it is true.
From the very, very top of our political leadership, to the average Bahamian, it is difficult to find an acceptable or meaningful level of knowledge and concern for our environment. Perhaps it is simply out of sight, so of no concern.
The most poignant explanation I get is that our good God put resources here for us to use, and when they run out God will provide us with more.
I credit the stellar intellectual prowess of our Christian pastors for this misguided and ignorant perspective.
There are things that we could do as a nation that would help remedy the offshore pollutant situation.
If we were serious about our pristine crystalline waters, we would ban ALL cruise ships from our waters. But, we aren't serious.
We love money much more than our environment. This much should be clear.
So, Ms. Phillips, if you want to go all the way in protecting our lovely waters, let's try and be morally and intellectually consistent.
Leave the sailboaters alone until you have a comprehensive plan that will undoubtedly be completely politically untenable, but which is fair minded.
Along with every other reasonable solution to the long term survival of our species and the health of our planet, The Bahamas will be vying for last place, as usual.
Maybe try a powerful freedom of information act so that at least we may know what our government is doing in our name.
Until then, these are just worthless words. Both mine and yours.

Wow Simon.
Excellent analogy.
Sadly however, the dumbing down has reached all levels of society, and I muse how many will actually read, comprehend, or finally, even give a shite about what your spot on editorial highlights.
In many areas of study there are what are called "tipping points".
My fear, not entirely unfounded, is that we have reached that point here in The Bahamas whereby any suggestion for change and improvement of the present circumstances are met with apathy, and unintelligible muttering.
Not long ago, I was challenged by someone who said to me, "For change to come about, The People have to want it to change,"
What she was really saying is, don't hold your breath.
But yes Simon, dumbing down is an entirely appropriate phrase to describe parliament and most Bahamian institutions.
Sad, hey?

Yup.
Sad out of touch, delusional Bodie.

Sadly. Mr. Gilbert, we have created a "gimme a job" culture, whereby political supporters "voters" are told that if you vote for me there is a job waiting for you. The same goes for contracts. Like you, I have never seen such waste and corruption.
No matter qualifications, no matter the lack of honesty and integrity.
The political process has destroyed this country. Be it in the economy, as in the issues you point out, or worse, in the substandard work ethic which has now pervaded the nation.
The People's buildings are falling into disrepair precisely because of a failure of leadership.
What "leader" can't see the same waste and inefficiency that we do, Mr. Gilbert?
They don't care. They want votes, and more money for perks, travel and pension.
Every no-bid political contract that is handed out, is a blow to this nation.
Any politician who does not support a robust freedom of information act whereby every single action, vote, and how every taxpayer dollar is spent should be voted out of office post haste.
We need to be honest about which way this nation is headed.
The trend ain't lookin' good. Do we care? I contend we do not. That is where the problem lies.
We just don't seem to care.

"Events such as these bring people together and it’s a shame that such rare unity is being taken away for an outlandish, outdated and ridiculous reason."
Maybe they just feel that they have to do "something" to earn an otherwise wasted taxpayer paid salary expenditure