Avoiding the mindset of reactionary defeatism

We live is a society that should operate on the basis of co-operation as we all have a stake in what kind of future we want for ourselves and the next generation. For too long we as a society have allowed powerful minorities to dictate the direction our entire economy and society has been pushed into. We are now witnessing the consequences.

What happened in this county in the past ten years is beyond absurd, it’s a tragedy. We have allowed profits to dictate the direction our entire society has been pushed into, with the active participation of a corrupt political system that rewarded the minority, rather than protecting the public good. Until we change the models and system of governance we use to determine what directions our society goes from solely profit motivated to notions of the common good, we will be doomed to repeat the past.

Since the foundation of this State we now face our greatest challenge. How will we as a people react to the current social and economic crisis we face?

In the face of the enormity of the economic crisis the most critical danger to us all is the mindset that equates with being a helpless victim, a sort of reactionary defeatism. Jan. 20, 2011 was the 50th anniversary of a quote by the late President John F. Kennedy on the occasion of his inaugural address given on Jan. 20, 1961. Kennedy quoted the Lebanese poet Khalil Gibran when he intoned the famous quote, " Ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country”. Has not the time come for each of us as a citizen, a civil member of this country to question what talents, professional expertise or other skills or services can each of us donate to our communities to build a better society. In reality this means what can we do to help our newly elected government (regardless of our status and affiliations) in its responsibilities.

The most critical task our government faces is re-negotiating the terms of the banking bailout, followed by fiscal management, local government and public sector reform. On this note I would end with another quote from President John F Kennedy’s inaugural address when he said “Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate.”

Let us hope that our Government are up to the task?