79.5 F
Charlotte Amalie
Tuesday, March 19, 2024
HomeNewsArchivesVote As If Your Life Depends Upon It

Vote As If Your Life Depends Upon It

Dear Source:
I am reminded of that 1976 Oscar winning movie, Network, in which the TV news anchor portrayed by the late Peter Finch, in an on-air wandering, but rather coherent, rant, advised his viewers to open their windows and shout “I am mad as hell and I am not going to take this anymore.”
This movie comes to mind as I juxtapose some of the issues in that movie with those being faced by our people here in these Virgin Islands of the United States. We should be yelling we are mad as hell about our unconscionably high cost of electricity, gasoline prices that are way above the national average, our high unemployment rate, a healthcare system that is on life support, an economy in shambles, corruption running rampant throughout government, an educational and election system in need of reform and our safety and security being threatened daily. We all should be mad as hell and let the people that want to represent us know that we are not going to take this anymore.
Elections are less than one week away. We will be voting to elect a new Governor and Lieutenant Governor, a new Legislature, a new Delegate to Congress and certain members of the Board of Elections. A number of individuals have stepped forward to try and convince us, the voters, that they have the wherewithal to address the aforementioned issues.
At this point in the process, there have been (too) many forums, the airways and print media have been inundated with advertisements from these individuals trying to convince us that they are the ones we should vote for to improve our quality of life that has sadly taken a downward spiral.
In the investment world, a potential investor is always advised that the past performance of a particular investment is no guarantee of future results. However, when it comes to applying for the job to lead our territory, or any job for that matter, it is prudent to look at the individuals’ past performance in the previous jobs they have held. Believe me, it is very likely that if one underperformed or did not deliver in the past, they would underperform and will not deliver in the future. Conversely, if they have demonstrated exemplary performance in the past, it is likely that will continue in the future.
This election is critical. More so because we have some very tough issues that will require individuals with courage, stamina and intestinal fortitude, in addition to the intellectual bandwidth and the highest moral and ethical standards, to make the tough decisions that must be made to right this ship and set it on the proper course of correction. We must elect individuals that have the interest of the people at the very top of their list of priorities. We must elect individuals who are not running for office for selfish reasons, but to uplift our people. We do not need to elect individuals that have “me-it is” but rather “we-it is.” It is about the people, plain and simple.
So, if you are mad as hell and don’t want to take it anymore, please, go out and vote on November 4th, and vote as if your life depends on it. And quite frankly, it does.
Marvin L. Pickering. St. Croix

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Keeping our community informed is our top priority.
If you have a news tip to share, please call or text us at 340-228-8784.

Support local + independent journalism in the U.S. Virgin Islands

Unlike many news organizations, we haven't put up a paywall – we want to keep our journalism as accessible as we can. Our independent journalism costs time, money and hard work to keep you informed, but we do it because we believe that it matters. We know that informed communities are empowered ones. If you appreciate our reporting and want to help make our future more secure, please consider donating.

UPCOMING EVENTS