Dear Source:
The fight is over, we did not have enough signatures and we lost. I feel sorry for those who got hurt in the process, but right now we really just want to go back to a state of normalcy and business as usual. Let us bury the hatchet!
The fact is, you can have a wonderful time in the Virgin Islands if you keep a low profile, and living with a corrupt government does not necessarily have to affect your daily life. In most cases you won't notice it, because you wouldn't know what life would be like without corruption.
Let us look at the bright side.
When our lawmakers take us for a ride and benefit from it, the profit for most parts stays in our little society. The fancy houses they can now afford funnels money to builders, vendors, workers and eventually to the servants they hire, including the necessary bodyguards.
The fancy cars and extravagant living benefit car dealers, restaurants and upscale dress stores. Ultimately corruption can be quite charming. It creates a greater diversity in our society and adds a certain Third World flair to the territory, the kind that tourists seem to like so much. Many will say, that our young people will be adversely affected watching the greed and injustice exercised by our elected officials, but that is not necessarily true either.
We'll see that any attempt to change our society towards a more just and evenhanded place to live will seem like a small bump in the road. And if you are afraid that your children will grow up disrespecting their leaders, don't worry! Charles Turnbull was after all one of the great ones, wasn't he?
Over here on the big Island this gentleman has already lent his name to several potholes, but, although people mean well, we really are shortchanging our 'education' governor. I have long maintained that the Anguilla landfill would benefit from a name change, and it might just confuse the FAA enough to make them forget the dump for another few years.
All in all we tend to underestimate our youngest when it comes to ingenuity and resolve. Our corrupt leaders will still serve as role models, and young people will still strive to be like them. Starting as early as preschool they will soon know the importance of profit, bribe and intimidation, and eventually they will be well prepared for a run for office. A discreet change of rules could mean that a short stint in jail would be a valuable addendum to their resume.
By the end of the day we will all learn to dodge the potholes and we will know when to roll up the windows to avoid the smell of the sewers and there will still be beaches where the water does not make you sick. And every two years you have the fish fries to look forward to, and who knows, maybe your uncle's second cousin will win a Senate seat, and if you play it right, a goldmine of opportunities is yours for the taking.
Steffen Larsen
St. Croix
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