The Clifton Review

The Clifton Review is a tri-weekly column that examines the question of the Clifton project along with the evolution of the war between two billionaires, the links to unsavory characters, the use of the courts for personal agendas, the involvement of a political party, and the attacks on the Government of The Bahamas.

We covered the start of this war with articles describing the battle over easement rights, the mysterious burning of a home, the blocks to rebuilding, and countless questionable court filings. This series of articles asks the needed questions and presents the arguments in full.

By P.J. Malone

It appears that our level of political discourse in the Commonwealth of The Bahamas has devolved to such a level where people seem to have forgotten their ‘brought-up-sy’.

Just yesterday it was reported that an individual was convicted of contempt of court for insulting a judge—plain rudeness. The political activist was fined $15,000 to be paid to the Bahamas Cancer Society, $6,000 to be paid to the Bahamas Red Cross, and assigned a number of community service hours with the Bahamas Geriatric Hospital.

Hats off to the judge for not letting his rudeness stand.

Why can’t we simply ‘disagree without being disagreeable’, as has been wisely stated? Why do we have to debase ourselves and those of whom we speak simply to get a point across? People so easily forget that we should always treat others the way we wish to be treated.

It has been reported that this individual sometimes works with Fred Smith on Save The Bays’ projects. We hope the rudeness displayed does not represent the lessons he is learning from that association. But chances are, it’s exactly what he is learning.

If he truly does work with Fred Smith and Save The Bays, he is likely learning a series of things. He is learning that,

• It’s okay to break rules in one country to further your agenda in another.
• It’s okay to vilify and viciously and unjustly attack an individual if it furthers your agenda.
• It’s okay to impede your country’s governing process for your own personal agenda.
• It’s okay to waste taxpayers’ money for your own personal agenda.
• It’s okay to malign your country’s good name all in the cause of furthering your personal agenda.

It’s no wonder this individual can shamelessly attack a judge for no good reason and without compunction.

He could not have been brought up this way. Our society is a society of proud Bahamians who know the difference between right and wrong and who know how to treat everyone with respect.

Many of our forefathers and foremothers would be rolling over in their graves to see how our society has deteriorated to a place were people walking the streets have forgotten their manners; teenagers disrespecting their elders; and people disparaging others just out of pure mean-heartedness.

It is so scary to watch our society degenerate into a place where such things are taking place.

What some people don’t seem to understand is that their behavior is not cute or smart and it doesn’t benefit them or anyone else. It is simply a reflection of their own level of ignorance and barbarity.

Hopefully, this individual has learned his lesson and remembers what he must have been taught as a little boy, which is to always treat people with respect.

He must have! Because if he is a son of the Bahamian soil, he most definitely was taught these most cherished values of our forefathers.

Learn to treat people with respect, you here?!