{"id":177520,"date":"2017-02-04T12:36:18","date_gmt":"2017-02-04T16:36:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/?p=177520"},"modified":"2017-02-04T12:36:18","modified_gmt":"2017-02-04T16:36:18","slug":"commentary-democratic-waves","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/homepage\/features\/commentary\/commentary-democratic-waves\/","title":{"rendered":"COMMENTARY: Democratic Waves"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Makonnen Christian<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

EDITOR’S NOTE: Makonnen Leonard Christian, a 17 year old Honors student and senior at Dr. Henry A. Wise High School in Prince George’s County, Maryland. From tender years he contributed to mobilization efforts for Dominica’s development promoted by the Diaspora or in aid of disaster relief. He is the co-author of “Our Visit to the Island” with Samora Dominique Christian (Pont Casse Press, 2005).<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I once had a dream in which I returned to the wonderful and lush island home of my parentage. The nature isle of Dominica is the only other country in the world that I would even dare to consider myself a part of, as well as call it a home. While I have not been home in quite some time, I do see the turmoil that she has been forced to suffer and the indignities she now faces.<\/p>\n

It seems not so long ago we were all banded together to face the crisis of Tropical Storm Erika, a truly destructive and terrible force that ravaged our island. The act of nature has forever changed the landscape of the island, while Dominica is no stranger to storms or hurricanes it has always retained its beauty and integrity. My friends, we are in the middle of another storm. Not one of rain and wind, but one of men and greed.<\/p>\n

I have learned that economics, politics, and money are all social landmines; a variety of topics that seem to alter the course of conversation that might be otherwise pleasant. Ladies and gentlemen, we are at the epicenter, the eye if you will, of a political storm, one that has been building in the wings for quite some time. This is no act of God, but simply the backlash of man\u2019s actions.  Our \u201cleadership\u201d has failed us; those whom we have appointed to represent us have failed us. I am not a man to name names. I am a firm believer in the conscience of man, and while they may sleep at night I assure you it is not soundly.<\/p>\n

This torrent of greed, of selfishness, can only be arrested by us. We, the people, and those who care about Dominica, and I mean those who truly would lay their lives down for the country, must band together and take action. We must educate ourselves on the actions of not only our elected officials but on the government as a whole. You cannot simply elect a man and sit back hoping that he deals with every little thing. It takes a nation, a coalition of the willing and able, to truly have a successful government. To breed exceptional leadership, if it takes a village to raise a child, then it must take everyone to build a nation. We have the power as a people, to not only withstand but also rise above this \u201cstorm of man\u201d. We must work together to form solutions, better legislation, and truly look into the eyes of those who seek to run for leadership and ask; \u201cAre you going to let Dominica down?\u201d<\/p>\n

The good people of Dominica must band together right now, to make sure that this island will still be here in the morning, and that when it is we can begin an age of rebuilding. It will not be easy, nothing worth doing ever is, but if we work together I assure you it will be something great. You cannot simply say, \u201cWe are going to do better\u201d; you have to be better. Ladies and gentlemen, I will continue to pray for Dominica to rise above, as I know it surely must and will.Today I received word that my uncle, Dr. Samuel J. Christian, was arrested by Dominica police for speaking out for democracy and good governance, and we ask that he be released now!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"EDITOR’S NOTE: Makonnen Leonard Christian, a 17 year old Honors student and senior at Dr. Henry A. Wise High School in Prince George’s County, Maryland. From tender years he contributed to mobilization efforts for Dominica’s development promoted by the Diaspora…","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":177522,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_cbd_carousel_blocks":"[]","footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-177520","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-commentary"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nCOMMENTARY: Democratic Waves - Dominica News Online<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/homepage\/features\/commentary\/commentary-democratic-waves\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"COMMENTARY: Democratic Waves - Dominica News Online\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"EDITOR’S NOTE: Makonnen Leonard Christian, a 17 year old Honors student and senior at Dr. Henry A. 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