Curaçao’s greatest challenge ahead is going to be how it manages change. Truth be told, we are stuck in our old ways. We could either let change happen and then scramble to find solutions, or we could face them head on.
Are we going to push for climate protection into our consciousness or do we keep ignoring the numbers and proclaim environmentalists “enemy of the people”?
Do we keep parliamentary democracy which according to some members of Parliament gives them almost divine powers, or do we need another system and mindset where not politicians but the constitution plays the central role in order to guarantee those democratic ideals we hold dear?
Are we going to stay complacent with hard-fought gains like women’s rights and universal suffrage or are we going to challenge all sorts of inequality that affect groups of people and structures across societies?
Do we keep teaching our children the ropes of the past even though it has been proven that curiosity, compassion, critical thinking and imagination -important predictors of and contributors to success- should be front and center in the classroom?
How are we going to deal with cultural transformations, matters of right and wrong, fairness-based morality versus authority-based morality, gender identity, eutanasia, racism or abortion, just to name a few?
Do we stop chasing projects that seem too good to be true (which is always true), betting on outdated economic models or do we start taking the necessary steps to make our economy resilient, competitive, productive and outward looking?
It’s up to us, not others in far away places across the ocean. We need to decide if we’re going to keep electing candidates with questionable backgrounds and zero qualifications to govern. We, voters, need to realize that politicians who keep giving us political rallies with alcohol and music but, are unwilling to have real conversations about our problems, won’t come up with solutions either. How are small, narrow-minded politicians who relish at every opportunity they get to denigrate others, going to shape any future? No wonder we live from crisis to crisis.
Alex David Rosaria (53) is a freelance consultant active in Asia & Pacific. He is a former Member of Parliament, Minister of Economic Affairs, State Secretary of Finance and UN Implementation Officer in Africa and Central America. He’s from Curaçao and has a MBA from the University of Iowa. (USA).
