For many Belizeans,
Vernon Harrison Courtenay will be remembered for his service to the nation as a
Minister of Government, political leader, a statesman, a politician and one of
the leading members of the People’s United Party.
For those of us who knew him on a
more personal level, he was a man of vision, a teacher, family man and for me personally
a mentor.
The fierce fires of
public debate are raging in the US right now encircling the issue of health
care reform. The Republican Party, relegated to minority status by the Obama
juggernaut in last year’s presidential contest, have once again pursued their
trademark scorched-earth strategy, invoking the specter of death panels, while
comparing their Democratic opponents to the German Nazi Party. It has been
opined often by the punditry that ever since the ideologue Barry Goldwater drew
the line in the US electoral sands, the Republican trump card is always to
divide and conquer. Nixon, Reagan, and then Bush II cruised to re-election on
the potency of The Goldwater Wedge, deployed again and again to divide the
voters and tap the vociferous, vile and extremist minority.
It is regrettable
that the Barrow Administration has created what seems to be the makings of a
rift between Belizeans and Belizeans with dual nationality over the proposed 7th
Amendment bill. Over the decades we have always maintained a great and
personal relationship with our friends and families living in the United States
and other countries. Today however, the debate over this issue seems to be
dividing even some Belizean families.
A part of the
utility of television is the private viewing box that it affords the audience
to the dynamic, ongoing cultural evolution in our world and in our communities.
When we flip to the channels that air movies or music videos from a past era,
for example, we can vividly appreciate how much things have changed in short
periods of history. For sports fans, this evolutionary narrative is especially
poignant. The versatility and strength of Lebron James make Larry Bird seem
shackled. Navratilova literally plays in slow motion if watched alongside Venus
and Serena.
Editorial 
