Go Lean Commentary
The year 2017 is coming to a close. This was the first year of the federal administration of the 45th President of the United States, the non-politician, billionaire real estate developer Donald J. Trump. In retrospect, it has been a “year of Biblical proportions”, one to lament. While we thought 2016 was bad, and it was, its “wow oh wow” for 2017 …
… if the summary of 2017 was named after one of the 66 books of the Bible, it would not be Revelations, nor Exodus. No, it would be:
Lamentations
The Bible book of Lamentations reveals how God viewed the ancient City of Jerusalem and the land of Judah after their enemy, the Kingdom of Babylon under Nebuchadnezzar, burned the city and laid the land desolate in the year 607 BC. The expressions of acknowledgment of sin recorded therein make it clear that from God’s standpoint, the reason for the calamity was the error of the people. – Source.
We can now look back and lament the happenings of 2017.
While this year 2017 has been a cliffhanger, it has been perfect for the stewards of a new Caribbean. The new President – Donald Trump – proved the “perfect example of what NOT to do” to elevate society – economics, security and governing engines. Yet, this is the country that so many Caribbean people have fled to. We can learn a lot from America’s accomplishments, and even more from their failures. See the satirical recaps in these VIDEO’s, here and the Appendix. 🙂
We can now look back, lament and laugh at the happenings of 2017, see here:
VIDEO – Stephen’s Greetings: 2017 Late Show Year In Review – https://youtu.be/E9VkweYGTwU
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Published on Dec 4, 2017 – 2017 was rough for a lot of people, but here’s proof that it wasn’t a total wash. See some of Stephen Colbert’s best moments from The Late Show this year.Subscribe To “The Late Show” Channel HERE: http://bit.ly/ColbertYouTube
For more content from “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert”, click HERE: http://bit.ly/1AKISnR
- Category: Entertainment
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This commentary is presented by the movement behind the book Go Lean…Caribbean. The movement – book and accompanying blog-commentaries – relates that the United States of America should be lamented and not considered a refuge for the people of the Caribbean – the “grass is not greener on the other side”. The book laments the fact that despite residing in the best address on the planet, many of our people “beat down their doors” to get out (Page 3), and emigrate to the US and other countries.
Why do people leave such an idyllic place? The book identifies a series of reasons, classified as “push and pull” factors:
“Pull”, on the one hand refers to the lure of a more prosperous life abroad; many times our people are emigrating for economics solely.
“Push” refers to people who feel compelled to leave, to seek refuge in a foreign land. “Refuge” is an appropriate word; because of societal defects, many from the Caribbean must leave as refugees – think LGBT, Disability, Domestic-abuse, Medically-challenged – for their life, liberty and pursuit of happiness.
Surely, fleeing to the US must be likened to “jumping out of the frying pan into the fire”. Remember, this country was not built for the Caribbean’s Black-and-Brown. They continue to experience racial discriminations, despite a recent Black President.
Here are some snippets from this 2017 Caribbean Yearbook against the backdrop of Trump’s exhortations; (this is just a sample in chronological order – from January 2017 to today):
Religious Intolerance – Trump banned travel from 6 Muslim countries
Fostering Discord – California wants out! They have started a petition to secede from Tump’s America
Collaboration Flaws – Disinterest in Others (Non-Americans) – Trumps yawns at the Caribbean’s priorities
Disparaging Messaging to Tourists/Visitors – Arrivals and Revenues down from some countries
Rejection of Evidence – Climate Change Denial – Paris Accords Withdrawal
Climate of Hate fostered by Trump – White Supremacists / Disdain of Immigrants
America First – Prioritization as World Leader downplayed – Other countries lose respect
Supply-side Economics Failures manifested in Kansas
Selective Law-and-Order Enforcement – Under Trump, Civil Rights cases downplayed
Claim to Ignorance on Natural Disasters – Who Knew?
Disdain of Female Empowerment – Female dissidents “diss-ed” by Trump; think Hillary, Pocahontas, etc.
Hurricane Response and Competence – Puerto Rico versus Texas – Black-and-Brown gets less
Societal Defects of Gun Culture – Trumps calls Black-and-Brown Shooters Terrorist, but silent on Whites
Aversion to Trade Agreements – Trump undermined TPP, NAFTA and others
Trump’s Compassion Exhaustion – Ending ‘Temporary Protection Status’ to Haitian Refugees
Sexual Harassment Complicity – Trump’s accusers re-emerged
Take from the Poor; Give to the Rich – Trump’s Tax Reform law
Surely, it is the conclusion of most people that 2017 has proven that America is not working for Caribbean priorities …
… they are not even working for their own priorities, as the country under Trump seems more and more divided with the President only supported by 33 percent of the people, the other 67% are outraged – see VIDEO in the Appendix below – i.e. the majority of the population are middle class, yet yesterday’s passage of the Tax Reform bill only benefits the rich.
Proudly, we say that for our societal elevation efforts, the quest of the Go Lean … Caribbean movement: we do not want to be America, we want to be better.
The Go Lean book – available for free download – does not only complain or lament America, but also prescribes a Way Forward for the Caribbean:
Way Forward – an action, plan etc. that seems a good idea because it is likely to lead to success; i.e.:
- A way forward lies in developing more economic links.
- This treatment may be the way forward for many inherited disorders.
Source: Retrieved December 22, 2016 from: http://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/a-the-way-forward
The Go Lean book serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU), for the elevation of Caribbean society. This CU/Go Lean roadmap has these 3 prime directives:
- Optimization of economic engines in order to grow the regional economy to $800 Billion and create 2.2 million new jobs.
- Establishment of a security apparatus to ensure public safety and protect the resultant economic engines.
- Improvement of Caribbean governance to support these engines.
This Go Lean movement (book and accompanying blogs) does not look to President Donald Trump to lead for the Caribbean; we look to lead ourselves. To our chagrin, so many of our citizens have previously fled the homeland for American shores. But now …
The Go Lean book does not ignore these “push and pull” factors that cause our Caribbean people to leave in the first place. No, the book stresses (early at Page 13) the need to be on-guard for “push” factors in these Declaration of Interdependence statements:
xix. Whereas our legacy in recent times is one of societal abandonment, it is imperative that incentives and encouragement be put in place to first dissuade the human flight, and then entice and welcome the return of our Diaspora back to our shores. This repatriation should be effected with the appropriate guards so as not to imperil the lives and securities of the repatriated citizens or the communities they inhabit. The right of repatriation is to be extended to any natural born citizens despite any previous naturalization to foreign sovereignties.
xxi. Whereas the preparation of our labor force can foster opportunities and dictate economic progress for current and future generations, the Federation must ensure that educational and job training opportunities are fully optimized for all residents of all member-states, with no partiality towards any gender or ethnic group. The Federation must recognize and facilitate excellence in many different fields of endeavor, including sciences, languages, arts, music and sports. This responsibility should be executed without incurring the risks of further human flight, as has been the past history.
xxvi. Whereas the Caribbean region must have new jobs to empower the engines of the economy and create the income sources for prosperity, and encourage the next generation to forge their dreams right at home, the Federation must therefore foster the development of new industries, like that of ship-building, automobile manufacturing, prefabricated housing, frozen foods, pipelines, call centers, and the prison industrial complex. In addition, the Federation must invigorate the enterprises related to existing industries like tourism, fisheries and lotteries – impacting the region with more jobs.
For the Caribbean, we must succeed in our Way Forward / Go Lean roadmap, so as to dissuade our own people from giving up and abandoning their native homelands. While no society is perfect nor fully-optimized, some countries have been better than others; notwithstanding the US under Donald Trump. Many countries in North America and Western Europe have become lands of refuge for our Caribbean Diaspora.
Surely, we can do better in lowering the Push and Pull factors now. We should be able to dissuade Caribbean people from the lamentable decision of going to Trump’s America.
Yes, we can …
… if we do the heavy-lifting to convince all Caribbean stakeholders to lean-in to this Go Lean roadmap, then truly we can make our region better places to live, work and play. 🙂
Download the book Go Lean … Caribbean – now!
Sign the petition to lean-in for this roadmap for the Caribbean Union Trade Federation.
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Appendix VIDEO – The Politics of Branding, Meeting Obama & Trump’s First Year: The Daily Show – https://youtu.be/bjKr2ltVKII
The Daily Show with Trevor Noah
Published on Dec 18, 2017
Trevor Noah explains why Republicans are better than Democrats at political branding, talks about meeting Barack Obama and reflects on the first year of the Trump administration.
Watch full episodes of The Daily Show for free: http://www.cc.com/shows/the-daily-sho…
The Daily Show with Trevor Noah airs weeknights at 11/10c on Comedy Central.
- Category: Comedy
- License: Standard YouTube License