by Man from Baker Hill
I am not concerned about the dictionary meaning of the word…nationalism.
For me, nationalism is about understanding how to build a nation called Montserrat on fairness and equity; it is to want every Montserratian to stand out… to do well.
Nationalism is to enhance our environment so that each of us can act out his or her role on Montserrat in goodness, safety, respect and love. It is about Montserrat… character building, understanding, education, partnerships and leadership.
Nationalism… is more about understanding the purpose of living on Montserrat… rather than to seek to get from Montserrat the most of the means to live. In other words we must not confuse the usefulness of money with the purpose of living.
Nationalism requires that a few men and women consider their roles in our nation Montserrat and then seek to understand what it is to be good. But it will never be enough for these few people to contemplate on the meaning of goodness; they must desire goodness, chase after it and embrace it at all times.
These few people must love and believe in goodness, the law of God; so that in carrying out their adopted or agreed-to roles; goodness would seem to flow from their words and actions. They must engage one another in conversations about character building, partnerships and how to prepare the next generation for their future.
Yes, by example, they must stand tall in the classroom named Montserrat and educate so as create in us a culture of cleverness, (the good kind).
Nationalism then, is about a few men and women of character who will lead from their humble roles; and they must contemplate on the benefits of obeying the law of goodness, service, peace, love and mercy. Because the law of goodness, the law of all nature, is the only law necessary to guarantee peaceful coexistence, continuity and prosperity for all of us as we lurch forward towards (re)development of Montserrat.
Nationalism is also to preach and teach what makes a nation a nation. It is to understand how to create and build a nation. It is to understand the means from which a nation is built. It is to know and accept that one of the means to build a nation is money and that a nation’s money in modern times can only arrive on the ships and planes of taxation, ours or some other nation. Yes taxation!
Proponents of Nationalism must understand that taxation is the essence of nation building and its preservation. They must be aware at all times that it is through a system of tax laws that Montserrat will grow, maintain itself, develop and take its place on earth.
It is not my intention in this article to explain the meaning of a system of tax laws…
But let it be understood that it … the system of tax laws… also includes royalties from sand mining and geothermal energy, fees, fines, the sale postage stamps, a portion of the revenues from the Port Authority and the utility company MUL.
It is therefore imperative that these few men and women understand the system of tax laws and they must obey it in word and deed. They must teach it by example so that our nation Montserrat will become a respectful people, each of us paying no less than his fair share of taxes.
A few good men and women is all it takes to carry our nation away from passive or vacant ignorance and the ridicule of onlookers. Our behaviour must not allow onlookers to laugh at Montserrat. No, they must never think that we sit vacantly, rocking in our ashy chairs waiting for lady bird Britain to send us their tax dollars to prop us up.
I am a nationalist! Each day I seek first to chase after goodness; one day I am going to catch it and when I do I shall embrace it so as to make it mine.
I am a nationalist. I want to see Montserrat and every Montserratian stand out and do well; but I expect each of us to pay tax every time he earns an income.
Recently I watched a major road project at Cudjoe Head… many people were employed. Maybe $5 million will be spent on the project. And I wondered how many workers received a pay check without contributing one silver cent in taxes. Certainly, if any worker received a pay check without contributing a portion of his wage to our road maintenance program, then our system of tax laws needs revising.
I should say no more… except that, when I lived and worked in the BVI, it did not matter whether you earned $1.00 or $500.00. As long as you were employed, employment taxes were deducted from your pay. According to their system of tax laws, there was no such thing… that you had to earn $300.00 a week before tax was deducted from your pay. You were required to pay tax on every dollar earned as wages.
Consider this, what nation that needs to drag it self upwards and outwards could afford to say to its citizens…you must put at least $15,000.00 in your pocket each year before you make a direct contribution to the nation’s healthcare, or your school children education, or police protection, or the maintenance of the roads we walk and drive on?
Nationalism… must provide the answer to that question!
Again, I am a nationalist. I want Montserrat to stand out, to do for self as much as it can. And I believe that the only way we can begin to achieve that…is to have our own money. I believe that money is a means to achieve the ultimate purpose of a nation. And I believe that a nation’s money must be gotten mostly from taxation. I also believe that taxation is the most important source of every nation’s money and that taxation is the essence of nation building. We must collect our taxes!
But in the meantime, a few men and women of Montserrat must seek to understand goodness, the law of nature and God; … and they must lead by example; boldly carrying the torch of nationalism.
It is Nationalism, belief in our ability to do for self, motivation and faith in the law of goodness that will work miracles for Montserrat.
Clearly, Montserratians must begin to think seriously about Nationalism. A few men and women must give of their time so that Montserrat can benefit from their acquired knowledge. They must pass on their experiences and not die with their knowledge. They must spend time in the schools… and mentor somebody. This too is nationalism.
