Have You No Dignity?

Dear Editor,

Parliament has become, and perhaps has always been, toothless. Predisposed to corruption, subject to higher supervision, and complicit in the slow erosion of our traditions, all at the expense of our livelihood.

Are we truly so fragile, we who are a nation of talent, resilience, and unshakable pride? We, who have a legacy of punching far above our weight, now allow the pot to call our kettle black and say nothing in return. The audacity of our so-called kingdom partners who trample our national values and ideals for their own gain is astounding. Yet, the greater tragedy is our silence.

Dignity is a birthright. Self-determination is not a privilege; it is an inherent and inalienable right. How little must we think of ourselves to watch our most prized national assets fall into ruin? Are these the traditions we wish to pass down to the generations that follow? Is this truly how we want to be remembered, by our children, and theirs after them?

What a pity that the envy of the region, the very gateway to Europe, now drifts as a relic of its former greatness. And what, then, will be the inheritance of our youth? An island where locals cannot afford to own the land beneath their feet? An economy that reduces the everyday St. Martiner to nothing more than a consumer?

Will the dollar continue to dictate our destiny, or will it once again be our traditions, our values, and our way of life that guide us forward? These are times that try a man's soul.

𝘓𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘑. 𝘔𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯-𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘚𝘵. 𝘔𝘢𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘯. 𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘊𝘰𝘳𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘚𝘵. 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯, 𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘱 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘺𝘴𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘰-𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘤 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥. 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘢𝘪𝘮𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘶𝘦, 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘦 𝘤𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘤 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘥𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘚𝘵. 𝘔𝘢𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘯.

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