“We have more in common that that which divides us”
Introduction
A friend of mine shared with me one of Jason de Caires Taylor’s underwater sculptures known as Vicissitudes. Many believed that the sculpture was honouring the slaves that were thrown overboard during the Atlantic Trade Slave Era. Of course, Jason denied that it is what the sculpture represented. The sculpture depicted 26 people holding hands.
As I studied this sculpture and read some of the commentary about it, it resonates with me and confirms with me the importance of coming together. Together we can be stronger, better and more powerful.
Pooling our resources together
Many people want to have their own business and so many of us have established businesses. There is nothing wrong with that and I think we should encourage entrepreneurship. However, there are some people who are not able to start their own business. There are some who have started a business but are barely making it. There are some people who are doing well. We like to use the phrase “the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer.” Rather than the poor getting poorer, we should mentor and encourage all people to pool their resources together by simply purchasing shares in a business. This will allow all individuals to get a level of ownership and improve their livelihood.
While competition is good, we do not have to do all this individual business; we can combine some of our businesses or we can have a chain of businesses in different locations If you combine your business, you have a lot of power to negotiate for a volume discount on the goods you purchase.
If we pool our resources together, some of our islands do not have to be in the declining state that they are in now. If we put our money together, we can build a hotel in Grand Turk. If we put our money together, we can build apartments and houses together. If we pool our money together, we can have a credit union. If we pool our money together, we can have grocery stores. If we pool our money together, we can construct entertainment centers together such as bowling alleys. You can become shareholders in the if you pool your resources together. You will be better off and less dependent on international investors.
Uniting as a people
I know it seems like only in Turks and Caicos, we are divided, but there is division in most countries. However, it does not mean it is right. If we put aside political differences and come together, we can be stronger and better. If we put aside our nationalities and come together, we can be stronger and better. If we put aside our financial status and racial background and come together, we can be stronger and better. Are we better off, the way we are now? No, we are not. The answer is for us to come together. It will resolve so many of our issues. If we come together, you will create a bond that should not separate us no matter what storms we encounter in life. If we come together, it will create peace and hopefully and less fighting. There are more benefits to being together than being separated. Honestly, we have so much more in common. Let us find what we have in common and come together.
Imagine two colleagues who are supposed to be working together and one of the colleagues is keeping the other person down. One person in turn will benefit and the other person will be at a disadvantage. Now if those two people work together, both people will be better off and ultimately the company will be better off.
It is the same thing with parenting. If both parents are alive, a child should not be raised by a single parent alone even though many single parents are doing a great job. A child benefits more when being raised by two parents. So, you see together is better.
Connecting our islands by bridges and causeway
The Turks and Caicos is an archipelago of islands. We are separated by water and so there are duplications of services. For example, we have an airport in South Caicos, Grand Turk, Providenciales etc. Imagine if we connect these islands together, there will be no need to have all these airports. We can have one main airport and drive to the other islands. Connecting the islands will address some of the overcrowding in the public schools. While the schools in Provo and Grand Turk may be overcrowded, the schools in South Caicos and North Caicos are not. Together we can be stronger and better. This will also help us address the housing issues. I know connecting these islands by bridges and causeway is a massive and expensive project, but it will be worth it.
Conclusion
I know it is a challenge for family members to come together let alone friends and co-workers, However, we really need to look at the bigger picture and encourage ourselves to work together because together we can be stronger and better. “United we stand, divided we fall.”
Somehow, we must establish in our minds that no individual is the same and we should respect the differences among individuals, including their political choice. We must be mature enough to not let these differences divide us.
Trust is a also a major factor. Many of us have been betrayed in the past and as a result we do not trust others and so we do not come together. We also allow a spirit of competition and jealousy to overtake us and so it prevents us from working together. We must overcome these barriers so we can work together.