Blog Blog

| 11/01/2013

There are some skilful and academically gifted young Caymanians that could bring immense credit and clarity to our democratic process if they would only stop hiding behind their blogs and engage us politicians directly.  Rather than using technology to enhance the negative qualities of our Marl Road culture they could use it to make freedom of thought and expression a reality, at least for their generation.

Often when reading, not just remarks made about me on CNS, I realize that however these persons may judge my personal and political conduct, I can be judged because I am not the spook who sat by the door.

By the time I was first elected in 1996, I was already very aware that there would be days when some would dislike me and days when others just wanted revenge for what I might have done or not done. Therefore if we are to really attend to our country’s business we need to make that first steptowards the liberation of our country from the “old dirty stinking politicians” by putting a face to our opinions. And we should never be fearful of retribution nor waste time mocking those willing to stand up for what they believe, regardless of how ridiculous their platform may seem.

I have sometimes wondered what kind of schools these ill hearted souls attended and if their tuition was paid for by the Cayman Islands Government – and if so whether they would now consider paying the people back the monies which were spent on their educations.  Because by some accounts it is fair to take money from seamen and the old, and radically downsize the civil service while maintaining our very costly higher education payments for students overseas so they can return home to line their own pockets, saying that the national good was their individual triumph over the odds that kept them down.

Anyway, I pray that despising me is not a sign of some kind of unfinished identity crisis some may be struggling with. I say this not to be cruel but whether or not we are comfortable accepting the issue of identity as relevant in your political discourse, it forms an essential component of any national debate and remedy.  In order for democracy to be real and vibrant it must have a face and that face must be formed by the diversity of the citizens represented within that geographical area known as their nation state.

And maybe someone will tell me why politicians and the political environment are the only elements of our society to be faulted for the present ills and challenges. Why is it never the teacher, the parent, the community worker, the attorney, the police, the judge or the investor? Why is it that we blame our politicians for corrupting our system when civil society begun the corruption process in order to maintain indirect control over political decisions. Day after day there are articles dealing with the conduct of politicians but not one thing said about the conduct of those pastoring our churches or leading community efforts to get food to the needy.

The May elections may be very difficult to predict but whatever change any of us may truly desire will have to be laboured for by all of us. Change, even that which is desired by the most deserving among us, will not happen until we all learn that democratic political systems were invented as a very clever way of granting the people the appearance of change while preserving the status quo for the continual benefit of the privileged leaders of civil society.

 My platform is a continuation of my fight for social and economic justice for the real people, and this includes the decimalization of the private consumption of marijuana.Not because I am a closet smoker who wants to come out, but because I have seen lives ruined by the laws prohibiting its use rather than by its usage.

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Category: Viewpoint

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  1. Anonymous says:

    'Dr.' Frank – people don't despise you, we just want better than you for our island.

  2. Anonymous says:

    Now that Lance Armstrong has come clean and told his story, how about Oprah doing an interview on 27 with Dr. Frank?

  3. Anonymous says:

    As ever, I’m not prepared to take this man seriously unless or until he explains how he came to get shot – and even then he’ll have to make a serious effort to be comprehensible. This is a serious, valid question which a potential candidate HAS to be able to answer. Otherwise the electorate should allow him nowhere near the legislature.

  4. Baldric says:

    Frank – whazzup? Now you shot yourself in the other foot!

  5. Anonymous says:

    The power to effect change while remaining nameless and faceless – I LOVE IT!!

     

  6. Anonymous says:

    Absent a) an open written apology to the policeman he harassed and b) an explanation about the shooting incident, including naming names, then this man should be starved of the oxygen of self-publicity.

  7. Anonymous says:

    Advice for Dr. Frank:

    You may have a better chance of success in the May elections if he was posting anonymously : )

  8. Anonymous says:

    Calling reader response comments “blogs” is like calling my 30 word letter to the editor a newspaper.

    Weird

  9. Anonymous says:

    The only thing I can take from this view point is that the ganga smokers should run the country and all of our children should not be educated.  Is that what you are saying Frank?  Oh, and all of our educated children should be quiet and let all the uneducated ones talk.  I think that is happening now Frank.  We need our young people to take over the country not your ganga smokers but our children that went overseas for schooling.  Not only do they have an education but they have learned about other cultures and governments and getting along with different people.  This experience is important for them to run a country.  Obviously what is going on now is not working.  Maybe, they can get some ideas, engage the voters, add it to their own and come up with solutions together.

  10. Anonymous says:

    Dr. Frank, 

       Whoever shot you in the foot…..  they missed.

  11. Anonymous says:

    Dr. Frank, ….who shot you? How could you hold that secret and run for office? I agree with 15:59 the young Caymanian and the entire Government (past and present) needs to be re-placed. So save yourself some money and don’t run.

  12. Anonymous says:

    Dr Frank hasn't even been elected and he is trying to shift the blame for the country's problems from the politicians who are elected and paid a huge salary to steward the country's resources.

    He has a point in that the group who are most culpable for the demise of the country are those who keep the secrets. Who know of criminal or corrupt behavior and keep quiet. They are active participants in the country's demise.

    So Dr Frank when you point a finger you have 3 fingers pointing back at you.

  13. Anonymous says:

    "old dirty stinking politicians" Come on Frank, call some names. We need to know who the old dirty stinking politicians are.

  14. Anonymous says:

    "And maybe someone will tell me why politicians and the political environment are the only elements of our society to be faulted for the present ills and challenges"

    …because the buck is supposed to stop with politicians that are supposed to solve problems and provide resources for the whole of a society, not just for your connected buddies; like the ones who got you your teaching job so you can continue your bloviating spit. 

    • Anonymous says:

      Nice….well said.

    • Anonymous says:

      Dr Frank raises the intellectual quality of discussion.

      C'mon …who else could cause the discussion to include 'bloviating' ….great word!!!!!

  15. Call the doctor says:

    You rotten good-for-nothing ingrateful bunch of sods can't you see what this government has done for you with your money!!!  These blogs or whatever you call them shouldn't be used to ask questions!!! Or… make comments!!!  I'm going to change all that. I'm going to use the viewpoint to run for office and at the same time try to appease some of you pot-smoking losers.

  16. Anonymous says:

    Dear CNS,

    You have become a well known, "mature" organization. You have attracted all kinds of people expressing interesting opinions about the issues of the day. Given the volume of viewpoints and comments, I suggest you can safely begin to exercise a little more editorial power and weed out some of the psycho/pseudos. I don't say Dr Frank is in this category, but he might be. The loons can comment on the Cayman 27 site if they don't make it on CNS. If you disagree, at least give us a "moron" button. The LOL button doesn't convey the same sense of ridicule.

    Your friend,

    Rum Point refugee

     

  17. Cabbage Patch Kid says:

    Most convicted criminals, especially when that conviction related to abusing a hard working policeman dealing with a fatal accident, would have the humility to keep quite and certainly not hold themselves out as worthy of election.

    • Anonymous says:

      Unless your running for an "honorable" position in Caymanian Government.  Then its a requirement.  Face facts.  Third world undereducated voters=third world undereducated leadership.  There is a reason they will not vote for an honest, educated and moral person.

  18. Anonymous says:

    Why do Dr Frank and so many others call brief comments posted online “blogs”?

    Do they call blogs “comments posted on news sites”?

    You go Frank, you are more interesting than the usual pack of corrupt footballer. S

    • anonymous says:

      I also find the misuse of "blog"  irritating. It really only shows the naivete and ignorance of the commenter, thus diminishing their credibility.

      • Anonymous says:

        Thank you for your blog.  I find it so exciting to hear the views of bloggers such as yourself on CNS.  Have a lovely day and keep on blogging.

  19. Anonymous says:

    Sorry Dr. Frank, as a young, highly intelligent Caymanian, I spoke out for years and it brought me nothing but trouble. Some things are eternal and one of those is that the mole that sticks out gets whacked. Our politicians yourself included have made public discussion a disreputable activity and there are 'enforcers' all over the private sector who make sure they don't hire anyone known to have an opinion about anything, because they have themselves learnt that all you can do here is marvel at the ignorance around you and protect your own hide. Your generation needs to move on and be ENTIRELY replaced by the knowledge seeking children of the WORLD (not their district) that my generation represents. There is no point in us seeking to engage right now because the gap in understanding and background is too wide to cross. We grew up in affluence, in the information age. You grew up in the darkness. Unfortunately the example you and your colleagues have set is probably going to ensure that politics will continue to be something only those full of hot air go into and that most noble of traditions, where a country's best and brightest go into public service, may never take hold here. Interestingly, that used to be the way it was, but we've had something of an anti-intellectual revolution here where the dumb-and-don't-know-it can get further than the educated do. It's that old line about how you will always lose an argument to an idiot. No one wants to argue with the idiots in government right now. So nice try – we'll drink from that poisoned chalice when we're good and ready.

    • Anonymous says:

      "…we'll drink from that poisoned chalice when we're good and ready."  Brilliant!  Just brilliant.  The whole post is excellent and your last line sealed the deal. 

    • Anonymous says:

      Well said, 15.59! Wish there were more people like you about!!

  20. Skeptical says:

    Don’t think you need worry about likely negative comments – most people have forgotten you existed, and many others have never heard of you.

  21. Anonymous says:

    Well said Mr. McField although you missed the point in blogs or commentaries especially those on CNS.  The underlying reason for them is to grant an ability for common people to express their opinions. This happens when they don't feel elected representatives are carrying out their responsibilities.  We didn't make that necessary also, if government can't see where it is going wrong, it is up to people to point that out.  Although it appears sometimes no one's listening.  I'll agree though that In blogs, as well as the Legislature, there are some childish comments and uncalled for accusations but you wouldn't propose censoring the Legislature. Would you? Openess is what is called for. In order for democracy to work.  We agree on that. When government enters into agreements on behalf of the people would you not expect the details of those arrangements to be made public?  Yes, or not? However, you didn't seem to agree with that theory at a board meeting of the George Town Port when you stood by the former Premier demanding police action when certain documents were made available to the public. Do you not feel the public should be able to scrutinize them?  And agree to them? Before they are signed and delivered?

  22. Anonymous says:

    Ok, it takes two to tango and the politicians are half the corruption equation…so your big solution is to decriminalize marijuana?  Somehow there is a disconnect here.

  23. Anonymous says:

    Dr. Frank…who shot you?

    • Cabbage Patch Kid says:

      I thought it might have been Sue Ellen, but apparently it was all a dream and I came to in the shower.

  24. Anonymous says:

    Frank – you should care more about the quality of the comments than the identity of the commenters. Anonymous though most are, many comments already bring some clarity to the democratic process. For reasons that are well known to you they would be more muted were they not anonymous.

  25. Anonymous says:

    Summary:

     

    I will insure that social injustices such as financial inequality, ethnic inequality, race inequality, coporate & workplace inequality, gender inequality are all promoted and aimed at those who can afford to pay for those inequalities, so I am able to create dependent voters eager to collect on Reparations toward these terrible and reprehensible "social equalites".

     

     

  26. Anonymous says:

    Can you please use this platform to explain the background of your shooting incident. Who shot at you, and why? Why did you not collaborate with the police? Or, if you did, why was nothing ever made public? Thanks for clarification.

  27. Anonymouse says:

    I'll continue hiding behind my pseudo name as long as you choose to not disclose the details of you supposedly shooting yourself in the foot, and your past confrontations with RCIP (and other authorities) who you feel were 'picking' on you. How can a politician be taken seriously when they won't explain to the voters when significant events take place?

    In my opinion, you need to lose the victim mentality McField- it is your poor choices that have paved your path. 

  28. Anonymous says:

    CNS, is it possible to post a blank comment? I fear that responding with anything whatsoever is just encouraging Dr. Frank.

  29. Anon says:

    Parrot:

    Lives have also been ruined by prohibiting persons from driving drunk – but I hope you won't be suggesting that this be decriminalized as well.

  30. Anonymous says:

      You are seriously attacking bloggers?  How do you know they are Caymanian lol.

  31. Anonymous says:

    Slipping in the legalisation issue…Nice!