Roses without thorns—the hollow trumpet of selective morality should be T&T’s real concern

There is a troubling pattern in our public life: moral leaders who sound their trumpets loudly, yet hollowly choosing the easiest battles while leaving the hardest untouched.

Their sermons bloom like roses, but without thorns: ornamental, perfumed and harmless. They raise their voices against costumes, symbols and sensuality but fall quiet when confronted with corruption, violence and the erosion of trust.

This is not moral courage. It is moral convenience.

When the pulpit trembles at Carnival, it is not society being defended; it is a performance staged for applause. A rose in a masquerade becomes the scandal of the week, while the daily realities of poverty, dishonesty and injustice pass without rebuke.

What does this reveal? That sexuality is the safest target. It requires no confrontation with power, no challenge to authority, no risk of consequence.

To scold Carnival is easy. To demand accountability from leaders is dangerous. And so, the sermon is directed at the people, never at the powerful.

And here is the truth:

Morality must not be selective. Morality that avoids power is not morality at all; it is theatre. Real morality confronts lies, defends the vulnerable against violence and demands integrity from institutions.

Carnival is not the crisis. Hypocrisy is. The danger is not in roses or revelry, but in the silence of those who claim moral authority while refusing to confront power.

The selective outrage of moralists who thunder against pleasure but whisper against injustice is the real decay.

Real morality must carry thorns as well as petals. It must be willing to prick power, not just perfume the air with easy condemnations. Without that edge, it is nothing more than roses without thorns: fragile theatre, not morality but masquerade.

If faith leaders wish to guide society, let them do so with consistency and courage. Let them confront dishonesty, greed and violence with the same energy they devote to condemning costumes.

Otherwise, their words ring hollow, a trumpet sounding, but without the soul of the nation.

Until then, spare us the lectures about roses and revelry. Trinidad and Tobago’s wounds are far deeper and they will not be healed by moral theatre.

Let the sermons be fearless. Let the voices of faith rise where corruption festers, where violence wounds, where dishonesty corrodes trust and where injustice reigns.

This nation’s healing will not come from condemning pleasure.  It will come from courage and consistency in confronting truth.

Anything less is performance, not prophecy.

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Bryan St Louis

Bryan St Louis is a former education officer for the Communication Workers’ Union (CWU).