Distressingly amid the national uproar over our women’s ill-treatment and murders, we gravitate to accepting a ‘macho’ solution that wreaks violence upon those who threaten us. We should reflect on how likely this path would take us to our desired goal of safety for all, particularly our women. Will we …
Read More »Noble: Who really cares? How shallow protests ignore chance for real change
‘Poor children are victims of circumstance/ In life they never really get a chance/Or have opportunities as privileged children do/ The road from the poor suburb to prison leads them/ From broken homes they are condemned to fail/ Their abusive and drug-addicted parents serving time in jail/ Their parents too …
Read More »Noble: The ‘throw-away’ woman challenge—where our injustice, violence, and sexism intersect
‘When a country is in the grip of a collective passion, it becomes unanimous…the partisan spirit makes people blind, makes them deaf to justice. It dims perception of goodness, merely enables it to mistake this or that means for an absolute good. ‘One must, therefore, endeavour strenuously to protect one’s …
Read More »Noble: The ‘complicit shepherds’; church’s ‘political idolatry and spiritual parody must stop’
Over the last three decades, persons who either tell census enumerators that they have ‘no religion’ or refuse to identify with religion now represent the fastest-growing group based on faith. As large as the Pentecostals, this group (13% of the population) draws from every other faith group. Why is this …
Read More »Noble: As USA learns cost of lies about equality, will T&T remove scales from its eyes?
“The truth does not care about our governments, ideologies, religions. It will lie in wait… I once would fear the cost of truth. Now I only ask, what is the cost of lies? “[…] Every lie we tell incurs a debt to the truth. Sooner or later, that debt is …
Read More »Noble: Covid isn’t only a health issue, but also an economic one; how will T&T society adjust?
Coming events cast their shadows before them. Pay attention to the news and you can generally foretell when something momentous is about to happen. Like the closing weeks of 2020. The question, in the light of the impending outcomes, then is: what do we owe each other? Are we, who …
Read More »Noble: Termites eating our democracy—the danger of spin doctors in ‘independent’ clothing
Distrust of politicians and public figures is a mainstay of democratic politics. Trust and distrust go hand in hand. We have institutions as a check on untrammelled forays by politicians, but we also use public opinion as a brake. The savage lampooning or ‘fatigue’ of the unfortunate George Chambers—‘done see’/‘duncy’—signalled …
Read More »Noble: Correcting Education’s woes; beyond ‘prestige schools’ and ‘standardised examinations’
“For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple and wrong,” — H L Mencken Last month, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley reportedly said ‘tough decisions will have to be made to correct the educational imbalances’, as he anticipated ‘an honest and open discussion’ which would lead …
Read More »Noble: What is the man’s responsibility for fear that stalks our women in public places?
How can our women become more careful when they do not know whether or not an approaching man would rape or kill her? She, by just being in the public, is at risk. Take for example, Juliet Tam, who in 1985, left her Arima home to exercise and just disappeared. …
Read More »Noble: Bobbing on the ocean; how T&T’s fading regional influence led to migrant crisis
There was an outpouring of sympathy for the Venezuelan children and women, who were brought to our shores, after enduring cold weather and the high seas. And that is as it should be. However, there is no wailing for our own fates as represented by this turn of events. This …
Read More »Noble: We’re witnessing governance crisis on education, POS reform and Venezuelan migration
“We will never bring disgrace to this, our city, by any act of dishonesty or cowardice, nor ever desert our suffering comrades in the ranks. We will fight for the ideals and sacred things of the city, both alone and with many. “We will revere and obey the city’s laws …
Read More »Noble: Is Peter George Jr ‘gaslighting’ us? Thank God T&T’s fate is not in his hands
Words matter. By choosing how we frame and talk about something, we induce others to think about an issue in a specific way. This framing can drastically change someone’s perspective about the issue. To present a public position the speaker carefully chooses the words and concepts to achieve the specific …
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