GIVEN our current state of affairs, with the average citizen now sleeping with one eye open at night, if you had a choice to live in a particular country, would you prefer one with general adherence to law and good order, or would you prefer a place where people and (some) institutions applied laws and rules selectively and conveniently?

In Trinidad and Tobago, being of the latter type, there is the ‘failure of many institutions to live up to their potential’ (Article: ‘Denis Solomon, larger than life’ September 3, 2023). Our utility companies, for example, are unpredictable with their disconnection policies and even worse when it comes to emergency repairs. It is generally not known when your electricity connection will be disconnected after the due date passes on a bill stating ‘due for disconnection.’ If there is a line on fire, pray to God that you get on to the operator at T&TEC and that he/she takes you seriously.

Similarly, a WASA bill for residential homes can sometimes run into thousands of dollars in arrears, but still, water flows normally in the pipes of these houses. It is not unheard of that in Trinidad someone can take his/her car in for a ‘mandatory’ vehicle inspection and after a ‘little sweet talk ‘ to receive a certificate of approval, despite many mechanical problems on the vehicle still to be addressed.

Concerning our daily lives, some citizens go about their daily routines and are mindless (or in some cases, clueless) about the immediate needs and rights of others and therefore do not act in ways that are required in certain given circumstances.

As a natural consequence of this arbitrariness and failings, there are many evils – as can be seen splashed across the headlines in our newspapers daily now or on the 7 o’clock news nightly nowadays – that can be associated with a nation where the general citizenry does not have respect for law and order. Also, it matters not that some of its institutions (for example, the Judiciary) function with probity and integrity. It is the cumulative effect of all persons and of the country’s structures that matter, at the end of the day.

In a progressive society, first and foremost, systems, laws and institutions are required to be respected, unconditionally. Ideally, it is a place where people go about their daily lives with a mindset of adherence to law and order. Using the State of Florida, USA, as an illustration of a progressive society on many (not all) fronts-from a simple issue as a reserved parking space for the disabled, where the special parking permit must be visibly displayed on the vehicle or a traffic ticket will be issued, to clearing the security checkpoints at the airports, where certain designated items are checked, including wet plastic bags (if any) in the carry-on luggage are all carefully scrutinised by vigilant and ‘no nonsense’ security/ immigration officers. In other words, laws and institutions demand the utmost respect.

In businesses, the Walmart service centre, Kissimmee, Orlando, for instance, vehicles stand in line. A polite attendant (unlike workers generally in Trinidad) then makes enquiries individually and identifies the customer’s problems. An online agreement is then drawn up, most importantly, with the price of the job established, and electronically signed by the customer. A number is assigned to your vehicle and you are escorted to the waiting area until the job is completed. The mechanics are all well dressed and can pass for waiters and waitresses.

Again, in the State of Florida, as an illustration of an orderly/ predictable/efficient system, when your water bill or cable bill is unpaid, a young man rides up to your house a day or two after the deadline, on a motor scooter and, without notice to you, the resident, in five minutes time or less disconnects the water supply (or cable) to your premises.

In Miami, a traffic ticket can easily meet you in the mail (resident or not) for an infraction of all types of traffic laws, including a violation for failing to stop at the white line, before making the permitted turn of right (on a red light).

The ultimate solution for us Trinbagonians to escape the crisis of lawlessness staring us in our faces at present is to aim for, and work towards making our beloved country one that is orderly and, one where each of us is willing to adhere to certain acceptable standards of behaviour. Ultimately, however, (as demonstrated above) a safer society demands that certain freedoms and cultural norms be abandoned for ones that now require a sustained level of conformity to laws/ procedures and to the rule of law. This is now the necessary price we must pay to be able to sleep peacefully at night and to know, among other things, that our sons and daughters are safe on a daily basis.

Our move towards and recognition of orderliness must become pivotal. Thus, the complaint made (in a recent Letter to Editor), of going to the Licensing Division and being turned away for failing to meet the dress code, must now be changed into a statement of admiration for the division’s insistence of adherence to rules, and to publicise such.

Politicians or the TTPS cannot change the mindset of we, the people. This we, as caring citizens, must do for ourselves. As Albert Einstein once said: ‘Nothing happens until something moves.’

Without these seismic changes, among other changes to be made also, our country will head into a deep, dark abyss of despair and loneliness from which only a miracle can extract us.

Yaseen Ahmed