“McAlpine: I put country first – Always” – the Tribune

Excerpt from this story; “AS HE slammed Free National Movement Chairman Carl Culmer for calling him a hypocrite, Pineridge MP Fredrick McAlpine yesterday suggested the FNM chair was not a real leader.

Mr. Culmer made the remark about the FNM backbencher last week as he deemed Wednesday’s march outside Parliament a failure organized by the Progressive Liberal Party.

Despite siding with protesters who demonstrated against the Minnis administration, Mr. McAlpine insisted he was not a hypocrite or anti-FN but said the party does need a ‘come to Jesus moment’ having faced two protests in less than six months.”

I have had conversation with the Hon. McAlpine and we have made peace and I refuse to attack or bash him because of his view but I would like to ask him exactly what does he mean when he says, “I put country first – always”?

For some putting country first seems to mean to bring immediate relief to the persons of that country or to do whatever it takes to bring about this relief and is what most person expect of a government when they vote them in; especially in the manner in which the current Free National Movement government was voted in.

For others, putting country first means setting long terms goals for the country so that in the future the country will have a solid foundation on which to build and grow and NO the previous  Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) government did not leave one in place, so I do not what to hear them carry on with that again.

Both of these views have their potential merits and both have their potential pitfalls.

If one were to bring immediate relief to the masses no matter what, given the state the country has been in, then one must ask at what cost?  How does one achieve such a lofty goal and if one looks to take the second route, then how much can the people actually  bear in the attempt to achieve long terms goals for the betterment of the country?

It would be foolish and irresponsible to accept any and everything that any government does or says without question but as you question, at the same time you must be willing and able to offer viable solutions and take the ‘heat’ for your criticism; well within reason.

I have not been pleased with everything that this government has done to date but as I criticize them, I at the very least offer a solution.

Today, the Free National Movement (FNM) member of parliament for Pineridge gets into a spat over what is hypocritical as it pertains to the direction in which the governing Free National Movement is taking the country and my opinion is exactly how does one define ‘country first’?

“Country First” like the phase “Nationalist” basically off the very same concept, are both catchy terms but how do you define each in the best interest of any nation because no matter which direction you take to improve the lives of the of the people of The Bahamas through true change, someone will be dissatisfied and/or made to ‘suffer’.

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