29684: Durban (comment): On Kawonabo's Anti-Bourgeoisie Rant (#29660) (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

Lance Durban <Lpdurban@yahoo.com> posts

M. Pierre (Kawonabo1500) was probably referring to my frequent lament
about Haiti's unestimable loss (through emmigration) of so many
valuable sons and daughters who might have chosen to stay help their
country of birth.  His turning that argument on its head and blaming
all of Haiti's problems on "the bourgeoisie" is as offensive as it is
ludicrous.

I would subscribe to only a very small part of M. Pierre's contention,
namely that the well-to-do in Haiti are in a better position to effect
change in Haiti than the down-trodden masses.  If you start out life
with more, you have more to build on, and that's just a fact of life.
Beyond that, Pierre's negative stereotyping gets us nowhere.

It totally overlooks the many wealthy people in Haiti who do care
passionately about improving Haiti and are making meaningful
contributions in a wide spectrum of endeavors.  Contributions to
private schools, the arts, Rotary Club projects, hardly begin to
scratch the surface.

The point I want to make here however, is that very few people in any
society actually find themselves in a position to significantly change
their society.  Most of us are born into a set of circumstances and the
best we can hope for is to (maybe) change our own circumstances.  Many
in Haiti, of course, choose to do that by emmigrating.

How many people can honestly state that they, personally, have made a
significant contribution for the betterment of the society in which
they live.  As a resident in the USA or Canada, M. Pierre, what
concrete action have you taken to improve your country of residence?
Most Americans do little beyond voting in elections, and many do not
even make that small effort.

So what accounts for the difference in country performance in the last
200 years?  My own belief is that we American's owe far more to our
country's founders than is generally appreciated.  As for Haiti, it
could be argued that an almost total lack of enlightened and educated
founders set the stage for a rather tragic 200 year history.  To try
and turn the Haitian ship of state now is an enterprise of no small
magnitude, but blaming the relatively few who are best placed to do so
is simply counter-productive.

Lance Durban