Lessons from Gone with the Wind

STEVE ALVAREZ

GONE With the Wind is a four-hour-long 1939 American historical and romantic film. Among the main stars are Clark Gable, Viven Leigh and Hattie Mc Daniel. The film is making headlines today as the world grapples with racism and the African people. Over the period of social distancing I had time to watch this film again for perhaps the third time.

There are some major lessons that one can take from this film that is very pertinent today. One is one’s way of life on any given day – the comfort, the norms, they can all be gone with the wind in a moment, never to return. Another is that when there is a crisis like a civil war, blacks and whites unite but the feel-good moment of unity does not always last.

After the US civil war blacks were not only freed but many of the promises made by the 14th Amendment of the US constitution were not realised. That amendment stated, among other things, “All persons born or naturalised in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside.”

And, “No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States.”

This greatly expanded the civil and legal rights of the now new black citizens.

After the federal troops left the South, many southern states passed laws to segregate the blacks from the white population. In Plessy v Ferguson (1896), the court ruled that racially segregated public facilities did not violate the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. That decision stood until 1954 when, in Brown v Board of Education, the Supreme Court overturned the ruling.

Another lesson from the movie was that one could hold on to a dream of a love that is not there. It also shows that by the time you realise your errors, that which you sought and had is gone.

One might ask how is that pertinent to TT? Well one can conclude that the days of income from oil and gas that required very little input from TT is gone. The life of weekends down the island, bake and shark limes in Maracas and all-inclusive fetes with premium imported drinks may all be gone with the winds of change that came with covid19.

It also may caution us to note that the desire for unity and building a nation together can only be possible if there is a deep commitment from each of us to rebuilding our communities. That commitment cannot be contaminated with racial and social prejudices that today pervade our society.

Many of our people who daily claim they are not racial cannot find a way to vote outside of the traditional voting patterns of their parents. It is the perpetuation of such patterns of divisiveness and bigotry that destroys the very fabric of civil society.

As the world comes to terms with the history of racism, sectarian prejudices, unfair practices and injustices that come from the African slave trade and subsequent efforts to discriminate against non-whites, we in TT must confront our own versions of inequality.

Voting for either of the two major parties ought not to be a consideration at this time. No matter how noble their aspirations or promises, unless they publicly decry racism and follow that up with electoral candidates that ensure there are equal numbers of people of African and Indian ancestry in their safe seats, then their claim of non-bias representation remains baseless.

The population in this year of change, in this year of making things right, has an opportunity to end the divisiveness now. There is a group of politicians uniting in the best interest of TT under the umbrella of Better United. These politicians are asking the people of every community, every political party not aligned with the two major political parties to come together and provide the people of TT with good quality candidates in every constituency.

Together, these parties can offer the population the opportunity for real change, an opportunity to sow love instead of hate, unity instead of divisiveness and progress and prosperity instead of corruption and nepotism.

Together the old ways can be gone with the winds of change or we can hold on to our system of deep racism, disguising it with sayings like we fete together, to the demise of our beloved country.

Steve Alvarez is political leader of the Democratic Party of TT