Are Trinis a shameless people?

THE EDITOR: Are we a shameless people? Or have we gradually allowed shameless behaviour to go unchecked insomuch that it became the norm?

As a child some decades ago, I grew up in a Trinidad and Tobago which rejected and shunned bad behaviour. There was a standard set within society that did not accept anything or anyone who corrupted or were themselves corrupt.

Manners made man and adults respected themselves and demanded that respect from others in the way they dressed, spoke, and carried about their selves.

How did we reach the point where people under criminal investigation run for public office and, even more disturbing than this, occupy seats of authority within this country?

In first-world countries, people in public life who find themselves under criminal investigation automatically resign their positions until their names are cleared by the courts. And society demands this because if they are in fact guilty, they must not be given any opportunity whatsoever to further corrupt.

The foreign press plays a great part in establishing this. We therefore must ask ourselves where is the leadership within, and the media standards that encourage this in TT.