Go Lean Commentary
A big star in the world of movies is asking for consideration in an area outside his sphere of influence: independence of his homeland. We have seen this movie before; same script, different cast!
Sir Sean Connery’s plea is similar to many other prominent people that had expatriated to a different country, awaiting more favorable conditions in their beloved homeland. (Charlize Theron from South America, Wyclif Jean from Haiti and Oscar De La Renta from the Dominican Republic). This is also the fate of so many of the Caribbean Diaspora. These ones love their country, but live abroad; they want conditions to be different (better) in their homelands to consider any repatriation.
London (AFP)
James Bond star Sean Connery urged his fellow Scots on Sunday to vote for independence in their referendum later this year, saying it was an opportunity “too good to miss”.
The 83-year-old actor, one of the most high-profile backers of the Scottish National Party’s campaign for a ‘yes’ vote in September, said independence would raise Scotland’s profile.
This could encourage more investment in the Scottish film sector and lead to the “international promotion of Scotland as an iconic location”, Connery wrote in the Sun on Sunday newspaper.
Connery, the star of 007 movies such as “Goldfinger” and “Dr No”, was born in Scotland but has not lived there for years, instead spending his time in Spain, the Bahamas and New York.
In 2003, he said he would not return until Scotland broke with the rest of the United Kingdom.
“I fully respect the choice facing Scotland in September is a matter for the people who choose to work and live there — that’s only right,” said the actor.
“But as a Scot with a lifelong love of Scotland and the arts, I believe the opportunity of independence is too good to miss.”
He added: “A Yes vote will capture the world’s attention. There will be a renewed focus on our culture and politics, giving us an unparalleled opportunity to promote our heritage and creative excellence.”
A YouGov poll published on Saturday found 53 percent of Scots want to stay part of the United Kingdom, compared to 35 percent who think Scotland should be an independent country.
http://news.yahoo.com/connery-says-scottish-independence-chance-too-good-miss-003358875.html
Yes, the plea of Sir Connery is parallel and similar to that of the Go Lean … Caribbean book, a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU), a technocratic federal government to administer and optimize the economic, security, and governing engines of the 30 member Caribbean states. The same as Sir Connery pledged to not return until Scotland breaks with the UK, many Caribbean Diaspora have pledged not to return (for permanent residency) until their homeland breaks from their current ineffectual systems of governance, failing economic engines and inadequate security provisions.
There is a lot of history associated with both issues: Scotland and the CU. Sir Connery is advocating for Scotland’s independence. This has been a familiar call for centuries. This is life imitating art and art imitating life. The call for Scottish independence was the theme of the 1995 movie Braveheart, about Scottish Revolutionary William Wallace (played by Academiy Award winner Mel Gibson). In addition, the 2006 movie “The Last King of Scotland”, had that goal as a secondary theme. That despite the many failed attempts of Scotland to wrest independence from England, the country of Uganda under dictator Idi Amin (played by Academy Award winner Forrest Whitaker) was successful at gaining their independence from the same imperial masters. A line in that movie stated “maybe Amin should become King of Scotland because he knows how to wrestle independence from England”. Now, today, another Hollywood icon champions the same plea and revolutionary quest for his beloved Scotland.
Scotland has been “rocked” by the recent global financial crisis; they posit that London’s oversight of their economic interest has been flawed and shortsighted. But their demand today is different than for prior attempts in prior centuries. They now want a democratic solution, a referendum to secede Scotland from the United Kingdom. Then Scotland would join and become the 29th member-state of the European Union (EU) and 19th member of the Eurozone Monetary Union. Aligning with the success of the EU would make this petition feasible and logical. According to recent polling, so far the referendum is not favored.
There are a lot of lessons in this issue for the Caribbean. Despite Scotland’s demand for independence, their plan is not to “go at it alone, rather immediately confederate with the EU. This makes the referendum a demand for interdependence with the rest of Europe. The people of Scotland feel that aligning with the EU and submitting to the technocratic European Central Bank would be preferred to the failed economic and monetary policies from London. The underlying spirit behind this Scottish Independence movement is a quest to “appoint new guards” to make their homeland a better place to live, work and play.
The Caribbean’s quest for interdependence is similar; with this statement in the opening Declaration of Interdependence at the outset of the Go Lean book (Page 12):
xi. Whereas all men are entitled to the benefits of good governance in a free society, “new guards” must be enacted to dissuade the emergence of incompetence, corruption, nepotism and cronyism at the peril of the people’s best interest. The Federation must guarantee the executions of a social contract between government and the governed.
The Go Lean roadmap posits that the global financial crisis lingers to this day and trumpets that “a crisis is a terrible thing to waste”. Just like Sir Connery’s egging for Scotland, we in the Caribbean want our homeland to be a better place to live, work and play. The best hope for this outcome though is to confederate into the CU, an EU model, whereby real solutions can be forged, availing benefits like creating 2.2 million jobs across the integrated market of 42 million people and $800 Billion of GDP.
🙂
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