Dear citizens: It is imperative that I share on this
topic. Yes, you guess it right—The Constitutional
Amendments and the different views and other related
issues. I am saddened to discover how so many are
confused, not voting, or not voting because of
misinformation given to them. Some say they cannot
trust the Prime Minister, he has ulterior motives.
Some say that it is a moral issue (on Bill No. 4)
and scripture would not allow them to vote “yes.”
Others say that The Bahamas is for Bahamians only,
let the foreigners stay out. Some do not
understand the role of the church in a society.
Some are confused because they are hearing lawyers
giving different interpretations of the bill. They
say: “Well, if the lawyers don’t know, I may as
well don’t vote or vote no.” Never forget that
around the world lawyers may posit one of three
views when interpreting the same law--conservative,
liberal, or centrist interpretation. Think for
yourself. Do not allow the views to confuse you.
On
another point, why would the Government or the Prime
Minister have ulterior motives? These bills can
stand on their own. They are simple and straight
forward. Whether or not there are ulterior
motives, the bills are pure and positions The
Bahamas as a constitutionally balanced nation. Some
argue that we lived without these changes for 43
years so why change them? Not everyone is aware of
the pain and misery caused to individuals because of
the current constitution. The stories were not in
the newspapers or on television. We have also
lived for 43 years not learning how to navigate a
four-way stop junction. Some think it is “normal”
to drive through a four-way stop junction. When
will this behavior and attitude be changed? When
will we stop allowing tradition to dictate to us
without critically thinking about its relevancy?
Many
years ago, I read a book entitled (it is in my
library) “Sick Societies . . . Challenging the Myth
of Primitive Harmony” written by Dr. Robert B.
Edgerton. He discovered in his research of
histories of nations/communities that when societies
refuse to examine the relevancy of its current
practices, traditions, or laws, that nation or
community over time fades away or becomes extremely
weak. He pointed that the many communities have
actually disappeared as results of this behavior and
attitude. Hence for those of us who think we are
preserving our nation by voting “No,” they might
actually be leading the nation in to a gradual
decline and that can lead to nothingness.
I
wonder why so many Bahamians forget that our nation
is made up of many nationalities. I wonder why so
many Bahamians forget that many of us love to use
the United States of America to have our children so
they can have free college education. I wonder why
so many Bahamians refuse to look in to their own
families and see the multi-nations represented. In
my own family there is Italy, Ireland, Africa, St
Marteen, America, France. When Bahamian citizens
allow xenophobic ideologies to penetrate their
thoughts and actions, they will push our nation in
to a precipice of hate, shame and nothingness. Why
are we so selfish, narcissistic, and self-absorbed?
Let’s be reminded of the bills as presented by the
Prime Minister in Parliament
Bill # 1 : The Bahamas Constitution (Amendment)
Bill, 2014
This bill seeks to achieve gender equality in a very
important respect: it seeks to give a child born
outside The Bahamas to a Bahamian-born mother and
non-Bahamian father the same automatic right to
Bahamian citizenship that the Constitution already
gives to a child born outside The Bahamas to a
Bahamian-born father and a non-Bahamian mother. The
bill is therefore simply equalizing the sexes and,
in so doing, eliminating an area of discrimination
against women that has persisted for the past 41
years.
Bill #2 : The Bahamas Constitution (Amendment)
(No.2) Bill, 2014
Bill #2 also seeks to achieve gender equality in
another respect under the Constitution: it seeks to
enable a Bahamian woman who marries a foreign man to
secure for him the same access to Bahamian
citizenship that a Bahamian man has always enjoyed
under the Constitution in relation to his foreign
spouse. In short, the bill seeks to achieve gender
equality in this regard.
Bill #3 : The Bahamas Constitution (Amendment)
(No.3) Bill, 2014
Bill #3 is of particular interest because it seeks
to remediate the one area of the Constitution that
discriminates against men. At present, an unwed
Bahamian father cannot pass his citizenship to a
child born to a foreign woman. This bill seeks to
change that. It will give an unwed Bahamian father
the same right to pass citizenship to his child that
a Bahamian woman has always had under the
Constitution in relation to a child born to her out
of wedlock.
Bill #4 : The Bahamas Constitution (Amendment)
(No.4) Bill, 2014
Finally, Bill #4 seeks to end discrimination based
on sex. This involves the insertion of the word
“sex” in Article 26 of the Constitution so as to
make it unconstitutional to discriminate based on
whether someone is male or female.
What is so difficult about these bills? They are
simple and a must for a progressive nation. They
are not confusing. Some, especially spiritual
leaders are confusing many. They see Bill #4 to be
“opening the door” for same sex marriage. This is
utterly false. The spiritual leaders are
mesmerizing their members who trust them to connect
their roles as Christians to these amendments. Do
you know what really has opened the door to same-sex
marriages world-wide? It will be the same in our
country. It is a heart matter. People on their
own accord desire to express themselves freely.
That is where it starts. No law or constitutional
article will instigate or prevent that. It has
never done it in any country.
Let
me first surprise everyone. These do
not conflict with Christian beliefs, neither do we
need to be Christian to enact them. They are
founded in human rights. The argument by the
pastor of the Bahamas Harvest Church is wrong.
Bill #4 will not introduce same-sex marriage.
Same-sex marriage will stand on its own IF it
comes. How can we not vote for such a sensible bill
because we fear it will allow something else we do
not want? That is not a healthy approach. This
adamant language against same-sex marriage is
actually promoting it. Never forget this
principle. The more we oppose something, the more
it becomes attractive. Nevertheless, the two are
not connected. These leaders are driving fear in
many hearts about transgenders and bathrooms. Last
week I traveled to the United States and England and
did not have any problem or concern about
transgender in the bathroom. There were no signs,
not even a unisex bathroom. The truth is how would
you know that a transgender is in the bathroom with
you? The truth is they have been with us for years
and using the same bathrooms.
Then what are some of the “What if” questions? A
few weeks ago I wrote this:
“Remember fellow citizens, what ifs blur the
brightness of our future. What ifs can block the
sun rays of freedom. What ifs can send a dark cloud
over justice. What ifs can push us into a deep pit
of do-nothing-ness. Let us keep focused on the
real intention of these four bills—equality for both
males and females under the law. No matter how they
are worded, someone will have a what if. So let us
remove the what ifs and replace them with “we will
do it” simply because it is the right thing to
do.”
Here is a somewhat absurd illustration I gave in
the article “What If?” on March 23, 2016:
“What if my six-year old son developed cancer
because I gave him food to eat? Then wouldn’t it
be wise not to feed him to prevent him from getting
cancer? On the other hand, wouldn’t it be inhumane
not to feed him? If I do not feed him, he will
die. So naturally I must take the risk of feeding
him so he can live. Why should I allow my fear of
him getting cancer, of which I have no proof, cause
me not to give him food to eat? Shouldn’t I just
give him the food and let the future deal with my
“what ifs.” Feeding him is simply the natural thing
to do.”
For
those spiritual leaders who feel they must preserve
“spirituality” in the nation, they must be reminded
that governments are to be “secular” in nature and
not “religious” Religious leaders are not to
“preserve spirituality” through legislation but only
through lifestyle of their followers. These
bills are simply about human
rights for everyone. However, deep down, human
rights seems to be a tough tablet for many
Christians to swallow. That is this matter of
rights and freedoms for everyone. They are confused
about perceived “roles” with actual rights and
privileges. They are allowing the misunderstanding
of perceived roles of males and females in the Bible
to color their input on these bills.
I want to
share here that although the Bible was written in a
deeply patriarchal world and it painfully colored
the language, when you look closely, God did not
always use the patriarchal system. A patriarch is
the oldest male in the family who becomes in effect
the CEO of the family. Note that “patriarchs”
chosen by God in the Old Testament were not the
oldest child and was often the youngest. He came
out of the norm. Jesus went against traditions and
talked to women. He held children in his lap.
What’s the point? Many Christians are holding on to
traditions or beliefs that are really not Christo-centric
or demands from God. Most importantly they want to
make this modern country a theocracy. Theocracy
ended before Christ died and will never again be
until the earth is made new again. It is fair for
me to remind all of us that God gave both male and
female equal authority, voice and vote in the Garden
(Genesis 1:25-27). He did not give in the
beginning any one, not even the male, power over
another. They had equality.
Pastors, I need to point out something that is
extremely important. In the New Testament
times same sex relationship was much more prevalent
than it is today in The Bahamas. It was the
norm in the Greek and Roman world. There were
actual laws that degraded females and gave all the
power to males. This was the culture in which the Christian Church
started but did not let it “get to them.” Christ
started the church to change that to lead the people
back to what was intended in the beginning. Oop!
Yes, the Apostle Paul had to address the strange
teachings (male superiority and homosexuality, etc.)
only from the point of asking God’s people to
demonstrate godliness in their own lives.
Not even
once did he seek to or asked the people to press the
Roman government to change the law/constitution to
prevent same sex relationships. Why? Because they
understood that the role of the church and its
followers is to expose the gospel and not impose
the gospel. Note carefully here. Human rights
and spiritual values are not always one and the
same. But they do not conflict because they are
for different purposes. For example, adultery is
not illegal and should never be. But we Christians
say it is immoral. Do you get it?
I
am extremely nervous when I hear the language of our
spiritual leaders.
IS IT A MORAL ISSUE?
When one cannot think for oneself and place more
power in spiritual leaders, one can be easily
swayed. Many spiritual leaders (not all) are
saying that Bill #4 in particular is a moral issue.
What do they mean? They are indicating it is about
or leads to same-sex marriage or support homosexual
behavior. Since it is out of the mouths of
spiritual leaders, then they have to be right.
Especially when they can quote scripture and give
what seems to be “reasonable dialogue.” This
reminds me of the story I read in the book “12
‘Christian Beliefs’ that can Drive You Crazy.” It
is a must read by Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John
Townsend. The story is about a deeply devout
Christian woman who was exhausted from overwork.
She was about to give up on life. While driving
home from work, she tuned in to the radio and heard
a Christian preacher saying something that seemed to
be speaking directly to her. The speaker said “. .
. . So you are down, troubled, lonely, you’re under
crushing pressure. You wonder sometimes if things
will every change for you.” This really sounded
like the speaker was talking directly to her. He
continued “My friend, there’s an answer for you from
the Word of God.” “It is to stop thinking about
yourself and start thinking of others. . . Repent
of your self-absorption, and find peace in
sharing.” Her head dropped. But since it was a
spiritual leader on the radio, she figured he had to
be right. So instead of staying home and resting
during church time and dropping a few of the church
and community activities that were causing her
exhaustion, the pastor was telling her that the only
reason for her feeling that way is that she was to
self-centered. She believed him, so she picked up
the church bulletin and looked for more church work
to do. Was the pastor wrong? Yes he was Be
careful pastors. You can be leading your member
away from Christ by working too hard for the
church.
What’s the point? Often pastors do not
understand how to live and teach balanced lives.
Often pastors are more influenced by negative
cultural traditions and believing and teaching they
are Biblical or humane. One example is
the role of females in the church. Another example
is the treatment and attitude toward transgender,
homosexuals, and just people who do not fit in what
they consider the
“norm.” We teach that the church is a “hospital”
for sick people but the sick people are being
treated poorly. The “doctors” of the hospital are
living better lives than the “patients” and the
“doctors” are not really seeking to “heal” the
wounded. These “doctors” are actually creating
toxic faith among the believers. An attitude of
superiority, self-righteousness, anger and coldness
has metastasized through the body of believes
creating a cancerous mass that is inoperable. This
is one reason too many Christians have become
“spiritually” and “socially” blind and deaf.
Some pastors are very two-faced. Their own members
know well their philandering or clandestine
behavior. Yet, they can be the loudest with the “Amens.”
Do
you realize that the constitution says nothing about
that kind of behavior? It is a free choice,
although it is “morally” wrong. That pastor will
not go to jail for having an affair. But is it
morally wrong. Now I am not suggesting that the
bills are morally wrong. What I am saying is that
some pastors are attaching undue meaning to
something that is clear and right (Bill #4).
Nothing is immoral about both male and females
having the same rights. The constitution speaks to
that and not spiritual correctness.
THE SABBATH PRINCIPLE
Let
me shock some of you. Follow my reasoning.
The Adventist Church teaches that the seventh day
of the week is the day of worship—the Sabbath.
(I am not asking you to agree with the Sabbath.
Just read) However, Adventists will not seek
government to pass laws to close stores on Saturday
nor require all to worship on that day.
In fact, we will vote against such laws. Why?
Adventists believe in religious freedom. No national law is to dictate to
its people how to live socially or spiritually.
Today in the Middle East there are countries telling
men how to beat their wives, women cannot drive or
get driver’s license, etc. Do you know these are
religious laws that are crippling those nations? I
do not want our nation to be like that. The
Pilgrim Parents left England because the Christian
Church pressured the government of the day to
enforce unreasonable laws preventing people of other
faiths to practice their own conscience. I am
hearing that same trend today. I support people
and every faith and of no faith to believe and
practice their values as long as it does not violet
human rights (you kill or harm someone). If
Christians believe they are to be “the salt of the
earth” and the “light to the word” this cannot be
done through force but only by unconditional love
and acceptance. To live “in the world” and not be
“off the world” cannot mean we are to be a pain in
the neck to those around us.
While Christians are seeking to “purify” the country
through legislation let them be reminded that it
will backfire someday. We are to “purify” the
nation by our personal lifestyle, loving attitudes
and unconditional acceptance. We are losing that
emphasis through the discussion of these bills by
some of our spiritual leaders. These spiritual
leaders sound so pious and honest, but they have all
been misled.
Once again I stress, these bills are not related to
anything else other than what they present--Equality
of all citizens. Oh, I just remembered
another point. Some fear these laws will open
the flood gates to foreigners to our country.
There is no empirical evidence for this.
My daughter and son are by birth French because
their mother is French. They are by birth
Bahamians also because their father is Bahamian.
My children have no desire, wish or plans to live in
the country of birth of their mother.
The fact is the flood gates of illegal immigrants
are wide open (in all countries), more than anything else. These bills will simply make
level the playing field for all.
THE UNITED NATIONS AND THE BAHAMAS
Bahamians,
our country is not and “island” on its own. It is
not an isolated piece of earth sheltered from all
communication, trade, or traditions of the whole
puzzle—the other nations. I think it is difficult
for many to understand that the earth is a
neighborhood where the residents make laws in order
to live harmoniously. One of the unifying bodies in
the world to make that possible is the United
Nations (UN). The UN is not a body made up of
leaders from another planet who dictates to
earthlings. No. The UN is made up of earthlings
who together (each country) agree on principles,
rights, freedoms, laws, to make the “neighborhood”
harmonious. The Bahamas is a part of this. I saw a
document being circulated as “proof” that The
Bahamas is being pressured by the UN for same sex
marriage and to have these bills. First of all, WE
are a part of the UN. There could be no UN without
“WE.” “WE” vote on these principles so “WE” (all
countries) can live in harmony in this
“neighborhood.”
Have you wondered why the “Bill on Human Rights” was
created? Simply because nations discovered that
simple basic rights were not being enacted in many
countries. Thus “In June 1946, the UN Economic and
Social Council established the Commission on Human
Rights, which consisted of 18 members from various
nationalities and political backgrounds. The
Commission on Human Rights, a standing body of the
United Nations, was constituted to undertake the
work of preparing what was initially conceived as an
International Bill of Rights.” Note that these are
from different countries. The Bill of Human Right
was voted on finally in 1948. If you read the
bills themselves you will be amazed how natural they
all are. But they had to be placed in writing.
The very first article speaks volumes to us today:
Article 1, which lays down the philosophy on which
the Declaration is based, reads: “All human beings
are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They
are endowed with reason and conscience and should
act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.”
This had to be stated because in reality it was not
so in every country. What’s the point? Bahamas,
we are a part of a global community woven together
into a tapestry of connecting forces, need to
communicate, share, trade and travel among each
other.
Here are a few other articles:
Article 3. Everyone has the right to life, liberty
and security of person.
Article 4. No one shall be held in slavery or
servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be
prohibited in all their forms.
Article 5. No one shall be subjected to torture or
to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment.
Article 12. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary
interference with his privacy, family, home or
correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honor and
reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection
of the law against such interference or attacks.
Article 13. (1) Everyone has the right to freedom of
movement and residence within the borders of each
state. (2) Everyone has the right to leave any
country, including his own, and to return to his
country.
Article 24. Everyone has the right to rest and
leisure, including reasonable limitation of working
hours and periodic holidays with pay.
Aren’t
these common sense declarations? Note, the UN is
not forcing us to have these bills. Common sense
is. Note that in the document being circulated
there is nothing about same sex marriage nor
transgender bathrooms. It is simple about natural
rights and behaviors that are much needed in our
country today, similar to the above articles.
Oh
how I wish our people will see the light. Voting
Yes is imperative.
Barrington H. Brennen is a marriage and family
therapist and a counseling psychologist.
Contacts:
barringtonbrennen@gmail.com or
1-242 327 1980 or 1-305-320
4893
