RE: If America can elect a Black President, why can't Caricom nations agree to pool their sovereignty?

Hi Norman,

You write: “I dislike the assumptions that underlie the question, What can the Caribbean expect from an Obama Presidency? It is not just that the expectations are unrealistic: they are misplaced.” I agree.

However your own question, “If America can elect a Black President, why can't Caricom nations agree to pool their sovereignty?”, also has some underlying assumptions that appear to be unrealistic, if not misplaced.

The comparison between the Obama victory and the pulling together of Caribbean nations is a bit problematic.

You make the point of political constituency: Obama’s “political constituency is domestic. … Overseas, he must obey the imperatives of America’s strategic interests.” The same holds for the leaders of our Caribbean nations: their political constituency is domestic, insular, not regional. That’s exactly what makes it so difficult for our nations to pull together and speak with one voice.

Whereas Barack Obama has to make sure that he appeals to all (or at least a majority of) Americans, no Caribbean leader is compelled to appeal to the entire Caribbean. And whereas all Americans must soon recognize Barack Obama as their lawful Head of State, no Trinidadian or Puerto Rican is required to accept, for instance, Jamaican Prime Minister Bruce Golding as his/her leader.

That does not mean that we should not continue to dream of and fight for a united Caribbean. I fully agree with your statement that “the true meaning of the Obama victory is that we can dare to think the unthinkable, to dream the impossible.” In fact, we Caribbean people are quite capable of unthinkable and inspiring feats, as our Caribbean (hi)story proves: from Toussaint Louverture and the Haitian Revolution to Fidel Castro and the Cuban Revolution.

I think that a second lesson to be learnt from Barack Obama is his explicit recognition of the fact that he could not have won this electoral victory alone and that he will not be able to achieve his presidential goals alone. All true and enduring success requires a collective effort.

It will take much more than a single charismatic leader to unite the Caribbean. We will need to collectively step “Beyond a boundary”: beyond the boundaries of insularism, nationalism and political constituency.

One Love,

Peter Jordens