CATEGORY:CELEBRATION(INDEPENDENCE) ------------------------------------- Inside Grenada Wednesday February 7,2007 AS WE CELEBRATE our thirty-third anniversary of independence as a nation, we need to reflect on our past accomplishments as well as on our shortfalls with a view to charting a course that will lead our country towards greater peace and prosperity in the future. Our country has been through a very tumultuous past – both pre and post Independence - so much so that Grenada has been called an “Island of Conflict.” Our Spice Isle was entangled in a web of controversy and political upheaval at the time of its independence on February 7, 1974. The National Flag, which we embrace so proudly today, had to be hoisted in almost complete darkness on Fort George. To continue building Grenada, we need to examine the causes of the bitter disputes - political and otherwise - that have plagued us over the years, and ensure that history does not repeat itself in these cases. As a people, we need to also realize that patriotism and love for Grenada does not simply mean wearing the national colors on Independence Day and decorating our villages. Patriotism and love for country should emanate from deep within our hearts and should be manifested in the things we do and in the way we treat our fellowmen. On this Independence Day, we need to reaffirm our love for country, and work very diligently and conscientiously towards ensuring that our island remains at peace and that our beautiful Grenada grows to become the envy of every nation in the Western Hemisphere. We should not allow political tribalism to tear us apart and turn us one against the other. The progress that we desire so much can only come out of genuine unity and love for each other. Let us make a solemn resolve from this day forth to give true meaning to and live out the words of our National Anthem “…Ever conscious of God…we aspire, build and advance as ONE PEOPLE, ONE FAMILY…” May God continue to Bless this Fair Isle in the Caribbean Sea called Grenada.