A Nevispages weekly feature by Curtis Morton Sr.
The way I see it, some topics are not meant for debate. There are times when you may never get a winner and such debates normally divide longtime friends.
Dear reader (those from my generation and beyond), Have you ever engaged in an argument as to the direction of a particular pitch, or the pier, or some similar object? Those arguments used to go on for days!
Well, on Thursday of this week, I went to St. Kitts to record a bit of the Cricket match between Barbados and the Leewards. When I got to Warmer Park, I realize that the players were there and that the stumps were not yet in place and it was almost 10 am. Later, I was informed that persons unknown had broken into the Bajans’ dressing room, overnight and removed some items, including shirts, trousers and socks.
So, I listened to these two guys in the pavilion, going tooth and nails, in a big argument. One was adamant that the Kittitian Association was at fault, while the other opined the Bajans were at fault. The first man based his argument on the fact that the St. Kitts Cricket Association should have hired security guards to man the park and that as the host country, they have the responsibility of ensuring that the visitors and even their own team members are safe. The other guy’s argument was simply that even if the local association had overall responsibility, the Bajans were also to blame.
‘So you going to a next man’s country, you ain’t going to find out if certain things like security are in place before you leave all your gear and clothes in the players’ pavilion?’ He asked. ‘It’s like you going to a hotel,’ he persisted. ‘So you ain’t going to make sure that they have soap, towel and so on, in place?’ You going to just take it for granted that the hotel should provide those things?’
And so they went on and on. It was the only entertainment to be had, so I sucked it all in until they tried to get me to take sides and I steered clear of that. I am also reminded of a story I heard, many moons ago.
These two buddies, met at a designated place every Saturday, to ‘bang’ dominoes. One of the highlights of this recreational past time was a good argument: From Cricket to Boxing, to Politics—just name the topic.
One day, one of the guys fell into a financial jam and begged his pardner to loan him $500.00. The pardner was so good to him, he gave him the $500.00 and told him that it was not a loan, but that he was giving it to him. The recipient thanked his friend profusely and went off to clear his debt.
The next week, the board was silent. His pardner even tried to crank up the debate: ‘Brian Lara was a better batsman than Viv Richards.’ Normally this would have incited a vehement response from his friend, who was a die-hard Viv Richards fan, but this week, to his shock, the friend said” I agree.’
The next week—same thing.
When they met the third week following the loan, the pardner realized that it was the same general silence and agreement with everything he said, so he exploded: ‘Gie me back me money, so we can argue in peace!
Well I newa!
Jesus in his word, stated: Blessed are the peacemakers… God will be happy if we seek to be peacemakers and not warmongers.
That’s the way I see it. How do you see it?