Who will bell the cat?

There is an old fable worth retelling. A group of mice held a council meeting to come up with ways that would warn them of a menacing cat on the prowl in the still of night seeking a meal to devour. One novice mouse suggested they tie a bell around the cat’s neck to monitor its movement, giving them enough time to escape when it headed in their direction. When the applause for what sounded like a brilliant idea subsided, an old battle-scarred mouse stepped forward and asked, “Who will bell the cat?” Silence followed.

The story is an apt metaphor for the relations between small Caribbean states and the colossus to the north, the United States of America. A few brave souls have stood up, spoken out, and inevitably paid a price for trying to balance the power equation.

Our late Prime Minister Michael “Joshua” Manley tried and failed to “bell the cat” by standing up to America’s hegemonistic tendencies. He angered its Government by openly courting Fidel Castro’s communist Cuba.