It almost seems as if the people of Central and South Trinidad must come to accept their lot as perennial flood victims.

It is probable too that citizens in the rest of the country have long come to accept that if you live in such areas as Caparo and Williamsville, you must expect to deal, at least once or twice a year, with being marooned or with ruined agricultural produce or drowned livestock.

The attempt of Works Minister Colm Imbert to explain what may have gone wrong after the latest heavy downpour suggests that the Government has become trapped in this way of thinking.

Mr Imbert was quoted last week Saturday, as saying: “It is unusual at this time of the year for there to be flooding in that area but, as you will also appreciate, the weather has been very unusual for this early part of January.”

In so many aspects of our national life it seems as though we can go so far and no further, limited to mediocrity and the way to which we are accustomed to doing things. What is required is a qualitative leap from the business-as-usual approach. This kind of pole-vaulting is not easy; profound conversion is mysterious but it is possible.

It is the story of the people to whom Jonah goes in today's reading. When the prophet told the people of Nineveh of their impending destruction they quickly sprang into action. They changed.

Perhaps more important than the suddenness of the turnaround, however, was the people's readiness and ability to work together to bring about a radical reorientation of their lives. It was in a similar fashion that the first disciples responded to Jesus' call to kingdom-living: “ At once they left their nets and followed him ” (Mark 1:18 ).

Effective solutions

Each person wants to be more and to do more. It is also true that sluggishness, inattentiveness and even resistance to what is right and good are part of human experience. But that can never be an excuse.

When situations arise that challenge us as citizens to care for the disadvantaged in our society, it is important that those who are able to act do so promptly. We often do.

Some situations go beyond public-spiritedness. While citizens must stop using our watercourses as dumping grounds, flooding of the beleaguered areas requires strong action and effective solutions from Government and its agencies.

Another theme in each of today's readings is that “time is running out” (1 Corinthians 7: 29 ). Those persons who are disposed to right living, the coming of God's kingdom, arise out of their slumber and the business-as-usual attitude. They get going.

In this matter of flooding, determined Government effort can affect and influence people's lives in far-reaching ways; it can sustain hope, for one thing. The failure to act in appropriate ways has the opposite effect.

Unfortunately, when citizens are sitting in their muddy living rooms, our politicians are inclined to give in to distractions, using the moment as another platform to make more promises—some about other projects that have little to do with the urgent matter at hand.