A state of paralysis
ON August 6, 2022 Jamaica, our island home, will be celebrating 60 years of having gained political independence. Regrettably, this developing nation is yet to attain economic independence. This is most depressing and uninspiring, because I am beginning to wonder if, in my lifetime, such an elusive dream will become a reality.
It is said that Jamaicans have a solution to every problem and a problem for every solution. Divided by political partisanship, religious bigotry, social and economic discrimination, Jamaica continues to befuddle all logical thinking in terms of why there has been so much persistent poverty, mendicancy and criminal violence.
Back in 1961, then Premier Norman Washington Manley felt that the best way forward was to become part of the West Indies Federation. The legal luminary-turned-politician and Renaissance man put his fortunes on the line by calling a referendum which he lost. His arch-rival, then Labour leader extraordinaire-turned-politician, Alexander Bustamante, turned the tide against him, stating inter alia that Jamaica ought not to accommodate “paupers” (referring to the Caribbean islands that would form part of the Federation). Ironically, today, most of these “pauperised” nations are doing far better than Jamaica, which remains, for the most part, an impoverished country. In the meantime, Federation’s seemingly bastardised successor, Caricom, has become a glorified talk shop still plagued by those inherent characteristics which continue to divide the region rather than unite it.
Remarkably, we are not short of solutions or answers. So many studies have been done and are being done which oftentimes point us in the right direction, but most of these end up in “file 13” or are watered down to a state of ineffectiveness. To put it bluntly, we are very good at analysing and criticising just about everything ad nauseam. And by the time all the analysis has been done and the detractors have their field day by finding a rat under every rug, many golden opportunities would have been lost. To put it plainly: We chat too much and act very little!
Against this background, it must be stressed that the time has come for us to move from one crisis to another the next and seek to reach a point of synthesis.
Unfortunately, we seem to be in a “state of chronic” (paralysis). Those who have been exposed to dialectical reasoning would be aware that synthesis is the final stage in the process in which a new idea resolves the conflict between thesis and antithesis. So, in the normal scheme of things, one should move from crisis to analysis followed by thesis, antithesis and ultimately synthesis.
The media, unfortunately, has helped to fuel this exercise in futility by focusing too much on newsbites and so-called scandals. There is persistent intellectual masturbation in the pages of most newspapers as columnists try to outdo each other as to who can come up with the best turn of phrase or headline-grabbing commentary which, when put to the test, comes up short in terms of balance, rationality and common sense. (Mea culpa, perhaps?)
Some talk show hosts, it would appear, feel that, as far as is possible, they must rip the politicians and the political parties to shreds with sadistic glee while their eyes are glued to the ratings, as more listenership leads to more revenue. After all, it is so easy to beat up on the Government of the day, analysing the problems to
death, but coming up most times with very few solutions. Of course, there are those who must perforce sing for their supper. In this regard, we are our worst enemies, and so we continue to shoot ourselves in the foot.
Quoting from distinguished Jamaican journalist Ewart Walters’ book unsung hero O T Fairclough, who not only founded the newspaper but the People’s National Party, said in his first editorial, “Jamaica is not without a large body of men and women who are sincerely anxious to understand the state of this country and the duties laid upon them by its problems. They are not blind to evils which threaten the island from within, nor are they deaf to the noise and commotion of the outer world. They frequently look towards the future with grave misgivings.”
“But where is one to begin?” he asked. His response, “The first necessity is that those who have at heart projects of social,
From Jamaica,
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