Dear Editor,
In 1973, former Prime Minister Michael Manley said: "Change is the willingness to look at your system and have the courage to know what is wrong." (Manley's budget speech: May 5, 1973). So what is wrong with Jamaica? Over the years, I have heard various utterances from policymakers about change, and it has been choking the airwaves for some time. However, change theorists and change agents should be concerned with the problem of how to move beyond the implementation phase of change, where new ideas and practices are tried for the first time.
Although all cultures change, I believe that our culture is changing more rapidly than in the past because of the acceleration of trends, the explosion of knowledge, the influence of mass communication, and the rise of a better standard of living for some people. In order to understand a people, then you must penetrate their culture, and I see where these types of culture are destroying us: "get rich quick", "eat a food", bling, and "informer fi dead" - and several dance-hall deejays transmit the ideas in a number of their songs, thus creating a silent culture making it difficult to deal with certain aspects of crime and violence.
Culture is increasingly being seen as the root and the fruit of our development. The root, as it goes to the heart of who we are as a people and society, and the fruit as it is the product or manifestation of our identity that has brought serious adverse effects to our existence. As a nation, we need social change - an alteration in the social structure of the society, social institutions, social behaviours or social relations, because for years policymakers have forgotten to look at numerous social issues - now they have become very challenging.
Therefore, if policymakers wish to establish a dynamic society that is capable of adapting to threats or opportunities, then constant monitoring is required. Since it looks as if corruption, unemployment, organised crime and violence, lotto scamming, a few criminal deported migrants and youth gangs are issues that need attention, then the next step is to sort out the matter and the trend, and the areas that deserve in-depth attention. This process of focus diagnosis sometimes leads to the formation of problem-solving teams with assigned responsibilities for developing strategies to address significant hazards. In times of great challenges or dynamic changes such as Jamaica is now experiencing, policymakers must develop customs that are different than those needed in the past.
But they often end up using an array of approaches which actually prolong, or even amplify the problem. I believe that even when researchers or policymakers know what to do, and how to do it, they are being opposed, or they are often reluctant to take courageous actions or make meaningful decisions. As a nation, Jamaica needs social reconstruction or else our "Vision 2030" will be a mission to pursue, but will never be attained.
Charlie Brown
charliebrown1004@gmail.com
Jamaica needs social reconstruction
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In 1973, former Prime Minister Michael Manley said: "Change is the willingness to look at your system and have the courage to know what is wrong." (Manley's budget speech: May 5, 1973). So what is wrong with Jamaica? Over the years, I have heard various utterances from policymakers about change, and it has been choking the airwaves for some time. However, change theorists and change agents should be concerned with the problem of how to move beyond the implementation phase of change, where new ideas and practices are tried for the first time.
Although all cultures change, I believe that our culture is changing more rapidly than in the past because of the acceleration of trends, the explosion of knowledge, the influence of mass communication, and the rise of a better standard of living for some people. In order to understand a people, then you must penetrate their culture, and I see where these types of culture are destroying us: "get rich quick", "eat a food", bling, and "informer fi dead" - and several dance-hall deejays transmit the ideas in a number of their songs, thus creating a silent culture making it difficult to deal with certain aspects of crime and violence.
Culture is increasingly being seen as the root and the fruit of our development. The root, as it goes to the heart of who we are as a people and society, and the fruit as it is the product or manifestation of our identity that has brought serious adverse effects to our existence. As a nation, we need social change - an alteration in the social structure of the society, social institutions, social behaviours or social relations, because for years policymakers have forgotten to look at numerous social issues - now they have become very challenging.
Therefore, if policymakers wish to establish a dynamic society that is capable of adapting to threats or opportunities, then constant monitoring is required. Since it looks as if corruption, unemployment, organised crime and violence, lotto scamming, a few criminal deported migrants and youth gangs are issues that need attention, then the next step is to sort out the matter and the trend, and the areas that deserve in-depth attention. This process of focus diagnosis sometimes leads to the formation of problem-solving teams with assigned responsibilities for developing strategies to address significant hazards. In times of great challenges or dynamic changes such as Jamaica is now experiencing, policymakers must develop customs that are different than those needed in the past.
But they often end up using an array of approaches which actually prolong, or even amplify the problem. I believe that even when researchers or policymakers know what to do, and how to do it, they are being opposed, or they are often reluctant to take courageous actions or make meaningful decisions. As a nation, Jamaica needs social reconstruction or else our "Vision 2030" will be a mission to pursue, but will never be attained.
Charlie Brown
charliebrown1004@gmail.com
Jamaica needs social reconstruction
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