Dear Editor,
My hope that good sense wouldn’t wither passed away peacefully as the prime minister and People’s National Party (PNP) leader stirred up the election train.
The excitement blocked a public thoroughfare and I was disillusioned by the loud and aggressive politicking by the candidates. But, at least Jamaica knows what it’s getting, whichever party comes in: boys playing marbles, ‘throw wud’ and catfights.
Nonetheless, if one listened carefully, there was a little truth to set us free. Dr Dayton Campbell must have been touched by Portia’s master. He rightly said we are where we are because of politics and (in a self-promoting push) the policies of the People’s National Party, while bashing those shying from the political drama.
I totally agree, in a different sense. We are where we are because of politics. Not rational, inclusive or co-operative politics, but one which is divisive, irrational and polarising.
We are where we are because we weren’t taught the value of problem-solving or self-achievement. That was reserved for rich people, business people, and not descendants of slaves. We only can ‘badmind’ and be ‘grudgeful’.
We are where we are because of community insularity and poor governance. Where else in the world can one find a democracy reduced to two colours or parties with numerous discontinuities, and it’s neither a dictatorship or war-torn place?
We are where we are because of our so-called representatives’ behaviour in Parliament. It reflects the society’s attitude. Who will really take us seriously?
We are where we are because the Jamaican media emphasises the Jamaica Labour Party and PNP so much that the other parties and independent candidates don’t have a chance. They aren’t even introduced to the public as another option. What of the civic duty to be free and fair, and not because the P’s have a truckload of money.
We are where we are because civics and social graces are now ‘off fleek’ and removed from the classroom. We are where we are because parenting is extinct and children can supposedly govern themselves. No more corrections and slaps to reinforce lessons. We are where we are as we’ve always allowed older men to ‘fool’ and impregnate our girls then foist the burden on taxpayers and the State without giving the girls other options and the men castration.
We are where we are because of a 300-year-old legacy that we find impossibly comfortable to let go and move on for better. We are where we are because we don’t know our own rights and the history of our ancestors. We are where we are because “white is always right” and “black must stay a back”.
We are where we are because we don’t follow the laws and think is ‘so the ting set’ and ‘everything a everything’. We are our own worst enemy.
We are where we are because of the lack of strong local programming and American neo-colonisation by cable; the degradation of a rich culture by the socio-political stupidity of pleasing people. We are where we are because we can’t spend within our means, have dug a trillion-dollar debt, and are owned by the International Monetary Fund.
So, yes Dr Campbell, you are right: we are where we are because of politricks, ‘freeness’ and nonsense. Oh, for the day when God, not Portia’s master, sets us free.
Colette Campbell
rastarjamaica@yahoo.com
My hope that good sense wouldn’t wither passed away peacefully as the prime minister and People’s National Party (PNP) leader stirred up the election train.
The excitement blocked a public thoroughfare and I was disillusioned by the loud and aggressive politicking by the candidates. But, at least Jamaica knows what it’s getting, whichever party comes in: boys playing marbles, ‘throw wud’ and catfights.
Nonetheless, if one listened carefully, there was a little truth to set us free. Dr Dayton Campbell must have been touched by Portia’s master. He rightly said we are where we are because of politics and (in a self-promoting push) the policies of the People’s National Party, while bashing those shying from the political drama.
I totally agree, in a different sense. We are where we are because of politics. Not rational, inclusive or co-operative politics, but one which is divisive, irrational and polarising.
We are where we are because we weren’t taught the value of problem-solving or self-achievement. That was reserved for rich people, business people, and not descendants of slaves. We only can ‘badmind’ and be ‘grudgeful’.
We are where we are because of community insularity and poor governance. Where else in the world can one find a democracy reduced to two colours or parties with numerous discontinuities, and it’s neither a dictatorship or war-torn place?
We are where we are because of our so-called representatives’ behaviour in Parliament. It reflects the society’s attitude. Who will really take us seriously?
We are where we are because the Jamaican media emphasises the Jamaica Labour Party and PNP so much that the other parties and independent candidates don’t have a chance. They aren’t even introduced to the public as another option. What of the civic duty to be free and fair, and not because the P’s have a truckload of money.
We are where we are because civics and social graces are now ‘off fleek’ and removed from the classroom. We are where we are because parenting is extinct and children can supposedly govern themselves. No more corrections and slaps to reinforce lessons. We are where we are as we’ve always allowed older men to ‘fool’ and impregnate our girls then foist the burden on taxpayers and the State without giving the girls other options and the men castration.
We are where we are because of a 300-year-old legacy that we find impossibly comfortable to let go and move on for better. We are where we are because we don’t know our own rights and the history of our ancestors. We are where we are because “white is always right” and “black must stay a back”.
We are where we are because we don’t follow the laws and think is ‘so the ting set’ and ‘everything a everything’. We are our own worst enemy.
We are where we are because of the lack of strong local programming and American neo-colonisation by cable; the degradation of a rich culture by the socio-political stupidity of pleasing people. We are where we are because we can’t spend within our means, have dug a trillion-dollar debt, and are owned by the International Monetary Fund.
So, yes Dr Campbell, you are right: we are where we are because of politricks, ‘freeness’ and nonsense. Oh, for the day when God, not Portia’s master, sets us free.
Colette Campbell
rastarjamaica@yahoo.com