Dear Editor,
A few evenings ago, as many Jamaicans watched the nightly news, they saw a woman proudly announced that she "used to Sista P hungry" and that she "wi work wid Sista P hungry..." What have we become? What is this that we've been reduced to?
A few days ago, Floyd Green, President of the G2K tweeted: "Unfortunately we have allowed our standards for our leaders to fall so low, that some people celebrate just the fact that we were spoken to." It's a reality that has bothered me for some time now. We've become so familiar with the disrespect, bad political representation, corruption, and insensitivity from our politicians that when we actually have the opportunity to free ourselves from that kind of treatment, we choose to remain mentally imprisoned.
We've become so used to such low standards that we don't even bother to ask or look for better. We've learned to be happy with scraps from the table, even though we've worked and fought hard for the banquet table meal.
Jamaica is such a paradox. We are blessed with such wealth of beautiful natural resources, yet settle for so little. We don't even feel a nudge of passion to speak out as we sit by and watch our government ministers enjoy Carnival in a country with which we have a trade deficit, while the prime minister and minister of finance put on a mask of unity before hitting us with a $16-billion tax package.
Jamaica is such a paradox. We are blessed with such wealth of beautiful natural resources, yet settle for so little. We don't even feel a nudge of passion to speak out as we sit by and watch our government ministers enjoy Carnival in a country with which we have a trade deficit, while the prime minister and minister of finance put on a mask of unity before hitting us with a $16-billion tax package.
Just another day in paradise, I suppose. We just laugh it off ... heck some of us probably even joined in the applause when the minister of finance announced new customs fees, after which he and other government ministers rode off in their new Prados and Audis that were purchased prior to these new fees taking effect.
We shrug as we sit staring at a photo of a councillor sitting in a parish council meeting with a game of Solitaire open on the laptop in front of him as he tapped away on his Blackberry. Nothing bothers us anymore. And that's scary. I know that we are a resilient people, but our history has taught us that we are not a people who sit and accept injustice, corruption, and disrespect.
Paul Bogle did not march from Stony Gut to Spanish Town for us to become silent minions labelled "enemies of the state" if we speak out against that which is unfair and unjust. Or maybe he did. The story is told of a man who sat on the front porch with his dog lying on the floor next to him. A neighbour passing by decided to stop and chat for a while with the man. But every so often the conversation would be punctuated by the dog's whimpers. Finally the neighbour asked, "Hey, what's up with your dog?""Oh he's just sitting on a rusty nail", the man replied. "So why doesn't he get up?" The man simply said, "I guess it doesn't hurt bad enough yet."
Has it started hurting bad enough yet, Jamaica? Jamaica deserves better.
Durie Dee
mizd2u@yahoo.com
What have we become?
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A few evenings ago, as many Jamaicans watched the nightly news, they saw a woman proudly announced that she "used to Sista P hungry" and that she "wi work wid Sista P hungry..." What have we become? What is this that we've been reduced to?
A few days ago, Floyd Green, President of the G2K tweeted: "Unfortunately we have allowed our standards for our leaders to fall so low, that some people celebrate just the fact that we were spoken to." It's a reality that has bothered me for some time now. We've become so familiar with the disrespect, bad political representation, corruption, and insensitivity from our politicians that when we actually have the opportunity to free ourselves from that kind of treatment, we choose to remain mentally imprisoned.
We've become so used to such low standards that we don't even bother to ask or look for better. We've learned to be happy with scraps from the table, even though we've worked and fought hard for the banquet table meal.
Jamaica is such a paradox. We are blessed with such wealth of beautiful natural resources, yet settle for so little. We don't even feel a nudge of passion to speak out as we sit by and watch our government ministers enjoy Carnival in a country with which we have a trade deficit, while the prime minister and minister of finance put on a mask of unity before hitting us with a $16-billion tax package.
Jamaica is such a paradox. We are blessed with such wealth of beautiful natural resources, yet settle for so little. We don't even feel a nudge of passion to speak out as we sit by and watch our government ministers enjoy Carnival in a country with which we have a trade deficit, while the prime minister and minister of finance put on a mask of unity before hitting us with a $16-billion tax package.
Just another day in paradise, I suppose. We just laugh it off ... heck some of us probably even joined in the applause when the minister of finance announced new customs fees, after which he and other government ministers rode off in their new Prados and Audis that were purchased prior to these new fees taking effect.
We shrug as we sit staring at a photo of a councillor sitting in a parish council meeting with a game of Solitaire open on the laptop in front of him as he tapped away on his Blackberry. Nothing bothers us anymore. And that's scary. I know that we are a resilient people, but our history has taught us that we are not a people who sit and accept injustice, corruption, and disrespect.
Paul Bogle did not march from Stony Gut to Spanish Town for us to become silent minions labelled "enemies of the state" if we speak out against that which is unfair and unjust. Or maybe he did. The story is told of a man who sat on the front porch with his dog lying on the floor next to him. A neighbour passing by decided to stop and chat for a while with the man. But every so often the conversation would be punctuated by the dog's whimpers. Finally the neighbour asked, "Hey, what's up with your dog?""Oh he's just sitting on a rusty nail", the man replied. "So why doesn't he get up?" The man simply said, "I guess it doesn't hurt bad enough yet."
Has it started hurting bad enough yet, Jamaica? Jamaica deserves better.
Durie Dee
mizd2u@yahoo.com
What have we become?
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