Our country is in a serious moral crisis, and this will continue to affect all aspects of national life. We are not sure who we are, and adults and children don't seem to know what they are working towards. We notice the Chinese and their culture of hard work, the Japanese and their efforts to have a cleaner environment, and the Americans who talk about the "American Dream." What is the vision of Jamaicans? What are we inculcating in our young people?
Is Jamaica all about drinking, smoking cigarettes, smoking ganja, sex, having plenty of women, women looking for men to provide for them, and attending all the dancehall and carnival parties? Is that the Jamaica we are building?
You will notice that our leaders don't seem to think much of us either. Our leaders do not address these issues. It is all about removing one side because they are corrupt. But will things change when we change our leaders? Our leaders are more concerned about themselves than about the interests of the people.
The following are some areas I have identified where we are falling short.
- Disappearance of our moral compass.
- Lack of respect for authority.
- Support for evil things.
- Disappearance of our Jamaican culture.
Disappearance of Our Moral Compass
We now live in a society where there is not much concern for what is wrong and what is right. We push out figures about police killings and forget about the killings in society. Our women seem to have lost pride in themselves, and all a man has to say to her is, "Come ya gal." It seems that more men are also looking at other men to take care of them. Many women are no longer interested in family life, and their focus is on their career and making money.
Lack Of Respect For Authority
Generally, there is a lack of respect for authority. Management at the workplace cannot direct us. If they do, the response is, "Dem a fight dung di workers."
When I was a youngster, I could not disrespect a senior community member. Now, students have no respect for teachers and school principals. The system seems to have stripped teachers and principals of the authority they had before.
In the House of Parliament, we continue to disrespect and refuse to follow the directives of the Speaker of the House. We might not agree with some of the directives of our leaders, but being disruptive and playing to the gallery is not the way to go.
Support For Evil Things
At various levels in society, there is support for evil things and evil people. We seem to be more concerned about the rights of criminals than we are about the rights of victims and good citizens.
Whenever there is a confrontation between citizens and police officers, we jump to tear down the whole police force. I cannot recall there being any demonstrations for a policeman who was taken down by criminals. Yet, when a suspected criminal is killed, allegedly in a confrontation with the police, we hear how this man was a good, hardworking man and how he is innocent.
Preserving Our Culture
The talk these days is about preserving our culture. The emphasis is usually on dancehall and speaking patois. Whether we like it or not, some aspect of dancehall culture and mentality is bringing us to our knees.
We have selectively picked out a few things and called them part of our culture. Have we thought about the fact that many of our national foods and ways of cooking them have disappeared? Our diet is killing off our people and putting stress on the medical system.
Since we are so strong on culture these days, we should come up with a comprehensive policy on sustaining our great Jamaican culture.
Conclusion
As a people, we are more about hype and pure talk and very little action. Who will help us to change course? Who will ensure that there is prosperity? My final question is, "Are the people ready to build a great nation?
My concern is that if I had written a juicy piece of gossip discussing other people's business, blasting the politicians, and tearing down the police force, then I would get thousands of comments. Who cares? Mark my words, if we don't care, we will be joining Haiti in the trenches soon, and we could become another Sudan in the Caribbean.
I would love to hear what your solutions are if you believe there are challenges in our country. Add your comments below.
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