Editorial | Revive Values and Attitudes Programme

The story of a teenage boy severing the penis of a six-year-old ranks as one of the most repugnant acts imaginable. Though it happened in 2019, this week’s prison sentence of the St Thomas teenager, who pleaded guilty to the crime, has refreshed memories about this uniquely cruel act.

Society is left to deal with the impact, direct and indirect, of two shattered lives. The communities from which they come will forever be fractured by this incident. The social and economic costs of crime and violence are not easy to calculate, but some of the costs tied to violence include an unproductive life, lifelong mental health problems and adult criminality.

Too many of our children are being constantly exposed to violence in their homes and on the streets. Even though the outcome for each child will vary, overall exposure is likely to have an adverse effect on their lives. Right now, we have arrived at a place in Jamaica where violence is being accepted as normal and, in the extreme, it is being justified as punishment.

So did this 16-year-old boy act on impulse or is he just evil? What can a society do to make children less cruel to each other? These are questions which inevitably arise in the mind when one tries to analyse the soaring levels of violence and think of possible solutions.

Dig up the Blueprint

We unapologetically call on the political leadership to dig up the ‘values and attitudes’ blueprint which was initiated and launched in 1994 by former Prime Minister P.J. Patterson, dust it off and set about implementing it.

From the highest political job in the land, Mr Patterson would have witnessed increased incivility and degradation of standards, which were holding back Jamaica from dramatically expanding its capacity for excellence, when he introduced the concept. Alas, Jamaica was not ready for it. However, recently, we have heard several commentators calling for its revival.

“I don’t mind what you want to call it,” Mr Patterson said in a 2018 speech, “irrespective of how we package it, what Jamaican needs now is a crusade to restore the wholesome values and positive attitudes which are the important legacy of a people, and which are essential to our progress as a nation.”

Bipartisan ‘Values’ Campaign

Knowing only too well that everything in Jamaica becomes political fairly quickly, Mr Patterson suggested bipartisan participation as he called for the campaign to be placed at the top of the national agenda.

Mr Patterson has been a consistent voice for the relaunch of the programme, but he has not been the only one. Former Prime Minister Bruce Golding, who also viewed society from the top, in 2019, suggested that all former prime ministers should come together and take the lead in revitalising the campaign.

Mr Golding said he had heard utterances from current Prime Minister Andrew Holness, “that are almost indistinguishable from what Mr Patterson had put forward in 1994.” He pledged his support to a revival of the campaign.

It is reassuring that our former prime ministers have a genuine desire to see Jamaica improve, and care enough about peace and economic stability to the extent that they can cement a commitment to work towards accelerating their development. The cynics may say that, as former leaders, they should shoulder some of the blame for what we have become. Beyond anything, our former leaders will get an opportunity to revive their legacy, and that will surely redound to the benefit of the country.

The jackpot question for today is: What are we waiting for?