Ronald Thwaites | Do better nuh man!

Following the great Norman Manley, I believe that we Jamaicans are really a God-blessed people, capable of crafting a way of life for ALL to match the unparalleled exquisiteness of the Eden in which we live. This is not conceit, and it need not involve comparing ourselves to any other nation. Making it happen should be the compelling purpose of national life and individual effort.

Do you know of any better philosophy for life? It will take honesty, clarity of thought, and generosity of spirit to improve on what we are doing now. Here are some current issues where we can do much better.

The first plea is to the anti-vaxxers. Now that the supplies are here, the hospitals are overcrowding, and the suffering and death increasing, there can be no rational basis for leaving oneself vulnerable and, worse, by doing so, inflicting that contagion on others. If someone prizes personal freedom, there is a price. It means that we must buy into a reasonable social contract or extract ourselves from the community.

Right now, more than ever, getting inoculated is a reasonable element of the social contract that defines us as Jamaicans, and it is the obligation of our Government to protect the livity of the majority over the stubbornness and sinful exceptionality of others.

How else can you describe pictures of the antics at the state-sanctioned ‘dreaming’ earlier in the month. Our people, intelligent and who have big money, are permitted and encouraged to inflict their pestilence on the rest of us. And to make it worse, Chris, a decent guy, has to close his eyes and twist his mouth to say he knows not of any protocol breaches in Negril. Later, there was Desmond straight-facedly reporting that more than half the party events were health-compliant.

LEADERSHIP CREDIBILITY

Leadership credibility is critical in times of crisis. After the event which you admit you couldn’t control, you impose tighter restrictions when you same one allowed the problem. Do better nuh man!

What is our perception of national Independence anyway that we justify celebrating it by inflicting harm on one another?

Then there was a picture of two doctors on TV proclaiming their skills but admitting that they have not been vaccinated because their antibodies are high enough. Really! What meaning and message does that transmit to the rest of us, please? We can do without any ‘Typhoid Marys’ in high places. Do better nuh man!

And more: What a wretchedness has overtaken the British government that they would spend millions of dollars to fly SEVEN Jamaicans back to the island – one of them a confused old man. Despite our respect for many British traditions, truth and history demand us to condemn the wickedness of people who built their wealth from Caribbean slave labour, won their wars aided by the shedding of nuff West Indian blood; encouraged cheap post-war black Windrushers to restore their world power; and now kick out those of us who are their refuse.

Last week’s inhumanity from Westminster – same place we cling to for what Mr Seaga called ‘pure justice’ – should jolt every Jamaican to join the reparations struggle, to hasten our separation from the Queen and Privy Council, and to give shelter and comfort to those deported. We must show that we live by a higher moral order than ‘backra’. The British owe us big time!

NATIONAL HONOUR

Twice last week, I was asked by this newspaper to comment on the national honour to be conferred on the very prominent Rev Al Miller having regard to his court convictions especially to do with Dudus. (I respect Rev Al’s ministry. He has always been gentle and courteous in our discussions, even when he declared himself a Trumpist).

The view I expressed was that while convictions would obviously and normally restrict a person from consideration for state honours, someone who has done wrong, paid the price and repented, ought not to be further penalised – just like the seven deportees.

But then I saw somewhere that Al, despite the court’s ruling, still feels that he did the right thing. If there is no regret and repentance, what is the basis of preferment? Popularity? So maybe Vybz next? Sir Patrick, where does that put you?

Last Thursday, there was the heart-wrenching story of the Clarendon single mother, unemployed, poorly housed, with little food for her five children. Please let us rally to help them, and the plenty more like them. But did you notice that nowhere was there reference to the father(s) of those children. Do better nuh man!

Last week, too, there was the admission that only about 17,000 of the at least 170,000 schoolers who have lost more than a year of instruction, actually completed the summer school remedial effort. Of course, we all know that the above numbers, like the COVID-19 figures, look highly suspect.

Same time, the principals of several high schools reported that they are faced with a high number of students who cannot read or compute. Even the administration-supportive Observer editorialised that “online tutelage is going nowhere”!

Continuing to live in a land of make-believe about virtual teaching, the Government continues to pay out big money where there is manifestly little or no return; many teachers are abroad, while parents are going into debt for back-to-school, and book lists abound. What is the plan? Where is the mobilisation to get education back on track? Do better nuh man!

Meanwhile, the Airports Authority board is still flying high, despite the impropriety use of OUR investment money being admitted by Nigel himself. And neither the gunpoint-induced apology to Andrew by Mr Higgins nor the outrage of the Rasta princess’ locks-trimming has been redressed after weeks of “investigation”. Why? Do you think we are all stupid?

Do better nuh man!

Rev Ronald G. Thwaites is an attorney-at-law. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com.