Orville Taylor | In 2022, we need hope

So, Christmas came and went, and in a few days 2021 will be gone. To 2022 we look and God knows, we need a basis to live in hope and it is not because we are zoo animals. In my last radio show for the year on Wednesday, a woman recounted a horror story of facing the imminent threat of death after she was abducted by a PPV taxi driver and his crony along with another man who emerged from the trunk to pounce on her.

Of course, the silver lining is that she was recounting the incident rather than being added to the list of missing or recovered bodies; as she was eventually released by her captors. In many ways she epitomises what we are all facing; a constant decision to either be fearful or to be optimistic in the face of danger or challenges. This is not about waxing religiously such as Jesus referring to faith moving mountains or in Mark 9:23, that “Everything is possible for one who believes.” Rather, the lesson is more that we have more to fear from lack of hope, than anything else.

In 2021, easily my most significant encounter was the episode with COVID-19. True, my experience was clearly not the worst; but it was horrible and I knew that as my medical academic colleague said in the middle of the fight, “Orville is in trouble!” Yet, as I gathered stories among persons who survived the terrible cases, there was one important variable; hope. Survivors on the COVID-19 wards spoke of patients who ‘gave up’ because the struggle to breathe and stay alive was just too much. Another set got to points where they believed that they either had nothing or no one to live for. This is the critical mark; the redline.

Another manifestation of the absence of hope is panic. Doubtless, it almost always guarantees a severe outcome during motor vehicle accidents, encounters with criminals, and of course facing a lethal illness.

DO NOT LOSE HOPE

In terms of national development as we try to wade through the various versions of the coronavirus, including the Omicron which eluded immigration but was caught in ‘customs’ by DNA mapping, and the resilient crime and violence pandemic, the government must make sure that the majority of the Jamaican people do not lose hope. If we do, an election is the least of the losses it should worry about.

Myriad research point to the critical importance of hope. Jeff Huffman et al show strong correlations between pessimism and suicide. Another study by Edward C. Chang and others support the former.

Among workers, hope is a telling variable when it comes to staff motivation, work-related stress and productivity. All of these are elements of decent work which is itself has a strong causal relationship with crime and violence. As government tries to wrap up its negotiation with the public sector group, the last thing it needs is a set of critically needed workers, such as nurses, math and early childhood teachers and police officers, who are losing hope.

Outside of the world of work, the public yearns for reassurance that we have answers for the scourge of violent crimes. A desperate public is calling for the resuscitation of the death penalty and more barbaric approaches from government, to match the savagery of the criminal elements. Jamaicans are lacking the assurance that robbers and killers will be caught and brought to justice.

LITTLE FAITH

In fact, studies globally have demonstrated that where citizen have little faith in the justice system and police, the level of cooperation is low and thus, there is a sort of self-fulfilling prophesy, because they do little to make things better.

In fact, an exasperated caller was up in arms about the refusal of government to gas chamber the incarcerated killers, and certainly it did not help that it appears that the authorities are considering allowing some usage of cell phones in prison. One cannot deny the evidence that criminals do direct illegal activities from behind bars, including homicides. Moreover, reports are that many correctional offers, who refuse to sneak in contraband such as phones, are threatened by ‘dons.’

The scary underside of the announcement is that perception that government itself might be afraid and have no control. Thus, ‘if you can’t beat them….’ Yet, that is not what my hope is. A properly monitored cell phone system may very well give the cops exactly what they want in the battle against crime. But the less said here, the better.

My decision for 2022 is to be positive and optimistic; because the alternative is unimaginable to bear. The good must suffer less and the wicked punished more.

Like Job in verse 5:16, it is my firm belief that we will see “…the poor have hope, and injustice shuts its mouth”.

- Dr Orville Taylor is head of the Department of Sociology at The University of the West Indies, a radio talk-show host, and author of Broken Promises, Hearts and Pockets. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and tayloronblackline@hotmail.com.