Garth Rattray | Patriotism must be earned

Professor emeritus in philosophy at Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts, Stephen Nathanson, opined that patriotism has four main components – (1) a special affection towards one’s country; (2) defining himself/herself through his/her country; (3) being interested in his/or country’s welfare; and (4) sacrificing for the sake of his/her country’s welfare. Others have included (5) a feeling of freedom, pride in one’s country.

Being born Jamaican does not automatically make someone patriotic. Our country must demonstrate loyalty towards individual citizens. Most citizens do not feel special (unless it’s election time); hardships cause many Jamaicans to only define themselves through his/her country perfunctorily; even our unimportant and unconnected citizens need to feel that the country has his/her interest at heart; our leaders should demonstrate their willingness to sacrifice for the sake of the citizens; and Jamaicans are not free to express political opinions without repercussions, or travel freely, and are usually only proud of their exceptional athletes and entertainers.

Countries need patriotic (loyal) citizens to make them strong at the core, unified, resilient, powerful, and able to grow on many fronts. Many Jamaican citizens are barely existing; people without hope cannot be patriotic. Citizens want to know that, if they work honestly and diligently, one day they will be able to own their own home, perhaps buy a car and save for their future. However, the economic system in Jamaica is skewed towards making quick and significant profits for merchants and lending institutions, while depreciating our nest eggs.

Consequently, some people will directly or indirectly take part in illegal income-generating activities, some choose cash transactions where their income remains undetectable, or do anything to migrate to greener pastures where the likelihood of realising their dreams are immeasurably greater. People instinctively know that the future of any country is directly related to the future of its citizens. Obviously, our leaders do not realise that when citizens see no personal future, they also see no future in the country. At this point, it becomes every man for himself … individuals begin doing everything to get whatever they can, however they can. They focus on themselves, not on their country.

SECURITY

People need socio-economic and physical security. Even if they remain relatively poor but know that no matter what vicissitudes befall them, they will be well taken care of by the state, people will be satisfied with their lot in life. Citizens want to feel safe. I recall a campaign promise clearly stating that, should a certain political party gain control of the government, we will all be able to sleep with our windows and doors open. Then, more recently, I saw where a father and son perished in a house fire. A nearby neighbour lamented how he was unable to gain access to rescue them. The camera panned to the burnt-out remains of the house; foremost in my mind were the robust burglar bars on the doors and the windows.

If that political promise were genuine, there would be no need for those burglar bars and the father and son might have been rescued. Citizens are aware that political hype usually means nothing. When politicians put politics before people you cannot expect the people to be patriotic. You cannot expect the citizens to make the personal sacrifices necessary for our little nation to grow. You cannot expect the brain drain to cease when people can only depend on themselves to survive.

When citizens’ homes are not protected from community degradation by rapacious developers who blatantly flout all the covenants and zoning laws to [illegally] construct multi-apartment dwellings, commercial hubs, or entertainment centres in the middle of residential communities, and the relevant government agencies do nothing about it, the victims will not be patriotic. When only affluent communities can afford to mount legal challenges to do what the inept and/or corrupt municipality should be doing, patriotism will die.

SIGNIFICANT STRIDES

Jamaica has made significant strides despite the negative pressures of international happenings beyond our control. However, we can do much better if we invest heavily in the root causes of our problems. Nobody is born a gunman, or a heartless, bloodthirsty killer of babies, the defenceless, and the elderly. These monsters did not create themselves. We must invest time and money into early, intrusive, and sustained social intervention to prevent the spawning of killers.

Every home within vulnerable communities must be intensely monitored. Aggression, violence, promiscuity, dishonesty, and other evil traits are learned from others within the environs. We must ensure that all children are functionally educated and/or skilled. We must hold both parents culpable for failing their children. Ideally, our social workers, that are active in the field, should outnumber our security personnel.

Additionally, when any sect of workers, like skilled labourers, are [officially] allowed to pay no income taxes because it is [wrongfully] assumed that they do not earn a decent annual income, they do not feel as if they have a stake or investment in Jamaica. We need to make every citizen feel valued, special, and essential to our country’s survival and development if we are to engender patriotism.

People will not feel patriotic if they lack basic amenities, must sit on chairs for days at some hospitals, or use horrible roadways despite paying compounded fuel taxes, or suffer crimes because of an understaffed and underequipped constabulary. We have a lot of work to do if we want patriotic citizens.

Garth A. Rattray is a medical doctor with a family practice. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and garthrattray@gmail.com.