Letter of the Day | Bigotry is now certified in our political governance

THE EDITOR, Sir:

Sixty years on since Jamaica’s self-governance dabble and it does not appear we are developing as a mature and thoughtful democracy. It is sad to see the petty, elementary schoolyard insults and name-calling being undertaken by the two political tribes in the 61st year of our political independence.

It begs the question: are the uninitiated bases vanishing so significantly that the tribes are becoming so desperate, to the point that asininity is the new norm in attracting support?

For a long time, we have politicised the most pressing social issues, whether it is our strangulating crime problem, squatting, road repairs or which party does more for segments of the civil service. We have now certified bigotry and unvarnished racist rants as features of our political governance, even while we embrace a national philosophy of ‘Out of Many, One People’.

There is no doubt that someone must step forward and engender a cooling down of the hateful, destructive and prejudicial political rhetoric that we see becoming fashionable. We must accept that these irresponsible antics, aimed at roiling up the base and providing distraction from the pressing social realities, serve no national good and may have lingering negative implications at street level and on the relations among ordinary folk.

And let us not get it skewed – neither side can boast of clean hands in this tomfoolery, for, even in their internal contests, the savagery and venom are equally reprehensible.

A SAD PLACE

Our leaders must set a better tone and direction for the nation.

Recently, we were championing a curtailment of the broadcast of lyrics in the popular culture, which glorify criminality and antisocial behaviour, while paradoxically, those who govern our nation are engaging in unbridled coarseness, hate and discrimination.

We have really come to a sad place in this nation, where our leaders are amazingly comfortable in debasing each other. The edict of good governance matters not. Instead, it is whose sin was greater at the time it was committed or who is more popular among a segment of the population.

Wrong has become right and if one is able to articulate the right messaging, then accountability and decency are unnecessary.

We have indeed arrived at the bottom of the pit, and even the most erudite will find a way to place a veneer over the destructive lunacy and moral carnage which have become common place, as we become submerged in a quicksand of ignobility.

How sad!

MARK A. HYLTON