Letter of the Day | Put Jamaica’s interest before party politics

THE EDITOR, Madam:

Every five years, the election season brings out, I suppose, the best and worst qualities in us as Jamaican citizens. Whether you’re a candidate, a voter, or just an intrigued observer at home or abroad, the conversations, debates, and flood of “receipts” and rumours pique, igniting national attention.

As I look on to the ‘excitement’, I recall a conversation with a friend who has committed his mind, heart and soul to a particular party. Last election, he expressed his lack of confidence in the party’s plans and their leadership. I was impressed by his unbiased assessment, and he added that the rival party seemed like a better option to lead the country, and he agreed without hesitation.

He, however, said he would rather not vote at all than to vote for another party. This floored me.

In modern Jamaica, when education rate is at its highest, when more of us have some semblance of critical thinking, in the age of information and where data, theories and theses are at our fingertips, why are we still surrendering our loyalty to parties instead of policies? Why are we still being persuaded by promises and not performance? In my opinion, this mindset is dangerous.

All the electorate should remember that, before we are members of any of the existing parties, we are Jamaicans first and forever. We owe it to ourselves and to future generations to move beyond inherited allegiances.

The fact of the matter is that both parties (and the others that be) are ours. The power they both seek to wield is on our fingertips. Our vote is powerful, and it should be earned, not assumed, by any candidate or party.

As a well-thinking Jamaican, ask yourself: Do the candidates in your constituency serve you and your neighbours with dignity and consistency? Have they delivered the developments they promised? How are your roads, schools, hospitals, and economy (micro and macro)? Do you feel represented?

For a lot of us, we only see our candidates for the one month that they are lobbying for our votes. For the other 59 months of their reign, we only see them in Gordon House (for those who attend), on TV at some media moment, or we see their heavily tinted service vehicles wobble past us on the dilapidated roads they had promised would get fixed.

Let’s vote with our heads and our conscience, not our tradition. Let’s put Jamaica before party and use our votes to demand accountability, transparency, and real service.

A JAMAICAN CITIZEN