Clinton challenges country
Published:Thursday | October 28, 2010 | 12:00 AM
Jassel Dunstan, my church brother and husband to Audrey Marks, the Jamaican ambassador to the United States, offered me tickets to attend the lecture to be given by William 'Bill' Clinton, 42nd president of the US and founder of the William J. Clinton Foundation. Initially, I declined the offer to hear another speech. Not knowing that the offer was made to me, my wife, Mary, saw the advertisement in The Gleaner and she said she would like to attend. I then reversed my decision, accepted the offer and now, after hearing Clinton, I am glad I did attend.
The last time I was so inspired in the flesh by a politician was when, at the invitation of Canon Weeville Gordon, then custos of Kingston, some church leaders had a meeting over breakfast with Nelson and Winnie Mandela on their visit to Jamaica. Clinton is no Mandela but the ease of his presentation, his knowledge of world affairs, his expertise and accomplishing objectives, his clinical analysis and his confidence were infectious. No wonder he is the most sought-after campaigner for the Democrats as mid-term elections are due next Tuesday and he's the president that brought most prosperity to Americans in recent times.
The organiser for the event, Suzie Berry, set the tone for the evening in her introduction, by shunning the typical repeating of the achievements of a guest speaker and instead showed how the Clinton Foundation has made a difference in one person's life in Portland struggling with HIV/AIDS, and the reach of Clinton's philanthropy and ideas.
Clinton's speech a masterpiece
Clinton's speech was a masterpiece. He appeared sincere, competent, confident and came across as a transformational leader. He was not 'a bag a mouth' but illustrated his recommendations with stories about solid achievements. He spoke about the challenges facing the world, such as unequal distribution of resources and wealth; unstable economy and instability in the world caused by threat of terrorists. He did not hide the figures about the poverty of a billion people and the millions who die monthly because of preventable diseases. He was no unreal optimist who sugar-coated the challenges, but one who has known the depths of the problem and has an agenda with the way forward.
Clinton reminded the audience that the region with the most expensive cost for energy is the Caribbean, and Jamaica has a problem. He said the sun shines here, the wind blows and we, therefore, should exploit renewable energy and make a difference in the livelihood of many Jamaicans. For the last 17 years, residents of Oaklands, a housing complex on Constant Spring Road in St Andrew, have been using solar water heater and 95 per cent of the times they have hot water.
And if more persons would ask how we are going to accomplish tasks, then more would be done. Unfortunately, the majority of Jamaicans appear to want 'to speak things into being' using God's utterances which brought the world into being as a model. This approach neglects the account where God got his hands dirty in the creation of humans when he made male and female out of dirt. A former US ambassador to Jamaica highlighted our penchant to applaud announcements of projects rather than to hold the applause until the end of the project.
I regret that Clinton was not asked to give an account of his stewardship in Haiti in light of recent revelations of cholera and thousands still living in tents.
Nevertheless, it is a long time I have not heard someone with position, prestige, possessions and connections focus so heavily on the plight of persons who are poor. Clinton challenges the country to focus on poverty.
Devon Dick is pastor of the Boulevard Baptist Church and author of 'The Cross and the Machete: Native Baptists of Jamaica - Identity, Ministry and Legacy'. Feedback may be sent to columns@gleanerjm.com