Nobody knows my name

Lance Neita, Contributor

I had no idea that I lived somewhere other than my known place of abode until a friend called from Kingston recently and asked, "How is your constituency?" Up to then I was very comfortable with my address, but apparently people are now beginning to be identified not by road, district or town but by their constituency.

After telling my friend that I had not formed one yet (constituency I mean), the realisation hit me that we have become so politicised that its commonplace to accept that life in Jamaica begins with your political alienation and that geographical boundaries are being consumed by constituency boundaries.

I take pride in the district that mothered me, the town in which I was raised, the parish in which I was born. I am quite aware of the constituencies in which I have lived, but this level of awareness ebbs and flows according to election time when I have to recheck the post office noticeboard to confirm the location of my polling booth.

Demarcation

My constituency demarcation is secondary to where I live. I object to being declared anyone's constituent. We are born as citizens of Jamaica, and to help the process along we learn early in school that our town has a name, the town is in a parish, and in case you have forgotten, a parish is further located in a county, either Cornwall, Middlesex or Surrey. That kind of ID parade makes it easy to develop a sense of personal identity and a sense of pride in whatever may be the achievements and accomplishments of your birthplace.

I have a great deal of respect and admiration for my current member of parliament and indeed have been fortunate to enjoy associations with many others who represent different constituencies and opposite parties. As my MP, I expect him or her to display strong qualities of leadership, humility, dedication, selflessness, and real ability. As for me, I just want to be regarded as a resident of a community with my name and persona intact, certainly not simply a voter or a constituent.

We have a bad habit of thinking in terms of constituency boundaries whenever projects or benefits are to be deployed.

In such instances, people tend to get lost against the backdrop of a political master plan that is drawn up to place development opportunities strategically in constituencies for vote-catching purposes rather than for the benefit of the greater Jamaica.

The day when your letters start arriving with name, town, PO Box, followed by your constituency, you will know we have had it and we are all firmly politicised.

Politicisation

And while on the subject of constituencies, there is another aspect to the new politicisation which can grow to unmanageable proportions if not kept in check, and that has to do with the ubiquitous caretaker.

The caretaker is someone who has emerged, or has been named by the losing party, as the person most likely to run for that side in a future election. He or she, therefore, might have a need to be seen and heard, but has absolutely no constitutional right to be recognised on any official platform or in any official capacity.

Nevertheless, caretakers tend to turn up at these events, some are invited to speak at official functions, some have even been given authority to oversee official projects, and are favoured if their party is in power. They tend to make a nuisance of themselves and assume roles that have confused and misled 'their loyal constituents' into believing they are more influential than they can possibly be.

Those of us who enjoy politics must be careful to watch out for these flaws that can subvert our democratic systems and make us lose our sanity and our sense of humour.

Just to get one more pet peeve off my chest before the year closes. Those heavy-duty trailer operators who have removed their mufflers and make life unbearable from that hideous compression noise can give us a Christmas present by refitting them. If they refuse, then the police and the motor examiners have every legal right to see that they do.

Send comments to columns@gleanerjm.com or lanceneita@hotmail.com