Letter of the Day | When gold turns yellow, national pride and value fade
Published:Tuesday | December 30, 2025 | 7:35 AM
THE EDITOR: Madam:
As we step into a new year, a personal dream that the post-Hurricane Melissa rebuilding will move beyond roads, bridges, and houses to the reconstruction of the very values that shape who we are. Recovery must be both physical and moral. And few national symbols speak more powerfully to our identity than the Jamaican flag.
The flag’s colours were intentionally chosen at Independence: black for resilience, green for hope, and gold – not yellow – for the natural wealth and dignity of our people. Gold carries meaning. Gold signifies worth, integrity, and a precious inheritance entrusted to each generation. Yellow is simply a colour. Every time yellow replaces gold, we erode a piece of our national soul.
Yet today, the misuse of the flag’s colours is widespread. During a visit to Port of Spain, the Jamaican High Commission flew a flag with yellow rather than gold. The same error appeared at the Caribbean Court of Justice. Back home, souvenir shops at Norman Manley International Airport overflow with merchandise bearing the wrong shade. Public buildings, schools, and even official events often follow suit. What should be a sacred national symbol has become casual, inconsistent, and diluted.
This is not a cosmetic issue. It is a values issue. A nation that cannot honour its own symbols signals a deeper disorder — the gradual fading of the respect, discipline, and self-regard required for national transformation. At a moment when Jamaica is rebuilding after the devastation of Hurricane Melissa, we cannot afford to rebuild physical spaces while neglecting the moral foundations that hold a society together.
The National Flag Code, overseen by the Office of the Prime Minister and the National Library of Jamaica, is clear: the colour is gold. Therefore, the responsibility lies squarely with the Prime Minister to ensure consistent national compliance. No public facility – whether a school, ministry, airport concessionaire, embassy, or high commission – should display a flag that violates the code. To do so is to teach indifference quietly.
Rebuilding Jamaica must include restoring respect – respect for our history, for our symbols, and for ourselves. Upholding the gold of the Jamaican flag is not nostalgia; it is nation-building. If we cannot get the flag right, what else are we prepared to compromise?
In 2026, may Jamaica rise not only with repaired infrastructure, but with renewed values – anchored in the gold that has always symbolised our worth.
FR DONALD CHAMBERS