The water's edge
Published:Thursday | July 8, 2010 | 12:00 AM
The Editor, Sir:
The Americans have a national rule of thumb that any criticism of the United States of America or participants in the local political process or policy making bodies should stop at "the water's edge". That is to say, any differences in opinion or criticisms of the internal American system or personnel should not be entertained at international forums. In spite of sharply divided and polarised politics in America today, this policy has by and large, served them very well.
On the local scene, the People's National Party has made itself conspicuously absent from the opening of the summit of CARICOM heads of government in Montego Bay for the stated reason that they had no confidence in the leadership of Bruce Golding in Jamaica and, therefore, could not endorse his new chairmanship of that organisation.
Now Bruce Golding's leadership in Jamaica has absolutely nothing to do with the operations or protocols of CARICOM as an international organisation. And for the PNP to make such a linkage is not just totally immature but shows that as an opposition party they are still finding it impossible to transcend the partisan bickering that has so characterised them in the past. Shouldn't there come a time when as a nation we all join hands and put Jamaica first, especially on the international scene and in the midst of international recession when there are forces at work that would do us harm; and hasn't that time long past?
I am, etc.,
LANCE ROBINSON