Jamaicans! TIME COME!

 

You can also see my video on this topic here: https://youtu.be/sZm5eCjwym0

As the above Gleaner graphic shows, Jamaicans believe that their politicians are the most corrupt group in Jamaica. Second to that is the police. Yet, nothing has been done about it. There has been no widescale social upheaval. In this piece, I will deal with how this situation has come about and what we can do about it.

There are three areas of state power:

1.    1.  Political power - those who control the government.

2.     2. Economic power – those who control the land, the banks and businesses.

3.     3. Social Power – those who control the mainstream media and religion.

Recently, Barbados removed the British monarch as their symbolic head of state and replaced the title of monarch with a symbolic Barbadian President. This woke up the Jamaican political leaders who had grappled with this issue before but were unable to come to an agreement so the issue was re-opened again and a Constitutional Reform Commission (CRC) was set up. Jamaican Prime Minister Holness started talking about his ‘legacy’. However, unlike the last time when the constitutional issue gained no traction, this time, it seems that Prime Minister Holness has stirred up a hornet’s nest. The CRC was initially intended to provide a cover of respectability to the constitutional change required to remove the British monarch by going through a quick process of public consultation. However, this process of quick, token public consultation ended up facing a furious public demanding not only that more time be taken but also demanding that the process include wholescale constitutional reform – well beyond the simple switch of a symbolic British monarch to a symbolic Jamaican President - which was what Holness originally intended. Instead, people wanted to talk about an Executive President, term limits, campaign finance reform, an elected Senate and many other things. Alarmed, the government backtracked and it seems the whole process has now been shelved.

Because of the control of the political elite by the corporate elite, the Jamaican electorate faces a situation where their vote does not count. No matter who they vote for, the result is the same – no change. We need to insist that the process of Constitutional Reform does not become a ‘nine day wonder’. We need to insist that the Constitutional Reform process be continued as it has the potential to change Jamaica and get us out of the stranglehold of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) and the Peoples National Party (PNP).

The PNP and the JLP seem to offer us two choices but this is an illusion. It is like two doors out of a cattle pen. We are the cattle. These two doors seem to go in different directions but behind the scenes, the two passages converge into one place – the slaughterhouse.

It was Marx who said that the corporate elite stays in power by controlling the means of production but in Jamaica, they control the political parties and what some call ‘the cognitive map’ – what and how and the way we think. The poor educational system is designed to not discuss the issue of power. Jamaica is in a state of cognitive stagnation – apathy. We isolate ourselves in apathy, focusing on getting a visa (if we are still in Jamaica) or immerse ourselves in the distraction of dancehall or other forms of entertainment such as social media, religion and/or the relief of ganja. Most also are just preoccupied with survival. There is a feeling of helplessness on the island. We don’t understand the problem and we feel locked into the JLP/PNP paradigm. When some civic organizations organize street protests they are sparsely attended.

The rapacious financial system where the banks do as they like and charge what they want, the crime, the unemployment, the poverty, the raping of our natural resources, the sell-out of our beautiful beaches to foreign interests, the raiding of the treasury by the politicians, all overwhelm us. We do not understand what is going on and feel helpless because the cognitive map placed in our schools and in the media does not edify us about what is going on. The Jamaican cognitive map only subscribes to the JLP/PNP paradigm. This cognitive map does not encourage us to look outside of the JLP/PNP norm. There is no discussion in the media or educational institutions about alternatives.

Jamaica has become a society suffering from depression. We have got used to the idea that nothing can be done about the situation (‘a suh di ting set’). We feel there is no alternative to the JLP/PNP. We now believe Jamaica is now a dawg eat dawg society where it is every man/woman for him/herself and what we believe becomes the reality. While it is true that one individual cannot change the system, we can begin by changing ourselves. We can grow and develop our own cognitive map.

Jamaica’s problems can be solved by reducing inequity and corruption. As Jamaica’s issues are not that complicated, one does not need a degree in economics to understand them. The main issues in Jamaica are about power, who has it and how it is used. Politics is about drawing and re-drawing the boundaries of the market. When we talk about 'the free market', it is not a zero sum game. Every market has boundaries. It is now time to look at those boundaries.

In the past, when the economic elite took too much out of us, society rebelled. For example, during slavery, many, many times, slaves revolted and the existence of the Maroons was the result. The Morant Bay rebellion was another example. Jamaica’s history is full of instances where the people said ‘NO’ to the state.

Jamaicans, once again, ‘Time Come’. The time has come for Jamaicans to peacefully rise up and say enough is enough, to say no to the state. It is time to confront the barbaric leaders we have who have trashed Jamaica. We in the diaspora can help but it is up to you Jamaicans in Jamaica to say NO. If this is not done now, if we do not take back Jamaica from the barbaric leaders of the JLP and the PNP the next social explosion may be of catastrophic proportions.

Let us take the power back from the JLP and the PNP. Form new political movements or join existing ones like the United Independent’s Congress, the Advocates Network or the People’s Anti-Corruption Movement. Do something. In the beginning, you may be called a renegade, a rebel, a terrorist, whatever…You will be in good company: Marcus Garvey, George William Gordon, Paul Bogle etal.

The phrase “fear not” or “do not fear” appears 365 times in the Bible, a reminder for each day of the year. This repetition emphasizes the importance of conquering fear and trusting in God’s guidance. Despite this clear instruction, many Christians find themselves hesitant to speak the Truth boldly in a world that often rejects it. By embracing the assurance of God’s presence and promises we can overcome our fear.

"Evil flourishes when good people do nothing"

Time Come!

 Raymond D. Grant