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Is there a moral remnant?
HEART TO HEART
Betty Anne Blaine
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
Dear Reader,
When former prime minister PJ Patterson introduced the Values and Attitudes Programme some years ago, it seemed as if few people paid attention. Perhaps it was because Mr Patterson himself failed to recognise that values cannot be legislated or decreed. Yes, behaviour can be regulated, but values and morality cannot be commandeered by law or by building organisational capacities. What Mr Patterson didn't quite understand is that the "messenger" of morality was as important as the "message", and he failed to lead by example. You can't preach morality and values, and then boast the way Mr Patterson did that under his leadership "man have more gal and cell phones". The problem with promoting positive values and attitudes is that it must be consistent and must be without paradox or ambivalence.
The former prime minister also didn't understand that values are driven by vision, and that without a vision the people perish. For close to two decades, the country drifted on "automatic pilot", without a captain or a navigational plan. Not only were people ignorant and unaware of where the country was headed, but many of us in the drifting vessel lost the values that were handed down to us through generations - those principles and morals that helped shape our identity and our sense of purpose. If there is a failing grade to be given to the previous administration, it is definitely an "F" for the moral slide that has taken place over a period of over 18 years in this country.
Mr Patterson's successor, former Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller didn't quite get it either. I have a feeling that even to this day she doesn't understand that "words" must match "deeds". Entering the "Promised Land" of political leadership on a wave of national popularity, she never quite understood that simply claiming that God called her was not enough. People wanted to see the fruits of the spirit acted out in daily political life. Mrs Simpson Miller's response to the Trafigura affair was starkly contradictory to Christian principles. Her hesitancy, to this day, to publicly reprimand those around her who suffered from "youthful exuberance" and seemingly "shady" MOs (modus operandi), cost her dearly. Mrs Simpson Miller lost the election, not because she wasn't liked by the people; she lost because the Jamaican people realised that she too lacked the courage to stand up against the culture of corruption and the "incestuousness" within her own party. I'm not sure that she understands that it was a "moral no-vote" that the People's National Party experienced in the last elections.
I am hoping that the Bruce Golding-led government will learn from the mistakes of the past administration. Since his victory, the words of the prime minister (with the exception of "termites") have been very positive, but he too has to be careful about those "renegades" in his team who believe that they are "bigger" than the people of Jamaica and therefore are answerable to no one but themselves. The Warmington/Montague/Vaz sagas are proof positive of the lingering problem of morality in public life.
In addition to the crisis in family life, perhaps the biggest problem facing Jamaica is that of a growing lack of morals. The breakdown in values and attitudes is so deep and pervasive that those who have no answer are now saying that "only God can fix it". The moral decay has infected and infested every aspect of national life, and the deeper we sink, the more the agents of destruction are foisted upon the people.
The agents leading the pack are the radio, television and cable stations, augmented by the "trash" masquerading as "movies" that are being imported into the country by theatre owners and operators. What is being fed to the people and children of Jamaica as "entertainment" on regular television during daytime is, in many instances, soft porn. The diet has been so consistent that it has achieved its objective - that is, to convince most of us that what we are seeing is completely normal and palatable. The "acceptance threshold" has been so successfully established that even the very commercials are now laced with lewdness. It is not only the alcoholic beverage ads that portray dry sex set to music and dance, but almost every item that is being sold - furniture, cars, soft drinks, you name it.
The local cable stations are in a class all by themselves. What is shown regularly (different from channels that are voluntarily purchased), is not fit for public consumption, let alone what some people choose to subscribe to. The fact is that the market for pornography is growing exponentially and a lot of individuals and companies are cashing in on the opportunity to make money.
The argument that I hear all the time that people have a right to choose, cannot apply to Jamaica with the levels of illiteracy and indiscipline in our midst, and the almost total breakdown of the family structure. A deliberate and far-reaching values and attitudes campaign is absolutely paramount and urgent!
While economic stability is critical, the most profound impact the new prime minister could have on the Jamaican society is to restore the country to its moral centre. Promote and encourage positive values and attitudes, and almost everything else will fall into place. Mr Golding must understand, however, that it starts with him, and that he must lead by example. If he is serious, I suspect that the remaining moral remnant in the society will stand with him.
With love,
bab2609@yahoo.com
HEART TO HEART
Betty Anne Blaine
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
Dear Reader,
When former prime minister PJ Patterson introduced the Values and Attitudes Programme some years ago, it seemed as if few people paid attention. Perhaps it was because Mr Patterson himself failed to recognise that values cannot be legislated or decreed. Yes, behaviour can be regulated, but values and morality cannot be commandeered by law or by building organisational capacities. What Mr Patterson didn't quite understand is that the "messenger" of morality was as important as the "message", and he failed to lead by example. You can't preach morality and values, and then boast the way Mr Patterson did that under his leadership "man have more gal and cell phones". The problem with promoting positive values and attitudes is that it must be consistent and must be without paradox or ambivalence.
The former prime minister also didn't understand that values are driven by vision, and that without a vision the people perish. For close to two decades, the country drifted on "automatic pilot", without a captain or a navigational plan. Not only were people ignorant and unaware of where the country was headed, but many of us in the drifting vessel lost the values that were handed down to us through generations - those principles and morals that helped shape our identity and our sense of purpose. If there is a failing grade to be given to the previous administration, it is definitely an "F" for the moral slide that has taken place over a period of over 18 years in this country.
Mr Patterson's successor, former Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller didn't quite get it either. I have a feeling that even to this day she doesn't understand that "words" must match "deeds". Entering the "Promised Land" of political leadership on a wave of national popularity, she never quite understood that simply claiming that God called her was not enough. People wanted to see the fruits of the spirit acted out in daily political life. Mrs Simpson Miller's response to the Trafigura affair was starkly contradictory to Christian principles. Her hesitancy, to this day, to publicly reprimand those around her who suffered from "youthful exuberance" and seemingly "shady" MOs (modus operandi), cost her dearly. Mrs Simpson Miller lost the election, not because she wasn't liked by the people; she lost because the Jamaican people realised that she too lacked the courage to stand up against the culture of corruption and the "incestuousness" within her own party. I'm not sure that she understands that it was a "moral no-vote" that the People's National Party experienced in the last elections.
I am hoping that the Bruce Golding-led government will learn from the mistakes of the past administration. Since his victory, the words of the prime minister (with the exception of "termites") have been very positive, but he too has to be careful about those "renegades" in his team who believe that they are "bigger" than the people of Jamaica and therefore are answerable to no one but themselves. The Warmington/Montague/Vaz sagas are proof positive of the lingering problem of morality in public life.
In addition to the crisis in family life, perhaps the biggest problem facing Jamaica is that of a growing lack of morals. The breakdown in values and attitudes is so deep and pervasive that those who have no answer are now saying that "only God can fix it". The moral decay has infected and infested every aspect of national life, and the deeper we sink, the more the agents of destruction are foisted upon the people.
The agents leading the pack are the radio, television and cable stations, augmented by the "trash" masquerading as "movies" that are being imported into the country by theatre owners and operators. What is being fed to the people and children of Jamaica as "entertainment" on regular television during daytime is, in many instances, soft porn. The diet has been so consistent that it has achieved its objective - that is, to convince most of us that what we are seeing is completely normal and palatable. The "acceptance threshold" has been so successfully established that even the very commercials are now laced with lewdness. It is not only the alcoholic beverage ads that portray dry sex set to music and dance, but almost every item that is being sold - furniture, cars, soft drinks, you name it.
The local cable stations are in a class all by themselves. What is shown regularly (different from channels that are voluntarily purchased), is not fit for public consumption, let alone what some people choose to subscribe to. The fact is that the market for pornography is growing exponentially and a lot of individuals and companies are cashing in on the opportunity to make money.
The argument that I hear all the time that people have a right to choose, cannot apply to Jamaica with the levels of illiteracy and indiscipline in our midst, and the almost total breakdown of the family structure. A deliberate and far-reaching values and attitudes campaign is absolutely paramount and urgent!
While economic stability is critical, the most profound impact the new prime minister could have on the Jamaican society is to restore the country to its moral centre. Promote and encourage positive values and attitudes, and almost everything else will fall into place. Mr Golding must understand, however, that it starts with him, and that he must lead by example. If he is serious, I suspect that the remaining moral remnant in the society will stand with him.
With love,
bab2609@yahoo.com