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<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=1 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD><SPAN class=TopStory>Politics has failed Jamaica</SPAN>
<SPAN class=Subheadline></SPAN></TD></TR><TR><TD>Henley Morgan
Thursday, November 02, 2006
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<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=5 width=88 align=left border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>
</TD></TR><TR><TD><SPAN class=Description>Henley Morgan</SPAN></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><P class=StoryText align=justify>As someone who shares his opinion through the print and electronic media, and who in doing so will from time to time challenge the status quo, I am often asked whether I would consider entering representational politics. I accept the question as a sort of compliment but understand that more than anything else it is a symptom of deep dissatisfaction with party politics as practised in this country.<P class=StoryText align=justify>I grew up in a political family. Daddy Morgan was a preacher who did more than dabble in politics. He served as member of the House of Representatives (MHR), as it was then referred to, for South East St James representing the PNP. A few things have stuck in my mind since those days.<P class=StoryText align=justify>I remember how much longer it took us than anybody else to make the 16-mile journey from Montego Bay to where we lived high in the hills of St James, with daddy having to stop every few chains to dole out money he complained government never gave to him. Also indelibly etched in my memory is the harrowing experience of a campaign meeting being stoned at a place called Tangle River, forcing a hasty retreat to the safety of the Baptist manse at Maldon. There are good memories too, such as the many benefits daddy was able to bring to the constituents - water, electricity, roads, health centre, schools - although in the end politics would prove to be the most thankless of callings.<P class=StoryText align=justify>Despite the almost genetic tendency to want to follow in the footsteps of one's father, I have determined for myself that entering representational politics is not one of his decisions I will seek to emulate. The reasons have nothing to do with my boyhood recollection of the hardness of life growing up in a political family. It has everything to do with my very adult observation and conclusion that politics has failed Jamaica.<P class=StoryText align=justify>How is it that in a country known for the many outstanding accomplishments of its sons and daughters in various fields of endeavour, there remains this one area of national life at which we do not excel? It's because the rules that govern our politics have not evolved beyond the primaeval antecedents found in European and American political philosophy and experience. Let us examine a few of the hold-overs from the past that characterise local politics.<P class=StoryText align=justify>In the 19th century, the concept of the political machine (or party) gained ascendancy. Although enjoying some advantages over revolutionary methods of changing governments, the motive of such organisations remains an inherent and debilitating weakness. The primary objective plain and simple is to keep themselves and their members in power rather than to provide good government.<P class=StoryText align=justify>The political machine is usually headed by a single boss of unbridled power who surrounds himself (herself) with people of his (her) choosing. The first commitment of people so chosen is to the leader to whom loyalty of occultist proportion is paid and to the party; not the country or the people they have come to represent through the electoral process.<P class=StoryText align=justify>Organisers who finance the machine and garner the votes are rewarded with patronage jobs for which they are not often qualified. The political machine may accept donations or kickbacks from businesses in return for su
<SPAN class=Subheadline></SPAN></TD></TR><TR><TD>Henley Morgan
Thursday, November 02, 2006
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=5 width=88 align=left border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>
</TD></TR><TR><TD><SPAN class=Description>Henley Morgan</SPAN></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><P class=StoryText align=justify>As someone who shares his opinion through the print and electronic media, and who in doing so will from time to time challenge the status quo, I am often asked whether I would consider entering representational politics. I accept the question as a sort of compliment but understand that more than anything else it is a symptom of deep dissatisfaction with party politics as practised in this country.<P class=StoryText align=justify>I grew up in a political family. Daddy Morgan was a preacher who did more than dabble in politics. He served as member of the House of Representatives (MHR), as it was then referred to, for South East St James representing the PNP. A few things have stuck in my mind since those days.<P class=StoryText align=justify>I remember how much longer it took us than anybody else to make the 16-mile journey from Montego Bay to where we lived high in the hills of St James, with daddy having to stop every few chains to dole out money he complained government never gave to him. Also indelibly etched in my memory is the harrowing experience of a campaign meeting being stoned at a place called Tangle River, forcing a hasty retreat to the safety of the Baptist manse at Maldon. There are good memories too, such as the many benefits daddy was able to bring to the constituents - water, electricity, roads, health centre, schools - although in the end politics would prove to be the most thankless of callings.<P class=StoryText align=justify>Despite the almost genetic tendency to want to follow in the footsteps of one's father, I have determined for myself that entering representational politics is not one of his decisions I will seek to emulate. The reasons have nothing to do with my boyhood recollection of the hardness of life growing up in a political family. It has everything to do with my very adult observation and conclusion that politics has failed Jamaica.<P class=StoryText align=justify>How is it that in a country known for the many outstanding accomplishments of its sons and daughters in various fields of endeavour, there remains this one area of national life at which we do not excel? It's because the rules that govern our politics have not evolved beyond the primaeval antecedents found in European and American political philosophy and experience. Let us examine a few of the hold-overs from the past that characterise local politics.<P class=StoryText align=justify>In the 19th century, the concept of the political machine (or party) gained ascendancy. Although enjoying some advantages over revolutionary methods of changing governments, the motive of such organisations remains an inherent and debilitating weakness. The primary objective plain and simple is to keep themselves and their members in power rather than to provide good government.<P class=StoryText align=justify>The political machine is usually headed by a single boss of unbridled power who surrounds himself (herself) with people of his (her) choosing. The first commitment of people so chosen is to the leader to whom loyalty of occultist proportion is paid and to the party; not the country or the people they have come to represent through the electoral process.<P class=StoryText align=justify>Organisers who finance the machine and garner the votes are rewarded with patronage jobs for which they are not often qualified. The political machine may accept donations or kickbacks from businesses in return for su
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