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<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=1 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD><SPAN class=TopStory>'Truth pressed to earth'</SPAN>
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Tuesday, November 07, 2006
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</TD></TR><TR><TD><SPAN class=Description></SPAN></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><P class=StoryText align=justify>Dear Reader,<P class=StoryText align=justify>In his book, Soul Survivor, the author Philip Yancey devotes an entire chapter to a discussion of the life of the late Rev Dr Martin Luther King, Jr. In it Yancey states, "Later, when the famous march from Selma finally made it to the state capitol, the building which once served as the capitol of the Confederacy and from which the rebel flag still flew, King addressed those scarred and weary marchers from the steps. King said:<P class=StoryText align=justify>"I know that you are asking today how long it will take. I come to say to you this afternoon, however frustrating the hour, it will not be long, because the truth pressed to earth will rise again.<P class=StoryText align=justify>"How long? Not long, because no lie can live forever.
"How long? Not long, because you still reap what you sow.
"How long? Not long. because the arm of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.<P class=StoryText align=justify>"How long? Not long, 'cause mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord, trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored. He has loosed the fateful lightning of his terrible swift sword. His truth is marching on."
As I reflect on the moral implications of the Trafigura travesty, Martin Luther King's words convey some haunting truths that reflect and confirm the never-changing, ever-present principles of God's universe.<P class=StoryText align=justify>I don't think that the government or even the Opposition, for that matter, fully realises what is happening. It is not that a political partisan leaked information to the other side - information that has eased open a tiny crack in the door of deep and widespread corruption in this country, it is that "truth pressed to earth will rise again". It is what King said that day in Selma, that "no lie can live forever". My spirit and gut tell me that this is only the beginning of the unearthing and the exposure of decades of corruption, mismanagement, inefficiencies and misuse of public funds for the benefit of a few.<P class=StoryText align=justify>What is especially distressing about Trafigura is the blatant display of self-interest and greed at a time when the country is sinking deeper and deeper in the quicksand of poverty and moral decay. To my mind, Trafigura is not simply a story of "corruption exposed", it is also a story about "potential thwarted". Let me put it another way. It is the systemic corruption, perhaps more than anything else, that has prevented this country from achieving the type of economic and social gains that are necessary for poverty eradication.<P class=StoryText align=justify>I believe it is time for the people of Jamaica to file a class-action suit against successive governments in this country for thwarting the huge potential of the nation and its people. The lack of good governance over the last two decades, in particular, has singularly stymied any meaningful levels of foreign investments our country can attract. The government's inability to fight crime which, by the way, is directly linked to a spirit and culture of corruption, has robbed this country of billion of dollars of investments.<P class=StoryText align=justify>If it were not for the staggering levels of crime and violence, most of our sons and daughters living overseas would return home with their huge financial and human resources in tow. They all long to come back to their cou
<SPAN class=Subheadline></SPAN></TD></TR><TR><TD>
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=5 width=350 align=center border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>
</TD></TR><TR><TD><SPAN class=Description></SPAN></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><P class=StoryText align=justify>Dear Reader,<P class=StoryText align=justify>In his book, Soul Survivor, the author Philip Yancey devotes an entire chapter to a discussion of the life of the late Rev Dr Martin Luther King, Jr. In it Yancey states, "Later, when the famous march from Selma finally made it to the state capitol, the building which once served as the capitol of the Confederacy and from which the rebel flag still flew, King addressed those scarred and weary marchers from the steps. King said:<P class=StoryText align=justify>"I know that you are asking today how long it will take. I come to say to you this afternoon, however frustrating the hour, it will not be long, because the truth pressed to earth will rise again.<P class=StoryText align=justify>"How long? Not long, because no lie can live forever."How long? Not long, because you still reap what you sow.
"How long? Not long. because the arm of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.<P class=StoryText align=justify>"How long? Not long, 'cause mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord, trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored. He has loosed the fateful lightning of his terrible swift sword. His truth is marching on."
As I reflect on the moral implications of the Trafigura travesty, Martin Luther King's words convey some haunting truths that reflect and confirm the never-changing, ever-present principles of God's universe.<P class=StoryText align=justify>I don't think that the government or even the Opposition, for that matter, fully realises what is happening. It is not that a political partisan leaked information to the other side - information that has eased open a tiny crack in the door of deep and widespread corruption in this country, it is that "truth pressed to earth will rise again". It is what King said that day in Selma, that "no lie can live forever". My spirit and gut tell me that this is only the beginning of the unearthing and the exposure of decades of corruption, mismanagement, inefficiencies and misuse of public funds for the benefit of a few.<P class=StoryText align=justify>What is especially distressing about Trafigura is the blatant display of self-interest and greed at a time when the country is sinking deeper and deeper in the quicksand of poverty and moral decay. To my mind, Trafigura is not simply a story of "corruption exposed", it is also a story about "potential thwarted". Let me put it another way. It is the systemic corruption, perhaps more than anything else, that has prevented this country from achieving the type of economic and social gains that are necessary for poverty eradication.<P class=StoryText align=justify>I believe it is time for the people of Jamaica to file a class-action suit against successive governments in this country for thwarting the huge potential of the nation and its people. The lack of good governance over the last two decades, in particular, has singularly stymied any meaningful levels of foreign investments our country can attract. The government's inability to fight crime which, by the way, is directly linked to a spirit and culture of corruption, has robbed this country of billion of dollars of investments.<P class=StoryText align=justify>If it were not for the staggering levels of crime and violence, most of our sons and daughters living overseas would return home with their huge financial and human resources in tow. They all long to come back to their cou
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