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Michael Burke
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Tuesday, April 24, marked the 45th anniversary of one of the last steps that were taken before political independence. The general election had been on April 10, 1962, which the Jamaica Labour Party won, but did not take over the government until April 24.
That April 10 election had been called to determine which party would lead Jamaica into political independence. Sir Alexander Bustamante, who became premier of Jamaica on April 24, 1962, would become Jamaica's first prime minister on August 6, 1962. The April 10, 1962 election result was significant for many reasons.
First, Norman Manley, the architect of Jamaica's political independence, was never prime minister of independent Jamaica. He was, however, chief minister and later premier of Jamaica between 1955 and 1962. Second, not all of Jamaica's national symbols were predetermined at the time of the change of government in 1962. One symbol that was in fact predetermined was the coat of arms and the motto, Out of many, One people.
But the national anthem and the flag were yet to be determined. Had the People's National Party won the April 10, 1962 election, more than likely the party's anthem Jamaica arise would have been Jamaica's national anthem. But instead the JLP came to power and were of the view that a party anthem would never unite the nation so Jamaica land we love was chosen.
Had the PNP won the 1962 election there might have been the colour red in the flag, which might have symbolised hardship and struggle, the black part would have stood for the people. Certainly, Florizel Glasspole (a PNP parliamentarian who would later become governor general) was of the view that red should have been included in
the flag.
The first time I recall seeing the late Florizel Glasspole was in the living room of my home. He had come to see my parents three days before independence in 1962 and all five of us children (yes, five - two boys and three girls) had to sing the national anthem for Mr Glasspole, who was the MP for the constituency. And he expressed the view that he thought that the colour red should have been in the flag.
Instead, for the first 34 years of independence from 1962 to 1996, the flag stood for "hardships there are but the land is green and the sun shineth". Since 1996 the flag means "the land is green and the sun shines and the people are strong and creative", with the black part of the flag meaning people, strength and creativity.
Incidentally, as I have written before, the constitution of Jamaica in its schedule on national symbols, speaks to a national fruit which is the ackee, but it does not speak to a national dish. I have argued that this was a correct position because there would be too many dishes to choose from.
But the argument that ackee and saltfish is the national dish was merely a marketing strategy of restaurateurs who wanted to sell a certain food preparation. To argue that because the national fruit, the ackee, is used in the preparation of ackee and saltfish which makes it the national dish is illogical. What about ackee and rice, or ackee and meat, or ackee and vegetables?
Let us carry the lack of logic to the ridiculous extreme. The national tree is the Blue Mahoe. If a table is made from Blue Mahoe, is that the national table? What of the national flower the Lignum Vitae? If someone puts a Lignum Vitae branch on a table to keep away insects, is that the national insect repellant? The national bird is the humming bird, if someone makes soup with humming birds, would that be the national soup? And if on the "national table" there is the "national insect repellant" and the "national soup", are those the "national table preparation"? Let's be logical.
I have been writing in newspapers for 19 years, come July this year. I wrote for the Jamaica Record, the Jamaica Herald (which evolved into the Sunday Herald) and then the Jamaica Observer. Last Sunday, marked nine years since my work was first published in this newspaper. That first column was entitled, "They'll do it every time", taking my cue from an American comic strip of the same name.
What I was writing about was the budget debate. One point that I made was that in the year preceding a general election there are usually no new taxes, no matter which party holds power. And whichever party wins, then in that first year after the election all the taxes are raised. This is a known fact all over the democratic world.
And speaking of budget debates, I never allow myself to get into the trap of making public comments about the annual budget debate until it is finished. One can be made to look silly if one comments without having heard everything. And some people never learn because they are made to look silly every single year, yet go ahead and make their premature comments anyway. The electronic media need not worry around budget time about getting people to discuss the budget on their programmes.
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Tuesday, April 24, marked the 45th anniversary of one of the last steps that were taken before political independence. The general election had been on April 10, 1962, which the Jamaica Labour Party won, but did not take over the government until April 24.
That April 10 election had been called to determine which party would lead Jamaica into political independence. Sir Alexander Bustamante, who became premier of Jamaica on April 24, 1962, would become Jamaica's first prime minister on August 6, 1962. The April 10, 1962 election result was significant for many reasons.
First, Norman Manley, the architect of Jamaica's political independence, was never prime minister of independent Jamaica. He was, however, chief minister and later premier of Jamaica between 1955 and 1962. Second, not all of Jamaica's national symbols were predetermined at the time of the change of government in 1962. One symbol that was in fact predetermined was the coat of arms and the motto, Out of many, One people.
But the national anthem and the flag were yet to be determined. Had the People's National Party won the April 10, 1962 election, more than likely the party's anthem Jamaica arise would have been Jamaica's national anthem. But instead the JLP came to power and were of the view that a party anthem would never unite the nation so Jamaica land we love was chosen.
Had the PNP won the 1962 election there might have been the colour red in the flag, which might have symbolised hardship and struggle, the black part would have stood for the people. Certainly, Florizel Glasspole (a PNP parliamentarian who would later become governor general) was of the view that red should have been included in
the flag.
The first time I recall seeing the late Florizel Glasspole was in the living room of my home. He had come to see my parents three days before independence in 1962 and all five of us children (yes, five - two boys and three girls) had to sing the national anthem for Mr Glasspole, who was the MP for the constituency. And he expressed the view that he thought that the colour red should have been in the flag.
Instead, for the first 34 years of independence from 1962 to 1996, the flag stood for "hardships there are but the land is green and the sun shineth". Since 1996 the flag means "the land is green and the sun shines and the people are strong and creative", with the black part of the flag meaning people, strength and creativity.
Incidentally, as I have written before, the constitution of Jamaica in its schedule on national symbols, speaks to a national fruit which is the ackee, but it does not speak to a national dish. I have argued that this was a correct position because there would be too many dishes to choose from.
But the argument that ackee and saltfish is the national dish was merely a marketing strategy of restaurateurs who wanted to sell a certain food preparation. To argue that because the national fruit, the ackee, is used in the preparation of ackee and saltfish which makes it the national dish is illogical. What about ackee and rice, or ackee and meat, or ackee and vegetables?
Let us carry the lack of logic to the ridiculous extreme. The national tree is the Blue Mahoe. If a table is made from Blue Mahoe, is that the national table? What of the national flower the Lignum Vitae? If someone puts a Lignum Vitae branch on a table to keep away insects, is that the national insect repellant? The national bird is the humming bird, if someone makes soup with humming birds, would that be the national soup? And if on the "national table" there is the "national insect repellant" and the "national soup", are those the "national table preparation"? Let's be logical.
I have been writing in newspapers for 19 years, come July this year. I wrote for the Jamaica Record, the Jamaica Herald (which evolved into the Sunday Herald) and then the Jamaica Observer. Last Sunday, marked nine years since my work was first published in this newspaper. That first column was entitled, "They'll do it every time", taking my cue from an American comic strip of the same name.
What I was writing about was the budget debate. One point that I made was that in the year preceding a general election there are usually no new taxes, no matter which party holds power. And whichever party wins, then in that first year after the election all the taxes are raised. This is a known fact all over the democratic world.
And speaking of budget debates, I never allow myself to get into the trap of making public comments about the annual budget debate until it is finished. One can be made to look silly if one comments without having heard everything. And some people never learn because they are made to look silly every single year, yet go ahead and make their premature comments anyway. The electronic media need not worry around budget time about getting people to discuss the budget on their programmes.
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