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A change in fortunes
Christopher Burns
Monday, September 17, 2007
As I watched and listened while Bruce Golding delivered his inaugural address, it was not difficult to hark back to March 30, 2006 when Portia Simpson Miller stood in the same spot before an audience of similar size, but of a slightly different socio-political pedigree, and delivered her inaugural speech.
In fact, I saw the same unremitting ebullience on the faces of the thousands who turned up at King's House to witness the swearing-in of the fifth Jamaica Labour Party prime minister and Jamaica's eighth. On this occasion, the value of the spoken words was no greater than those spoken on March 30, 2006 by the third People's National Party prime minister and Jamaica's seventh. Like Portia, Bruce offered words that can heal and restore and we should heed them.
Only great leaders, flaws and limitations aside, can stand before their fellow citizens and deliver the kind of visionary thinking that both leaders have now delivered. The similarity of their vision is inescapable and the character of their rhetoric remarkable.
For it was Mrs Portia Simpson Miller who stood before the Jamaican people in March 2006, and articulated the following: "Each individual is sacred. None is more important than the other. Money should not make one person more important than the other, learning should not make one person more important, nor should class, colour or gender.
We are all equal. We cannot build the harmony and peace that this society needs unless all Jamaicans know that they will be treated with dignity and respect."
No one knew then that exactly 17 months later, Bruce Golding would have been extolling the same virtues at his swearing-in ceremony: "I believe that we can create a social order in which youth, whether in Majesty Garden or Tivoli Gardens, whatever the colour of his skin., however uneducated he might be, can be assured that his rights will be protected and his dignity respected, no less than the man in his tailored suit and fancy car."
As I watched Bruce's gesticulations and the passion with which he spoke, I recalled the quick change in fortunes for Portia. I was somewhat saddened, though, by the swiftness of her demise because the outpouring of hope and excitement that greeted her rise to prime minister seemed genuine and of a certain longevity. It goes to show, however, that nothing is permanent except change.
Mr Golding struck all the right notes during his speech. His rhetoric was profound and covered all sectors of the political economy. It is now up to us to understand and act upon the enormous responsibility that comes with citizenship because without our followership, leadership cannot prosper, however ambitious.
I am as proud of the quality and depth of Mr Golding's swearing-in speech as I was of Mrs Simpson Miller's. As I wished Portia Simpson Miller well then, I wish the same for Bruce Golding now. After all, Jamaica is bigger than the politics that divides us. The change has occurred and Bruce Golding is now prime minister of Jamaica, and we must accord him the respect that comes with his office and we must find an urgent replacement for the "crab-in-a-barrel" mode of thinking.
Those JLP aficionados and bigots who disparaged Portia and prayed for her failure must now seek absolution. Put simply, there ought not to be any place in our society for political malevolence. Never again should we stoop as low as some did in their thrust to denigrate Portia, because she dared to offer herself for leadership and did not always fit into their cock-eyed version of intellectualism. Never again must we condemn any woman who dances on a political platform to the horrors associated with becoming a "Go-Go" in a nightclub.
Weaknesses aside, many successes were achieved during Portia's tenure, such as higher GDP growth, lower inflation and unemployment rates, the conclusion of US$260-million financing agreements for Highway 2000, US$56 million for the Montego Bay convention centre, US$100 million line of credit with Brazil for manufacturing and agriculture industry, J$1 billion revolving-loan facility for small-business development, J$350 million in health-care coverage for children, several beneficial bilateral agreements with Malaysia, Brazil, Venezuela, Spain, Mexico, Chile, etc. So, let's be reasonable in our discussion and hesitant in our eagerness to condemn.
It has not escaped my attention how heavily both leaders have come to rely on divine guidance. The difference this time, however, is that Bruce has not yet claimed divine intervention as the reason for his political feat, and the media have so far ignored his budding religious fascination. Unlike those who chastised Portia for her religiosity, I commend Bruce for his public display and belief in God, and I am very comfortable that he will not convert Jamaica into a theocracy.
As eloquent as Mr Golding was last Tuesday, it was rather disappointing that he totally glossed over the urgent need for campaign finance reform as part of his plan to clean up corruption. While he spoke stirringly of government corruption, he said nothing about private-sector corruption. Perhaps Mr Golding was just being mindful of a significant segment of the King's House audience.
And while the omission might have been an oversight, we cannot ignore the corrupting influence that money can have on our politics and run the risk of undermining the pillars on which our democracy is built. We know too that some of the financial contributions that were made to both parties were not made out of acts of altruism, but were given with specific quid pro quo expectations. Therefore, before there is another change in fortunes, we should get campaign finance reform on the parliamentary agenda.
Burnscg@aol.com
Christopher Burns
Monday, September 17, 2007
As I watched and listened while Bruce Golding delivered his inaugural address, it was not difficult to hark back to March 30, 2006 when Portia Simpson Miller stood in the same spot before an audience of similar size, but of a slightly different socio-political pedigree, and delivered her inaugural speech.
In fact, I saw the same unremitting ebullience on the faces of the thousands who turned up at King's House to witness the swearing-in of the fifth Jamaica Labour Party prime minister and Jamaica's eighth. On this occasion, the value of the spoken words was no greater than those spoken on March 30, 2006 by the third People's National Party prime minister and Jamaica's seventh. Like Portia, Bruce offered words that can heal and restore and we should heed them.
Only great leaders, flaws and limitations aside, can stand before their fellow citizens and deliver the kind of visionary thinking that both leaders have now delivered. The similarity of their vision is inescapable and the character of their rhetoric remarkable.
For it was Mrs Portia Simpson Miller who stood before the Jamaican people in March 2006, and articulated the following: "Each individual is sacred. None is more important than the other. Money should not make one person more important than the other, learning should not make one person more important, nor should class, colour or gender.
We are all equal. We cannot build the harmony and peace that this society needs unless all Jamaicans know that they will be treated with dignity and respect."
No one knew then that exactly 17 months later, Bruce Golding would have been extolling the same virtues at his swearing-in ceremony: "I believe that we can create a social order in which youth, whether in Majesty Garden or Tivoli Gardens, whatever the colour of his skin., however uneducated he might be, can be assured that his rights will be protected and his dignity respected, no less than the man in his tailored suit and fancy car."
As I watched Bruce's gesticulations and the passion with which he spoke, I recalled the quick change in fortunes for Portia. I was somewhat saddened, though, by the swiftness of her demise because the outpouring of hope and excitement that greeted her rise to prime minister seemed genuine and of a certain longevity. It goes to show, however, that nothing is permanent except change.
Mr Golding struck all the right notes during his speech. His rhetoric was profound and covered all sectors of the political economy. It is now up to us to understand and act upon the enormous responsibility that comes with citizenship because without our followership, leadership cannot prosper, however ambitious.
I am as proud of the quality and depth of Mr Golding's swearing-in speech as I was of Mrs Simpson Miller's. As I wished Portia Simpson Miller well then, I wish the same for Bruce Golding now. After all, Jamaica is bigger than the politics that divides us. The change has occurred and Bruce Golding is now prime minister of Jamaica, and we must accord him the respect that comes with his office and we must find an urgent replacement for the "crab-in-a-barrel" mode of thinking.
Those JLP aficionados and bigots who disparaged Portia and prayed for her failure must now seek absolution. Put simply, there ought not to be any place in our society for political malevolence. Never again should we stoop as low as some did in their thrust to denigrate Portia, because she dared to offer herself for leadership and did not always fit into their cock-eyed version of intellectualism. Never again must we condemn any woman who dances on a political platform to the horrors associated with becoming a "Go-Go" in a nightclub.
Weaknesses aside, many successes were achieved during Portia's tenure, such as higher GDP growth, lower inflation and unemployment rates, the conclusion of US$260-million financing agreements for Highway 2000, US$56 million for the Montego Bay convention centre, US$100 million line of credit with Brazil for manufacturing and agriculture industry, J$1 billion revolving-loan facility for small-business development, J$350 million in health-care coverage for children, several beneficial bilateral agreements with Malaysia, Brazil, Venezuela, Spain, Mexico, Chile, etc. So, let's be reasonable in our discussion and hesitant in our eagerness to condemn.
It has not escaped my attention how heavily both leaders have come to rely on divine guidance. The difference this time, however, is that Bruce has not yet claimed divine intervention as the reason for his political feat, and the media have so far ignored his budding religious fascination. Unlike those who chastised Portia for her religiosity, I commend Bruce for his public display and belief in God, and I am very comfortable that he will not convert Jamaica into a theocracy.
As eloquent as Mr Golding was last Tuesday, it was rather disappointing that he totally glossed over the urgent need for campaign finance reform as part of his plan to clean up corruption. While he spoke stirringly of government corruption, he said nothing about private-sector corruption. Perhaps Mr Golding was just being mindful of a significant segment of the King's House audience.
And while the omission might have been an oversight, we cannot ignore the corrupting influence that money can have on our politics and run the risk of undermining the pillars on which our democracy is built. We know too that some of the financial contributions that were made to both parties were not made out of acts of altruism, but were given with specific quid pro quo expectations. Therefore, before there is another change in fortunes, we should get campaign finance reform on the parliamentary agenda.
Burnscg@aol.com
And prevent another JLP victory? The last election was bought by the JLP and nothing will be done to interfere with that. Bruce certainly will not change that course any time soon.
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