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Our expectations
published: Wednesday | September 26, 2007
Hilary Robertson -Hickling
Jamaica's new government took office on Monday September 17, and it is very important that the expectations of the citizens, those who voted for , against or not at all should be clear. Where the government is unable to meet these expectations they must approach the citizenry early to provide the necessary information. When they meet these expectations they should be congratulated.
This is an extraordinary moment in this nation's history in which that narrowest of margins separates the winner from the loser and the country seems as divided as usual along partisan lines. It seems very difficult for us to identify the patriot over the partisan. It is one thing to support a political party but an even more important thing to support the country.
The problems facing the country face all citizens no matter what their affiliation. As Marley notes, "When the rain falls, it don't fall on one man's house". Hurricane Dean devastated the houses of members of both political parties.
Post-partisan view
It seems very difficult for most of us to take what one person described as a post-partisan view. The idea was that the United States was now so bitterly divided that such a view would be necessary to heal the wounds which had deepened under the current President George Bush.
Some of the issues in Jamaica are so charged that we cannot seem to have the conversation which lays the issues out in the way that we can make the best decisions. Free education will leave already under-funded schools bereft of funding which made other important things possible.
We really need to understand how a prep school's fees are nearly $100,000 per year, while we suggest that a minimal budget in an equivalent government facility will produce the same high-quality educational experience. What is the actual cost of an education at the primary, secondary or tertiary level?
Cellphone investments
In this country some of us invest in the latest cellphones, hairstyles and clothes while being unwilling to contribute to the educational foundation which will determine the life chances of our children.
We need to make a distinction between freeness and freedom. In the same way Moses encountered those Israelites who wished to stay in bondage to enjoy the three square meals that they were assured, some of our folks do not understand how expensive true freedom is. When we consider how our ancestors made sacrifices to buy their freedom we should recognise the perils of dependency.
In an independent nation we must be clear that "none but ourselves can free our minds". One aspect of our political heritage is the desire for freeness.
Tiger the deejay sang about our propensity for "Wanga gut and likie-likie". When did a country in which 'you too beg-beg' was an insult become a place where people have developed such a tendency for mendicancy?
This is a country in which poor people joined burial schemes to assure themselves of a lovely send-off, others built their coffins or prepared the wood for the task. Today, some expect politicians to bury their dead.
Living off remittances
People used to put down their private doctor money and used to make preparations to pay their way. Today, we are living off remittances earned by people who are slaving over two jobs in America, Canada, or England.
Some of these remittances are being earned by people who are residing illegally in those countries. The new political order must promote freedom not to provide freeness. We need to assist those who are needy, but we have to promote industry and independence for the country to move ahead.
Hilary Robertson-Hickling is a lecturer in the Department of Management Studies UWI, Mona.
published: Wednesday | September 26, 2007
Hilary Robertson -Hickling
Jamaica's new government took office on Monday September 17, and it is very important that the expectations of the citizens, those who voted for , against or not at all should be clear. Where the government is unable to meet these expectations they must approach the citizenry early to provide the necessary information. When they meet these expectations they should be congratulated.
This is an extraordinary moment in this nation's history in which that narrowest of margins separates the winner from the loser and the country seems as divided as usual along partisan lines. It seems very difficult for us to identify the patriot over the partisan. It is one thing to support a political party but an even more important thing to support the country.
The problems facing the country face all citizens no matter what their affiliation. As Marley notes, "When the rain falls, it don't fall on one man's house". Hurricane Dean devastated the houses of members of both political parties.
Post-partisan view
It seems very difficult for most of us to take what one person described as a post-partisan view. The idea was that the United States was now so bitterly divided that such a view would be necessary to heal the wounds which had deepened under the current President George Bush.
Some of the issues in Jamaica are so charged that we cannot seem to have the conversation which lays the issues out in the way that we can make the best decisions. Free education will leave already under-funded schools bereft of funding which made other important things possible.
We really need to understand how a prep school's fees are nearly $100,000 per year, while we suggest that a minimal budget in an equivalent government facility will produce the same high-quality educational experience. What is the actual cost of an education at the primary, secondary or tertiary level?
Cellphone investments
In this country some of us invest in the latest cellphones, hairstyles and clothes while being unwilling to contribute to the educational foundation which will determine the life chances of our children.
We need to make a distinction between freeness and freedom. In the same way Moses encountered those Israelites who wished to stay in bondage to enjoy the three square meals that they were assured, some of our folks do not understand how expensive true freedom is. When we consider how our ancestors made sacrifices to buy their freedom we should recognise the perils of dependency.
In an independent nation we must be clear that "none but ourselves can free our minds". One aspect of our political heritage is the desire for freeness.
Tiger the deejay sang about our propensity for "Wanga gut and likie-likie". When did a country in which 'you too beg-beg' was an insult become a place where people have developed such a tendency for mendicancy?
This is a country in which poor people joined burial schemes to assure themselves of a lovely send-off, others built their coffins or prepared the wood for the task. Today, some expect politicians to bury their dead.
Living off remittances
People used to put down their private doctor money and used to make preparations to pay their way. Today, we are living off remittances earned by people who are slaving over two jobs in America, Canada, or England.
Some of these remittances are being earned by people who are residing illegally in those countries. The new political order must promote freedom not to provide freeness. We need to assist those who are needy, but we have to promote industry and independence for the country to move ahead.
Hilary Robertson-Hickling is a lecturer in the Department of Management Studies UWI, Mona.