Desmond HenryTREASURE BEACH:
HAD SOME time to do some quiet reflection over the holiday season, and centred my mind almost incessantly on the growing breakdown in civil and social patterns; human and material structures. Those were bad enough. What is worse, however, is that these failures are themselves creating a kind of national dissonance, (a turn-off, if you will) that is striking at the very heart of our staying together as a nation. As a student and practitioner of public communication (marketing, public relations, promotions, journalism and propaganda) I am firmly convinced that a lot of our societal disharmony comes directly from the way we portray (communicate) ourselves to each other, and to the wider world.
We are behaving like rank amateurs in a world that has no time for amateurism. First, in the way we comprehend communication as a factor in directing personal and cumulative understanding; and second, in the way we use it as a tool in fomenting the understanding of us, by others.
As a founding member of the Jamaica Information Service in the late 1950s, a college graduate in the mid-1960s, and the leader in professional public relations practices in Jamaica in the early 1970s, I believe I have at least some credibility to speak on this matter. And having devoted a lifetime to practising in these fields, I can now say without fear of contradiction, that we are in deep communicative trouble in this country.That is, communication as a moulding, building, inspiring and informative art.
As personal resources continue to subside, and survival demands increase, those who are less able to comprehend, will find it harder to sustain a reason why they should exercise patience and control, discipline and tact in matters of elemental survival. Things like manners and civilities will be viewed as mere niceties, not to be tolerated when survival is at stake. We resort to and indulge in brute force, noise and acts of savagery only because we have been led to believe that society itself demands no other civilised approach. We have failed, or are failing, in at least five communicative areas; home, school, entertainment, politics and community.
Home
Our homes are no longer the controlling centres of early programming habits and training they once were. With splintered marriages and uncertain parental responsibilities, most parents currently are in urgent need of therapy themselves. Children seldom get together as a group, or share ideas and experiences anymore. Each one gleans information and impulses from different contaminating sources. Uniformity in manner, rationale or conduct is for the birds.
Schools
Our schools are becoming citadels of activism against 'those who trouble us' rather than centres of learning and preparation by 'those who love us'. Teachers feel threatened and put-upon, and are intimidated daily by all manner of threats merely for exercising (or teaching) disciplinary behaviour.
The end result is that both the calibre of teachers and classrooms, are inadequate for the times.
Entertainment
With an acceptance of 'anything goes' the business of entertainment has seemingly become the first and easiest rung to advancement. Low creative standards, aided and abetted by low audience demands, and low artistic expressions have made DJ-ing the trade-of-all Jacks.
As long as you can make an unbearable noise, sound incomprehensible, and unclothe yourself on stage, you're a DJ.
Add to that the influential reaches of cable TV, video, and the Internet, and you have recipe for a disaster-in-waiting for those who can't be bothered with unimportant things like education, manners, and civility.
Our almost total inability to draw pride from our cultural and historical pasts says volumes about what we think of ourselves. Just think of it all our main residual cultural centres, the Ward Theatre, National Gallery, the Institute of Jamaica are in downtown localities where people do not visit anymore, for fear of personal safety. What practical or educating purpose, therefore, do they serve. The arts as entertainment and inspiration is virtually non-existent. And we wonder, how come we don't have a sense of pride?
Politics
At the political level, there is an urgent need for statuesque statesmanship. The kind that breeds willing participation, because it boldly crosses over existing artificial divisions. The kind that recognises talent and diversity, without politics and disunity. Just think of it: for a country this small in size, and so limited in talent and training, to be drawing on less than 50 per cent of its resources at any one time, because of party politics, must be the depth of insanity.
Community
In this I include churches. By and large, our community lives are going to hell, mainly because of urban electronic saturation. The sense of rural worthwhileness and hope that Local Government Reform should have triggered, did not arrive. The Church appears intimidated and unwilling to offer bold leadership. Everyone is looking at the other through reverse prisms. Community revival through things like community tourism and community marketing are still only catch phrases.
What to do
Through a combination of strong, inspiring leadership and more vibrant and creative uses of the communication medium, I believe our present Prime Minister could set the tone for a radical and dramatic reversal of the bad attitudes that are settling in. His once Values and Attitudes programme could be redesigned to play a major part in the new solution. Things that now appear to be either out of reach or bearing little relevance to our self esteem, pride and conduct, could be turned around to play large parts in our future revival.
The country's public communications management, its design and flow are inordinately poor. What we are seeing around us in the forms of public conduct, participation and understanding, are reflections of this poor flow. There needs to be a coming together of everyone in the communicative process private, public, media, creative and commercial arts and entertainment to construct an understanding of where we are, where we'd like to go, and how to get there.
This loose practice of 'doing your own thing' without regard or respect for the citizen, the community or the country, is suicidal madness. It will end up putting us all in a hole so deep that we will all need to climb up just to touch bottom not to mention getting out.
Desmond Henry is a marketing strategist based at Treasure Beach, St. Elizabeth.
