THE EDITOR, Sir:
OH, HOW amidst the outcry of the pundits, Delroy Chuck must have thought to himself, "this, too, will pass", and if he did, by and large, he would have been right; it has passed.
My apologies to the honourable Member of Parliament, whose recent plight I used to present my thoughts on a problem that is older than he.
After all, no reasonable person could claim that Mr. Chuck started this fire. Except for Dr. Garth Rattray's article, "The origins and role of Dons," there was hardly any insightful offering as to the root causes of the situation that was once again brought front and centre by the untimely death of an area-Don and Mr. Chuck's so-called "mellifluous eulogy" for the deceased.
I feel a real opportunity was lost to, at the very least, get beyond self-righteous denunciations and elevate the discourse to one from which sustainable solutions could emerge.
Surely, we can all agree that the existence of Dons and their uncomfortable (for some) ties to politicians is merely a symptom of underlying deficiencies in our society, much more than could be caused by any individual.
Politicians may make for attractive scapegoats, but Mr. Chuck did not create the Don burning him at the stake certainly won't eliminate the societal failings that continue to facilitate their existence.
I am not qualified to speak to Mr. Chuck's motives nor do I find it necessary, as there is sufficient example the world over to suggest that a nation need not be comprised of saints to achieve acceptable progress.
What I would like to do, however, is recognise that Mr. Chuck has taken a step that many seem to feel they are above; he has engaged the masses.
That is the essence of politics in a democracy, reaching out to the people, because only then can there be hope of identifying their needs and ameliorating their circumstances. Mr. Chuck is empowered, in a real sense, to help us understand the dynamics of inner-city culture and the Dons who the constituents turn to in the face of, for all practical purposes, no feasible alternative.
In the aftermath of the now famous eulogy and the attention that was dusted off and re-focused on the issue, the opportunity that should have been seized is the one to ask a man whose intellect no one questions to help us to understand the problems in our society, as so sharply represented in the microcosmic inner-city constituency he serves as Member of Parliament.
Of course, to take advantage of this opportunity we would have to be willing to listen, and we would have to be willing to create a forum conducive to participation. If our politicians behave as if they are not accountable, then I am sure that at least part of the reason is we don't offer them a civil opportunity to give their account. True, we are not obligated to do so, and one can take the view, perhaps rightly so, that by virtue of their chosen profession they are in fact duty-bound to answer to us on our terms.
However, recognising the reality of our culture and the irrefutable evidence of failure to net any progress under the traditional self-righteous/finger-pointing/it's-everyone's-fault-but-mine operating regime, I offer an alternate approach: let us engage our politicians in an honest, non-confrontational debate. It is clear that they can offer more than we have allowed them to.
The history of Jamaica is our history, and even if we can all absolve ourselves of blame for the sad state of affairs, we most certainly cannot leave it to any one person to fix. The future of Jamaica is our shared destiny; let us all contribute to making it one worth living for. If we concede that we are not all-knowing beings, then surely we must also concede that constructive dialogue is a strategic imperative if we are to solve the problems that plague our society.
Politicians are an essential part of any democratic society, and we must do our best to maximise their value to ours - it is time we revised our approach towards this end. In defence of our fallible politicians, I present this famous Biblical verse, "let he who is without sin cast the first stone".
I am, etc.
SHELDON LYN
sllyn@hotmail.com
Lacovia P.O.
St. Elizabeth
Via Go-Jamaica
