THE EDITOR, Sir:
THE NATIONAL election is over and the nation is slowly returning to the 'bread-and-butter' issues of living. Overcoming the scourge of crime and violence has become the primary concern and this will continue to be so for the foreseeable future.The social demons of drugs, guns and corruption have entered the fabric of our national life through the intentional invitation of forces at the local and international levels that wish to keep the nation destabilised. It will be extremely difficult, but not impossible to root out this social disease because over the years it has increasingly become part of our lifestyle. Rogues in our local communities kill and maim children and women with impunity and it does not disturb us sufficiently to rise up against the evil that is sleeping with us. Am I my brother's keeper?
Like the Biblical character Cain, we too are asking: Am I my brother's keeper? We too seek to live as individuals and refuse to take responsibility for the well-being of our neighbour. We fail to recognise that our peace and security depends on the well-being of our neighbour! What the Lord said to Cain is still relevant for our condition today: "Sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you but you must master it" (Genesis 4:7). The patterns of antagonism, mistrust, suspicion and hatred go deep into the history of community relationships. The Cain-and-Abel syndrome is nurtured in the one-sided stories told in communities concerning their conflicts with other communities. It is for this reason I wish to commend Councillor McKenzie of the JLP and Paul Burke of the PNP for their joint work in transforming conflict and visioning peace in the bleeding city of Kingston. They are prepared to walk through their community's pained history together in the quest for healing and reconciliation because they have come to realise, like St. Anthony of Egypt, that "our life and our death is in our neighbour."
However, transforming conflict and building peace is generational in praxis. Any movement away from a deeply imbedded culture of violence will take generational time. One can expect in the short-term that the government will introduce new crime-fighting measures that will involve equipping the police to be more effective in preventing, detecting and solving crime. Such measures will require bipartisan support and involvement from civil society if they are to achieve some success. However, at the core the long-term approach necessitates us focusing on addressing those issues that contribute to dysfunctional values and attitudes. Attitudinal, behavioural and structural transformation is central to the change that is needed.
One such issue that we need to address is the materialistic magnet that is increasingly pulling our people to live life in the "fast lane." Our materialistic culture is bequeathing an insatiable appetite for economic advancement without the investment of any honest sweat equity. A young lady who lost her 30-year-old husband during a drug deal that involved a gunfight, claimed that they knew what they were doing. She claimed that their regular 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. job would never make them rich so they decided to live life in the fast lane. They were prepared to accept the high risk of early death as the price to become rich quickly. They represented one example of many of our brothers and sisters who have deliberately chosen to "get their piece of the economic pie" by any means possible.
GIVE YUHSELF A CHANCE TO STEP-UP INNA LIFE
As the official economy contracts and jobs become scarce, the survival instincts of people are driving them into avenues of investing in false hope. The gambling industry is a fast-growing contributor to the Jamaican economy. The different lottery companies dominate advertisement in the print and electronic media. The catch phrase used in one of the adverts sums up well their reading of the Jamaican desire for quick gain: "Give yuhself a chance to step inna life" and "Catch three and win." Our hybrid culture has bequeathed to us a high propensity towards reading signs in order to know about our future. This has unleashed a major movement among the populace seeking numerical meaning in every event in their lives. Nothing is ordinary in our homes anymore. The movement of a lizard crossing our path results in a hasty journey to the 'Pick 3' shop. Dreams are now strictly dedicated towards finding the right numbers such as '13 Julie mangoes.'
The gambling industry has finally found an excellent way to keep poor people poorer by giving them false hope. What is interesting is how other business houses are now using the lottery model to get people to buy their products. One of the latest strategies used by a telephone company - promise people that they could win a million dollars a day if they dial a certain number but the cost of the call is $20! I wonder how many persons invested in false hope. In the end who won? The telephone company of course! They should inform the public how much money was made from the $20-calls.
One can now expect that having severely weakened the resistance of the public towards gambling through the numerous lottery games, the next major assault will be an intense lobbying for casino gambling and horse-racing on Sundays. The investors will stop at nothing. As expected they will promise numerous jobs to the desperate public and tax-strapped government. The voice of the church will be dismissed, as irrelevant and more false hope will be embraced.
The end result will be more crime and violence because of the high social cost that will result in destroyed families, gambling addiction, devalued self and socially neglected children. Whatever economic gains are accrued from increased taxes from the gambling industry will be paid out in the health services seeking to patch up broken lives.
I am, etc.,
Rev. Dr. RODERICK R. HEWITT
Minister
Hope United Church
Kingston
hopeunited@cwjamaica.com
