By Barbara Ellington, Senior Gleaner Writer 
Governor-General Sir Howard Cooke speaking at a luncheon in his honour, hosted by the Gleaner Company last Thursday. The function took place at the newspaper's North Street headquarters, downtown Kingston. - Norman Grindley/ Deputy Chief Photographer
ON THURSDAY, February 10, The Gleaner Company paid tribute to Governor-General Sir Howard Cooke for his outstanding support to its various initiatives over the years.
In an interview, the governor-general spoke of his special relationship with the newspaper, describing it as outstanding.
"I have always found Oliver Clarke, the managing director, to be a source of inspiration and I can always depend on him for a forthright answer. He is of great merit intellectually to the country and he understands the social upward mobility of people, so he is a valuable resource person to Jamaica," said Sir Howard.
On the matter of his relationship with Prime Minister P.J. Patterson, he said: "We share the same philosophy; we sat side by side in Cabinet. We don't always see eye to eye, but we respect each other. Naturally, I feel that the government should have been more aggressive in realising that we are our own people, with responsibility for our own destiny."
Of the former Opposition leader, Edward Seaga, he said he had always respected Mr. Seaga because he has done so many formidable things. Citing Tivoli Gardens, the governor-general said even in instances when Mr. Seaga had been critical of him, he had never responded. "I am an objective thinker, and when I take decisions, it's because I have thought them through objectively first."
With the leadership race in the governing People's National Party (PNP) causing some amount of controversy, The Gleaner asked Sir Howard to comment on the situation.
He said, "As a founding member of the PNP, I played an integral role in its development from group member to chairman. I went through the entire gamut and understood the philosophy; the country needs to do that because too much time is spent looking into the ballot box. We need to get back to nobler deeds."
LEAVING POLITICS
The governor-general said his switch from active politics presented him with great challenges. That first year in office was only the second time he would be missing party conference and he felt some longing for the past.
"It was not easy to be in King's House and know that annual conference was going on. I wanted to be there to hear it; my philosophy had not changed."
But noting that he is a life member of the PNP, Sir Howard said that he has never interfered with political matters, neither has he been asked. He said they have respected his position and when it was necessary to tell Mr. Patterson to look at something from another angle, he has done so. He had done the same with the former Opposition leader, Edward Seaga.
On the matter of crime, the governor-general said contrary to those who felt the reason for the high crime rate was poverty, he did not share that view. "When the country was much poorer it did not have so much crime," he said.
CRIME AND VIOLENCE
"If we had come together as one nation when the prime minister announced his values and attitudes campaign, we would have been able to do a lot. I believe we should embrace the idea of reconciliation and work towards this in communities, teaching people to use kind instead of harsh words," the governor-general said.
He said the authorities need to look carefully at wealth distribution and realise that what is available should be better distributed. He also stressed that schools in particular, need to return to spirituality. Teachers are not teaching the value of spiritual understanding, the governor-general said, emphasising that he was not speaking about 'churchianity'.
"I mean being conscious of what is good and helping others to be good using the, 'soft answer turneth away wrath' technique," he said.
He feels that with spirituality, academic work will be better where there is peace, the creative urge is better and you will use it productively, rather than for wasteful pursuits.
RETIREMENT
Responding to recent speculation about his pending retirement, Sir Howard said if he had his way he would have retired already, but he's conscious of his responsibility. "I hope the wheels will turn in such a way that I can retire because I have lots of things I would like to do. I am a church man; I want to go back to community development. So I have made it known that I am not young and perhaps the time has come when new blood should come and exercise a new mission."
FARMING
The governor-general who regards himself as a village boy, lists farming among his hobbies. He said being at King's House gives him a chance to be in his garden and take care of his cows and goats. He said he'd love to go back to the bushes and "roam the woods."
