Wendel Abel
Helpless, hopeless, hapless
Branded by our thoughts
Shackled to our past.
Victims of our thoughts.
WE HAVE been emancipated from slavery over 150 years, yet many of us in this country still find ourselves in mental slavery, shackled by our minds, our behaviour and our attitudes. Mental slavery is the most malignant form of slavery as very often it is not recognised by those who are so enslaved.
Our inability to prosper economically, our inability to govern ourselves appropriately, our inability to address the corruption in our society, the inability to achieve social harmony and peace are all due to this state of mental enslavement.
As we reflect on our emancipation as a people let us contemplate the steps we need to take individually and collectively in order to free our enslaved minds.
1. Take greater responsibility. The slave had little responsibility for his life. What he ate, what he wore and where he slept were decided for him. As a people we have to cultivate the mentality to take responsibility. We need to engage ourselves more in the task of building this nation. We need to participate more in the decision-making process of this country and we need to demand greater accountability of those who govern us. In a modern democracy as citizens we need to become more actively involved in the society. We must recognise that we have the power to change a lot of things around us and that we ought to exercise that power. That power may be exercised by becoming engaged in the political process, by becoming more involved in our citizens' associations, by participating more and supporting civil society and by making our voices heard.
OCCUPYING SPACE
2. Take ownership. The slave never felt that he owned anything. Many of us reside in this country, but we do not feel a part of the society. We merely occupy space and are not committed to this place. We have disenfranchised ourselves from the processes. We need to take ownership of our communities and the entire country. After all, it belongs to us.
3. Stop the self-destructive behaviour. Slavery was characterised by rebellions, protests, sabotage, burning of the canefields and other destructive behaviours, all designed to bring the plantation system to its knees.
INDEPENDENT SOCIETY
These self-destructive behaviours are dysfunctional in the modern, independent society that we now belong to. But the self-destructive tendencies still exist in many forms, the tendency to destructively criticise, tear down and bad mouth the country. The acts of vandalising our schools, blocking our roads and destroying our national institutions. The tear-down and mash-up mentality is characteristic of a person who is in enmity with his society.
4. Stop the catastrophic thinking. The slave thinks catastrophically as he contemplates the futility of his state. As a people we have to begin to think more positively. We must recognise that we have the capacity to change things and to become masters of our own destiny. It begins with each of us recognising that we can make a difference in that section of the plantation over which we have control, in our homes, in our communities and at our workplace.
5. Ask what we can do for our country? This is our country. Despite the challenges and the problems we face as a people we have to recognise that this Jamaica is ours and that we have to make that difference to make it a better place. If not us, then who?
6. Up you mighty race. Marcus Garvey has left us with that challenge to recognise that as a people we are stronger than we sometimes believe, that we are more talented than we sometimes think, and that individually and collectively we have the power to make a difference.
Let us as a people at this time recommit ourselves to our community, rededicate ourselves to our country, to re-engage ourselves in the task of building this nation.
Dr. Wendel Abel is a consultant psychiatrist and senior lecturer, University of the West Indies; email: yourhealth@gleanerjm.com.
