ONCE AGAIN the calendar changes and we face a new year with all its uncertainties. It has become the custom to speak of our way of life in terms of 'crisis', forgetting the definition fashioned by the Chinese, it is said, who define the word as both 'opportunity' and 'challenge'. How we manage 'crisis' in all its manifestations will define the months which lie ahead.
We have just bid farewell to a year which had more than its share of opportunity and challenge. Despite various initiatives, the spectre of violent crime continues to cast its dark shadow over us. Two days before last year faded into obscurity, the toll of murders stood at more than 1,650, according 2005 the dubious honour of recording the highest number of deaths by violence in our nation's history. The consequences for the psyche of our people and the damage to our name abroad cannot be underestimated.
We are being judged, by ourselves and others, not by the positive achievements which we have made, but by the image of a nation under siege by a criminal element. It is testament to the indomitable spirit of the Jamaican people that we can still proceed with our daily lives, despite the presence of a monster which seems to be out of control, creating a pervasive mood of despair.
It cannot be said too often that the community and the authorities must come to a common consensus in the fight against crime. The Government, for its part, must redouble its efforts on all fronts to bring to the community, the stability and confidence which result when people feel safe to go about their business and find fulfilment in their daily tasks. The people, for their part, must be prepared to cooperate and make no peace with the evils of guns, drugs, corruption, lawlessness and indiscipline.
There are other concerns which will occupy our collective attention as the year unfolds. Of pressing urgency is the People's National Party's leadership race which is going on far too long. In the eyes of many, it is a sideshow which cannot come to an end too soon. While it drags on, it serves as unneeded distraction, doing little to advance the plot, for national progress.
There is much more to be done. The need to tackle unemployment, deficiencies in education, the urgency to create a clean, healthy environment in our communities, the need for care of our nation's children, who, like many of our aged, are victims of neglect and/or abuse, all these and more must be on the agenda for progress over the next 12 months.
Success or failure will determine the mood of our people as we face the challenges. As we are impacted by change, from within and without, we must be conscious that the progress we seek will come only through cooperation and the acceptance that each of us has the ability to determine the outcome of the nation's quest for "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" and to bring real meaning to the greeting 'Happy New Year.'
THE OPINIONS ON THIS PAGE, EXCEPT FOR THE ABOVE, DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE VIEWS OF THE GLEANER.
