By the end of the first decade of Independence, the Jamaican economy had growth rates of six per cent. Also, by the end of the first decade of Independence, as a popular song of the time stated ?everything crash?. We are currently grappling to get economic growth up to three per cent while we watch elements of the social aspect of our society reflected by our music, descend into degradation ? particularly heard in the lyrics to do with women. Unfortunately, this is often with the collusion of the women themselves. This behaviour is typical of subordinate group behaviour.

A State of Denial

Towards the end of the 1970s, it was Ernie Smith?s Jah Kingdom Goes to Waste that captured the imagination. Unfortunately, this song is as relevant now as it was then.

Forty-five years after attaining Independence, Jamaica continues to face enormous challenges at the economic, political, social and psychological levels. While we were in denial, so many things have happened. The very moral fibre of our society, stitched together through years of struggle and often triumph, is being ripped asunder and we are left wondering how much lower many elements in our society are likely to go.

To deal with just one of the N.W. Manley's non-negotiables ? we still need to deal with the question of
egalitarianism and come to terms with issues of social class, gender and race.

We find it uncomfortable to deal with these issues. Yet it is those issues that we find most uncomfortable that we need to take from their obscurity under the table and place squarely on the table. We seem to be caught up in a ?Sargasso Sea? type of trap, reminiscent of the type of seaweed in this area of the North Atlantic Ocean, so named because the seaweed lazily floats over its entire expanse called sargassum. For centuries, the Sargasso Sea was dreaded by seafarers because of its deadly calms. Stories of lost ships and missing aircraft abound in this dreaded area whose beguiling calms are surrounded by some of the strongest currents in the world.

Students of West Indian literature are familiar with the novel ? The Wide Sargasso Sea by the creole writer, Jean Rhys. This 1966 post-colonial novel acts as a sequel to Charlotte Bronte?s famous 1847 novel Jane Eyre. Two of its major themes are to do with female creole identities and family and racial relationships in post-slavery plantation society. These issues to do with identity, family and race relationships still have vital relevance to us here in Jamaica.

It is important to know and understand our history, particularly for societies like ours that suffer from what some of our writers refer to as ?historical amnesia?. This is so because of a colonial past and slavery which is still, to a great extent, embedded and shrouded in shame.

Too many Jamaicans still feel alienated and marginalised by our society. The inequalities are still too great to allow for social cohesion. As long as we have this large group who feel subordinated to the privileged few, we will continue to experience the defiance of the subordinated group against the rule of law and authority which leads to the kind of murder and mayhem we are currently experiencing. It is one thing to pull oneself up by the bootstraps. But what happens when one has no boots? This is where the State must come in and provide even minimal tools to enable people to take responsibility for their lives and to have a sense of worth and empowerment ? a sense of belonging to our country which all our citizens should feel entitled to ? as a sacred birthright.