In part 1 of this article, I introduced the second pillar on which strong societies are built — truth. It’s foundation for national stability and the ultimate prosperity we all seek. It is important that we do not fall into the trap of narrowly defining prosperity as money, or else we may miss its transforming and fulfilling power.
The Key to Real Prosperity
Real prosperity includes health, both physical and mental; emotional stability, relationship quality, economic and financial strength; it covers one’s total well-being.
Truth is one key to our personal and national prosperity; it is the catalyst for justice and the basis for trust. When truth, justice and trust are commonplace, an atmosphere of peace is the result. Peace provides the environment for the hard work that leads to real prosperity.
Since Independence: Opposing Philosophies
Truth has eluded us for decades. I believe it took a nosedive after the first decade of independence as our then leaders were drawn to opposing philosophies that each said would provide the answer to all Jamaica’s problems. Deception of the people (in the form of popular propaganda) was introduced to garner support at the ballot box; the rich were pitted against the poor and one faction against another and so the battle lines were drawn.
Openness and honesty went out the window, and lying and lust for power walked in the front door. Since in fact there was no quick fix to alleviate poverty and bring more equality to the nation, the political leadership abandoned the truth of our situation and what was possible. Those were replaced with fabricated promises of what they would achieve, once elected.
The Impact of Lies
The country has never recovered from this battle.The political leadership convinced itself that the propaganda was necessary to gain and maintain State power. This ignorant, self-serving thinking did not recognise that it would naturally give birth to every form of evil practice. With the leadership unable to deliver on promises, the people lost trust and were forced to fend for themselves. When trust goes the people find devious means to survive. The result is corruption, bandolooism and fears of all kinds.
A fearful people will do anything to survive and protect themselves. This gives rise to a society where self-interest rules the roost. The poor become more vulnerable and end up as easy prey to be used by a power hungry political culture. The bed is now made for tribalism and garrisonisation.
Lying in the Bed We Made
In this atmosphere of deception, the fear level of the rich also rises, so they move to garner more wealth and protect it with a growing security infrastructure, thus widening the gap between the haves and the have-nots. The poor realising that less and less is left for them, target the rich (and the government systems) with hard and soft criminal activities in an attempt to survive.
In this environment of heightened fear, corruption and bandoolooism, law enforcement is caught in the middle. Officers are then tempted to draw benefits from all sides in their own self-interest. Deception and corruption now infect the whole system; legal processes, public and private sector, a hostage civil society and a weak and fearful church all seem caught between cluelessness and inaction.
Everybody a watch one another, a look out fi demselves, while the society rots. There is no premium on truth in any area of society — not in the justice system, not in security, not in politics, not in governance, not in media (well, a glimmer of hope is there) not in business, not in health care, not in banking and finance, not in the populace and very sadly not even in the Church which ought to be the ‘ground and pillar of truth’. I am pointing it out not to tear down but for us to recognise that a lack of truth is a major contributor to our demise so we can reverse the trend and have real hope for the building of the new Jamaica.
Truth, the Answer
The absence of truth is bondage for the nation. We know the statement “no truth, no freedom”. The counsel of scripture serves well here, “you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free”. It is time to liberate this nation and set it on the path of prosperity, which cannot be realised except on a platform of TRUTH which restores TRUST and establishes JUSTICE. The prime minister must lead the way if he is committed to his campaign message of prosperity. He needs to build a team around him with serious commitment to the principle of truth as a standard and truth-telling as a practice.
What Must Change
In order to achieve this, the majority of the current political leaders need to go. Many of the current crop have given their best and have nothing new to give, while others are too steeped in the old tribal culture to bring about change. They lack fresh ideas with 21st century relevance. They need to gracefully pass the baton to able and well-thinking men and women with the right leadership profile and character.
Faithfulness to the party or long service cannot be the main attributes that qualify people for national leadership. The payment of political dues must not be the chief accomplishment. This system has not served us well and we must acknowledge the truth of this. We must be mature enough to have robust democratic processes inside of a party without causing the party to fracture.
The Civil Service Too
We must also face the truth that many bureaucrats in the public service are so steeped in old methods that they are crippling the advancements needed to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of Government. Often, their entrenched political alignment affects their ability to pursue new policy directions when administrations change. This often frustrates processes and could even be considered sabotage. Too often civil servants resist the political directorate because the system protects them. Public servants must be trained professionals who perform well, regardless of who forms the Government. We must ensure that public sector reform makes this possible.
Leaders must Lead
It is the responsibility of leaders to lead. Hence, I call on the top leadership in every sphere to lead the nation in recommitting to the principle of truth as a standard and truth-telling as a practice.
The prime minister and his Government must be new and different, leaving the old unsuccessful path and carving a fresh and bright future based on time-tested principles of justice, truth and other values that guarantee the success of nations.
The nation is in a season of natural change simply because most of our present leaders who have served for the last 40 years have attained retirement age. Change therefore is inevitable.
For leadership succession at all levels to be successful, the baton must be passed to the next generation, a bold example set by former PM Bruce Golding. However, as a matter of principle it is not merely a matter of passing the baton from old to new, but it should always be passed to suitable people with the right leadership profile and character.
With daring change must come the death of the old style that brought us to this negative condition and the birthing of a new order based on the principles of our founding fathers and the values they left to us.
Next week we’ll discuss some other critical areas where we must face the truth.
This article first appeared in the Jamaica Observer. Read it HERE.