Marguerite Narinesingh, a former principal of Priory Junior School, is passionate about Jamaica’s gifted and talented children. She speaks of them with an infectious and excited fervour. Working with children of exceptional ability, she believes, is her true calling in life. How did she come to realize this?

On October 11, 1865 several hundred black people led by Paul Bogle marched into Morant Bay. They confronted the white and brown militia protecting the St. Thomas vestry (the parish assembly) and fighting erupted. By nightfall the crowd had killed 18 people and wounded 31 others, while 7 members of the crowd died. Disturbances spread across the parish and martial law was declared. By the time it ended a month later, 29 whites and browns had been killed and nearly 500 people executed in retaliation.

Man is said to be logical. But our opinions often seem determined as much by emotion as by reason. We have all heard the rational pro and con arguments, yet most people’s views on capital punishment remain based on feelings and not facts.

Collie, illie, herb, weed, kaya, ganja - call it what you will, marijuana is virtually a part of Jamaica’s indigenous culture. Reggae songs continually extol the virtues of the weed of wisdom - “Legalize it, don’t criticize it. Got to have kaya now. Chalice in the palace.” A number of organizations are lobbying for its decriminalization. Many Jamaicans honestly feel that ganja is no worse than tobacco or rum and should be just as freely available.

Homer called beauty a glorious gift of nature; Socrates a short-lived tyranny; Theophrastus, a silent cheat; Theocritus, a delightful prejudice; Carneades, a solitary kingdom; Aristotle said it was better than all the letters of recommendation in the world.

Merlene Ottey’s determination and dignity have earned her universal affection and respect, and the news of her positive test for  nandrolone has stunned the entire nation. So far only her urine A sample has been analyzed. Until the B sample is tested, she remains innocent until proven guilty. Jamaica can only hope for the best as due process take its course.

Most news stories in Jamaica are ‘nine day wonders’ - an issue seizes the nation’s attention, is heatedly discussed for a week or so, and then is forgotten. But the Montego Bay street people incident refuses to go away.

Why are some countries rich and some poor? Geography is one reason. As Jared Diamond shows in his book ‘Guns, Germs and Steel’, climate and topography impact immensely on a region’s development.  Western Europe’s temperate climate, navigable rivers and plentiful harbours explain a good deal of its economic success. Around 93% of the population of the 30 highest-income countries lives in temperate and snow zones. Thirty nine of the 42 poorest countries are tropical or desert societies, and the other three are landlocked and isolated. But as Singapore, Hong Kong, The Bahamas, Barbados and Costa Rica prove, geography is not destiny.

In 1980 violence in Jamaica had reached civil war levels. A parliamentary candidate was killed, and the possibility of bullets and not ballots determining political power became a frightening reality. (True we had fewer murders in 1980 than 1997. But such violence was then unprecedented in our history. We have alas become insensitive.)

‘Things fall apart / The centre can not hold / Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world’. W.B. Yeats lines, some say, aptly describe Jamaica’s current situation. At times it is difficult not to agree. The nightly news is a regular litany of murders, riots, bankruptcies, and layoffs. Many of our increasingly illiterate young men seem interested only in drugs and crime. Our rate of deforestation is the highest in the world, our coral reefs are nearly dead, and our beaches may be next.