Whatever problems this nation may be facing, we have never been better informed about happenings across the country and the doings of our leaders. For the Jamaican press is more varied and vigorously outspoken than ever before. Especially heartening is the proliferation of community newspapers, radio stations and even cable television channels which report on grassroots news that never reaches the national press. And the healthy competition in all sectors is producing an increasingly more professional media.

“Kung Hee Fatt Chow” say the Chinese on February 5 - “Happy New Year”. Which is a good time to note how well the Chinese in Jamaica have integrated. Nothing gives a better indication of this than their influence on reggae. No other ethnic minority has played a greater role in the development of Jamaican music. Indeed, with the possible exception of American Jews and rhythm and blues, the role of Chinese Jamaicans in reggae has few parallels anywhere. The first real sound system, the first live ska band, the first Jamaican produced international reggae hit, the first reggae station, and the first locally written history of reggae were all the products of Jamaicans of Chinese descent. As some wag half joked “We can’t sing, so we had to contribute to the music in other ways!”

Before man could paint, write, or make music, he could speak. Thus poetry is the oldest art, and the most enduring. In Nathaniel Hawthorne words "It is not the statesman, the warrior, or the monarch that survives, but the despised poet, whom they may have fed with their crumbs, and to whom they owe that they are now or have – name." “I have built a monument more lasting than bronze or stone” boasted Horace, and time proved him right.

In 1999 BBC website readers voted for the millennium’s greatest figures. They picked Gutenberg as inventor, Shakespeare as writer, Leonardo Da Vinci as artist, Paul McCartney as Composer, Mahatma Gandhi as world leader and Karl Marx as thinker. The ten greatest men were Mahatma Gandhi, Leonardo Da Vinci, Nelson Mandela, Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein, Martin Luther King, Jesus Christ, Winston Churchill, Charles Darwin, Karl Marx.

In our era of cultural relativism few unqualified statements can be made about politics. But Winston Churchill’s assertion that “Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others” brooks no argument.

“Religion belongs to the infancy of human reason which we are now outgrowing” said Bertrand Russell. John Lennon put this sentiment to song - “Imagine there’s no heaven... And no religion too… Imagine all the people living for today”.

The Auditor General’s report on public sector pay, the death of jockey Al Gopie, and national footballer Ricardo Fuller’s kicking of an opponent might seem to have little in common. But the official reactions to these events all reveal an unwillingness to take decisive action which might be unpopular, and a refusal to take responsibility when things go wrong. Such traits are as old as man – victory has a hundred fathers while defeat is an orphan goes the ancient proverb. But in Jamaica the refusal of those in authority to say ‘It was my fault’ or ‘I was wrong’ has reached almost pathological levels. Our so called leaders have completely forgotten the concept of doing what duty demands even when it may have unpleasant results - they greedily covet privileges, but flee all obligations. With such shameless examples from the top, is it any wonder that the common man in Jamaica often seems so unwilling to accept responsibility for the consequences of his actions?

‘Cool, cool Mandeville’ has long been regarded as the neatest and most

attractive town in Jamaica. Travel books and tourist brochures still refer

to its green parks and British-like order and charm. But anyone driving

through its town centre nowadays during rush hour sees merely a chaotic

traffic jam of impatient drivers and careless pedestrians with street

vendors spilling into the streets. The bus park is a loud unsightly mess as

aggressive ‘ductors try to push every passing person into their bus, while

idle loiterers molest passing females with impunity. The market was once famous throughout Jamaica for its cheerfully bucolic atmosphere. According to Barbara Gloudon, a visit to the Mandeville market was like an enjoyable Sunday outing. But it is now slovenly, unpleasant and a known haven for all sorts of illegal activities.

It is impossible to disagree with the idea of civil action in theory. Such groups are at least making an effort to better the country. Surely, as the old but true cliché goes, it is better to light one candle than curse the dark. Unfortunately many Jamaicans view any talk of ‘citizens action’ with jaundiced cynicism. And who can blame them? Jamaican citizens groups over the years have been long on talk and very short on results.

The latest Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index ranks Jamaica 50^th out of 99 countries, and even sanguine observers must find it worrying that we are seen abroad as more dishonest than notoriously corrupt nations like Brazil and Zimbabwe. It is cold comfort that we are tied with South Korea and above Argentina. Relatively strong economies may be able to support the costs of corruption, but unchecked it can virtually ruin weak ones – look at Indonesia and Nigeria.