“The ‘good old times’ - all times when old are good –

 Are gone”. Lord Byron

Whenever there is an upsurge of violence in Jamaica there is always much talk about the “good old days” when people could walk in safety wherever they wished at any hour of the night and everyone slept with doors unlocked. Nor is this all nostalgic fantasy. In 1955 there were less than 25 murders committed in Jamaica and our homicide rate was 1.2 per 100,000. In 2000 we had 887 murders and our homicide rate was 34.4 per 100,000, an almost 30 fold increase. It is doubtful that any country not at war has seen such a comparable explosion of violence.

“All my life I have sacrificed everything – comfort, self-interest, happiness – to my destiny.”

Napoleon wrote this in 1807 at the height of his glory when he dispensed laws to half of Europe. And if the most famous political figure in history at his zenith could speak of his career in such melancholy tones, what must be the thoughts of lesser mortals who devote their entire lives to politics and never achieve any real acclaim?

There are peoples who like keep their own counsel and are reluctant to express their thoughts to others. Jamaicans are not among these. Any opinion we have is worth sharing, and at the top of our voices. Of course verbal remarks that prove wrongheaded are easily denied or forgotten. Printed mistakes are permanent black and white embarrassments.

Whatever else it may be Jamaica is seldom boring. In few places is human nature’s eternal battle between reason and instinct thrown so regularly into stark focus. We may be one of the world’s most stable liberal democracies, but our behaviour regularly echoes the most ancient law of existence – might is right.

Maybe it has something to with the way financial institutions are run in this country, but Jamaican bankers seem rather fond of the ‘benevolent dictatorship’ concept. A few years ago it was then CIBC head Al Webb making the call. Now it is BNS boss William Clarke suggesting it as a possible solution to Jamaica’s problems.

On April 12^th I received via fax a copy of a letter to the Jamaica Observer from Patrick Hylton, the managing director of FINSAC LTD. It stated that I “published certain libelous statements regarding this organization” in my article of April 9, 2001 entitled ‘Jamaica Needs the NDM’.

In my May 22 2000 column I wrote about my phone conversation with Romeo Effs about his work with Food For The Poor. Romeo spoke passionately about the personal satisfaction he got from helping the less fortunate and the inspiration FTTP founder Ferdinand Mahfood had been to him.

It did it again. Every time I decide to give up completely on West Indies cricket another thrilling drama drags me back into the camp. In 1999 it was the magnificence of Brian Lara at Sabina Park and Kensington Oval. Last year it was the thrilling one wicket win over Pakistan (though the umpires really gave that match to the Windies). And Saturday it was Ridley Jacob’s last ball heroics at Sabina Park.

When I came back to live in Jamaica in 1989 after being away at school for over a decade I used to wonder how a land so God blessed with natural resources could be so poor. Having lived and done business here for twelve years I now wonder how a country so lackadaisical and careless has not sunk under the sea.

Anyone grateful for the benefits liberal democracy has conferred on this country – due process, a free press, and the opportunity to choose our leaders – has a moral responsibility to vote. Those who don’t vote obviously don’t care who governs them and have no right to complain about anything the government does.