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.

Why did Alexander Bustamante break with the Norman Manley led People’s National Party in 1942 and form the Jamaica Labour Party? Some say Manley and Bustamante were ‘two bulls in a pen where only one could rule’. There is probably something to this. Politicians are by definition egotists. A man must think well of himself to ask others to vote for him. All election campaigns boil down to ‘I am the best man for the job.’

Blame it on our wonderful weather and seductive scenery, but Jamaica has never had a strong work ethic. Our ‘miracle economy’ GDP growth between 1952 and 1972 was fuelled by bauxite and tourism. Our governments since then have simply borrowed and spent, with the electorate’s full approval. While we have produced a few world class businesses, many enterprises here have thrived not because they were run efficiently, but because they were well connected and protected from foreign competition.

Murder, bankruptcy, unemployment, debt, illiteracy  - the news in Jamaica is increasingly depressing. Some say this unending litany of gloom is creating a feeling of hopelessness, and the media should concentrate on the positive - talk about what’s right with the country and not what’s wrong. But journalists are only telling it like it is, and shooting the messenger never solved anything. Indeed perhaps the most heartening aspect of Jamaican life is the fact that the media is able to and willing to tell us all what we are doing wrong.