A few months ago, a gentleman we shall call Lancelot Murray (not his real name) telephoned me. He said he heard me on TV and looked up my number in the phone book. He described himself as someone who loved politics and followed it closely.

We had a long talk, and then I said, "Your views are very interesting. Why don't you write down all you are telling me and have me run it as a column?" He agreed. Things take time, and this week he sent it to me. So me get it, so me give it.

'There are lies, damned lies and statistics,' goes one argument. 'It's easy to lie with statistics, but it's easier to lie without them,' says another. At any rate, numbers only mean anything when put in perspective, especially economic numbers.

Jamaica having 2.5 per cent inflation from January to June of this year, and our economy growing by 1.5 per cent in the first two quarters, doesn't really ring bells. But Jamaica having both lower inflation and higher GDP growth than the United States for the first half of 2011 makes you sit up and pay attention. When has this happened before, if ever? (Sources: BOJ, USBEA)

When the black, green and gold went up on midnight August 5, 1962, this island was unknown and insignificant to most of the world, and even to those who lived here the word, 'Jamaica' evoked little emotion.

Forty-nine years on, we are famed planetwide for our vivid music and culture, and 'Jamaica' instantly induces a sense of spontaneous excitement and freedom of spirit.

Now world-influencing nations are usually old, big or rich.

THE BBC'S Country Profiles mostly start with a dry economic or political summary. One of the few exceptions is Jamaica, which begins "Known for its strong sense of self-identity, expressed through its music, food and rich cultural mix, Jamaica's influence extends far beyond its shores."

There are bigger and richer and more historical countries than Jamaica. But how many of us would have wanted to be born elsewhere?

Of the 10 contested general elections since Independence, the PNP has won six, outpolling the JLP by an average of 6.3 points. Which gives statistical support to the adage that 'Jamaica is PNP country'.

Dig a bit deeper and the equation shifts. Under Edward Seaga, the JLP lost five of six contested elections by an average margin of 8.9 points. The other four elections saw three JLP wins, with an overall PNP margin of 2.4 points - 'within the three per cent margin of error', as pollsters would say.

I recently had a talk with Marie Sparkes, director of Pure Potential LLC Jamaica, whose company has been strategically getting our Jamaican society at all levels to deal more seriously with the terrible problem of childhood sexual abuse and rape.

Things are never so bad that they can't get worse. It's a lesson West Indies cricket fans have learnt ad nauseam over the past 15 years. Since 1995 we have watched in disbelief as unimagined new depths are regularly plunged. First Test series defeat in more than 10 years. Series whitewash. All out for 47. Beaten by Bangaladesh. Not even fielding our best 11. What will the next low be? The loss of Test status?

From May 23-25, 2010, the Jamaican populace cowered as armed gangsters torched police stations and attacked large swathes of the capital, while the security forces struggled to regain control. There was a real fear of violence exploding across the island and the very foundations of the state seemed at risk. Who could have imagined then that murders would fall by roughly 40 per cent over the next year?

The famous Japanese story, 'In a Grove', presents seven varying accounts of a samurai's death. Each chapter both clarifies and obfuscates what the reader knows, creating a confused vision of events that brings into question the human capacity to perceive and transmit objective truth.

This probably sounds familiar to anyone who followed the Dudus-Manatt enquiry. Not only did witnesses often contradict each other, but media coverage was extremely inconsistent, often highlighting trivialities and ignoring crucial pieces of evidence. No wonder the majority of Jamaicans, who followed events mainly through radio and TV clips and newspaper reports, could not make heads or tails of what took place, and mostly dismissed it as 'a waste of time'.

Lots of countries suppress bad news and exaggerate good news so as to put on a 'happy face' to the world. Jamaica must be the only place on the planet where the media trumpet national misfortunes and hide positive deve-lopments. Our press constantly refers to 73 persons dying in last May's Tivoli Gardens incursion, but remains silent about the subsequent 37 per cent decline in murders, which has, in effect, 'saved' more than 540 lives.

How can anyone who truly loves this country not exult when they see numbers as these?