For the last couple of weeks I have been attending to some very important matters which were placed on the backburner before and after Election 2007. But the main reason for not putting pen to paper is quite frankly I have been turned-off by the intolerable level of dishonesty in media both print and electronic. There is hardly a journalist, commentator, contributor, columnist, talk show host, letter writer or caller that values TRUTH for truth’s sake.
It appears to me that everyone has a hidden agenda and it is not to seek out or eek out the truth in the story; whether this story relates to a real or imagined scandal, corruption in the JCF, potential conflicts of interest- Don Wehby/John Lynch, Casino Gambling, Sexual predators inside and outside the Church, Police Brutality, Crime, violence and Garrison politics etc. Most commentators, writers, talk show host etc. are spin-doctors for their preferred political party or sector interest and the truth becomes a victim and /or collateral damage in their reporting or commentary on events.
As I said previously, most people who enter the arena of public discourse whether via the newspaper or over the airwaves invariably have a hidden agenda: if the discussion is about politics s/he will try to put the most impressive shine on his or her political party, if the debate is about corruption in the JCF- most Cops who call talk shows will defend the Force and I heard one recently saying that less than 1% of the Force is corrupt! What an amount of mischief 80 or 90 police officers are causing! And if the estimate is true, why is it taking us so long to rid the JCF of the handful of rogue cops? If the debate is about the introduction of casino gambling, the players and influential business people rubbish the church for opposing its introduction while at the same time giving the impression that nothing immoral is associated with gambling in general and casino gambling in particular. It is almost as if they’re saying that casino gambling is a paragon of virtue!
Why are we so incapable or unwilling to point out the economic benefits of for example casino gambling while at the same time also highlighting the potential for further erosion of our social and moral values? Are we not concerned about the negative impact on the children and the vulnerable? We need to stop sending these mixed messages. It is no wonder why so many have lost faith in Society and have subsequently run afoul of the law. It is time our leaders think of the potential negative or positive impact their decisions will have on the present and future generations and be guided by this fact instead of jumping/dancing to the beat of sector interest.
Our commitment should be first and foremost to Jamaica land we love. Not JLP or PNP or sector interest. We have allowed ourselves to become partisan imbeciles! Many of us have sold our birthright for a bowl of porridge! And like Esau, once sold we can never get it back again!I look forward to the day, with bated breath and great expectation, in Jamaica when we stop sacrificing truth on the altar of partiality. I look forward to the day when people of influence will speak the truth even to their own hurt. I look forward to the day when the electronic and print media “will present the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help me God”.
Until then, speak, seek and eek out the truth in your sphere of influence and you would have done your service to your fellow citizens.
