Growing up, my brother and I were taught not to speak about politics in public spaces. I understand why. Back in the day, if we said anything in favour of the change in colour of the weather (shower / power), our lives would have been in danger. Lives were lost by taking a strong political stance. Jamaica’s political history has been filled with that.
In the period of the 2020 General Elections, however, it seemed as we have moved past that. Persons on different sides of the political divide could speak about the issues at hand and still be civil towards one another. This became refreshing for many Jamaicans. It was a breath of fresh air to know you would not be crucified for your beliefs.
Well, for the most part…
While there was no evidence of bloodletting in this year’s process, I can imagine that many have been broken by the words of others. It is most interesting to note how many will attack the characters of others based on their political preferences. We do not seek to find out an individual’s thought process and point out the inconsistency in their views. Instead, we have the audacity to label them with unpleasant descriptive words of our choosing. A case in point, an acquaintance of mine once posted that all persons following a particular party are stupid and unintelligent. I was taken aback by those kinds of views. What fabricated evidence was there to prove that all who aligned themselves with a particular colour are dunces? In my humble opinion, that kind of logic is folly.
Unfortunately, the political landscape is filled with arrogant citizens who believe that they are better than anyone who does not share the same political views as they do. Who gave them that kind of authority? This haughty thinking will be the downfall of many. We exist in a democracy. People will have varying views based on varying philosophies. Differences of opinion will exist. We cannot escape that. It is never our place to hurl insults at people who we will never have a mind meld with. It is never right. To add insult to injury, there is a generation of impressionable youth coming after us who are copying the very idiotic behaviour that we indulge in. We want people to listen to our views openly and without judgement. Why can’t we be that change that we want to see in this country?
What we fail to realize is that no matter what party is elected to serve, we will still be one Jamaica. We will all be paying taxes, driving on the same roads, visiting the same hospitals and more. Tearing each other down because of an allegiance to a party colour will never fix what is wrong with this country. In fact, it exposes what is wrong with us. We are broken people with broken perspectives who need redemption.
Nation building is not a party effort. Neither is it about the party who forms the next government. It is about us “playing our part in advancing the welfare of the whole human race”. Or have we forgotten? While successive governments can put policies in place for our affairs to run smoothly, we have to actively play our part wherever we are. It starts by loving our neighbours as ourselves. I firmly believe we can be better as a nation. We can achieve what is deemed as impossible. However, to be better, we must do better. We must rally around each other, for we are one.
Photo by Omari J. Harris (IG: @omarijharris)