Time for Outrage!

Playing politics with Jamaica's future

Javed Jaghai, Guest Columnist

This year, I turn 24. The only Jamaica I have ever known is mired in poverty, crime and held hostage by poor governance. Jamaican politicians may be terrible leaders, but they are masters of political strategy. They understand our culture very well. They know how to appease us, they know how to mistreat us (and get away with it), and they know that we privilege loyalty and character over intellect and efficacy.

Jamaica is a very small island with a correspondingly small population. The interconnected webs of social and familial ties breed familiarity, which, I believe, violates and degrades traditional means of guaranteeing accountability. We trust our elected representatives and we continue 'fi gi dem a bly', even though their record of accomplishment speaks volumes to their incompetency.

Our politicians almost never accept fault graciously and there is no limit to the errors they can make with impunity. I believe this is one of the reasons Jamaican politicians maintain such strong relations with the Church. The illusion of moral uprightness provides cover for their transgressions.

I sometimes get the feeling that our elected leaders think governing Jamaica is a game. The fact that we allow them to try their hand at fixing Jamaica every five years, despite evidence that they are incapable of doing so, affirms this notion.

But Jamaicans are not virtual characters. And no, you cannot simply start over each time you fail the same level because we are a people with high-level needs! At least, you shouldn't be able to. Ineffective leaders should never be rewarded with a second, third or fourth term in office. The fact that we continue to elect the same impotent bunch over and over illustrates that our political system cannot be relied upon to produce the most able leaders. It is broken.

I am decidedly non-partisan. My parents were indifferent to politics and so I was never fed even a moderate dose of orange or green Kool-Aid. In the United States, I would belong to the much-touted constituency of 'independents', but there's no such category in Jamaica because we don't vote on issues; we vote for personalities.

rotten at its core

If I should vote, I would be helping to sustain a system that I believe is rotten at its core and which does not serve the interests of the majority of Jamaican people.

The frustration I feel is collective, but my exasperation isn't being felt in Gordon House. I don't think our elected representatives understand the OUTRAGE I feel when I think about the reality that my country cannot learn to grow itself out of this abyss of mediocrity. Note carefully, this is not a JLP versus PNP issue; all of us must take responsibility for having allowed successive governments to operate on their own terms with no sense of accountability.

Supporters of the PNP today mostly fall into one of two categories: they are either mum on political matters to assuage their guilt; or they are cheerleaders for the PNP, forever urging the rest of us to rally behind every wishy-washy policy the Government proposes. You will often see them tweet or post on Facebook that they are "disappointed in Portia" - never outraged. They lament the performance of the party they voted for but console themselves with the convenient thought that things would probably be worse with JLP leadership.

Supporters of the JLP are equally hilarious. Of course, they always knew Portia and the 'PMP' would mash up the country. They're the most vocal critics of the PNP and almost always have a smug 'I told you so' tone. They lament that Jamaica is 'PNP country' and affirm that they simply must win the next election to put Jamaica back on track.

The Labourites are usually the first to expose and publicise the transgressions of the governing party, which should be a good thing, yet you get the sense that in doing so, they are trying to legitimise their leadership potential and increase their chances of winning the next general election. Their constructive feedback is usually preceded by bitter criticism that is not in the spirit of bipartisan collaboration.

I belong to a third group that doesn't vote in elections and has only a passing interest in the political affairs of the country. In the most recent general election, we were about half of the electorate. We literally have NO faith in what we see as a broken political system and culture 'weh tek people fi eediat'. We curiously observe the back and forth between JLP and PNP aficionados while furthering our disillusionment with politics.

accountable

Do you remember the people on the Titanic who knew the ship was sinking but also knew they probably wouldn't qualify for a seat on one of the lifeboats, so they cuddled under their bedsheets and waited to drown in the rising seawater? We are them.

Who among us, then, is holding the Government accountable? Where are the Jamaicans who are truly fed up and will march on Gordon House every day until our elected representatives and their minions remember that they are not our masters but our (public) servants?

There are a few prominent voices in civil society that consistently speak out against government excesses and ineptitude, but they do not pretend to speak for the population at large and we aren't rushing to join them in what is ostensibly a futile attempt to demand accountability and instigate change.

Every Jamaican should be outraged that despite having a stable democracy for the last three decades, our country is stagnating. The profligate excesses of our inefficient Government will continue if we do not act decisively. Civil disobedience is our only recourse - literally, nothing short of a revolution will do - but we are too cowardly for that. We are the slaves who grew accustomed to a life of servitude and who couldn't bother to challenge their assumed masters.

To those who will defensively tell me the Government can't do everything: stop finding excuses for the State. Yes, the private sector, civil society and citizenry have a part to play, but we must work in tandem with our elected representatives, not in spite of them.

To the members of the intelligentsia who support these corrupt, power-hungry political parties: you are holding Jamaica back. I understand you are the beneficiaries of government contracts, waivers and concessions. I understand that you are the ones who fill the numerous public-sector political positions. I get why you are so invested in preserving the status quo. But the way we do politics in Jamaica is untenable. Those of us who understand this truth must voice it persistently and loudly.

Half the voting-age population 'kyaahn bada. Wi done.' We have ZERO faith in the system. We are the people who have crawled our way out of the JLP-PNP whirlpool of oppression. The PNP and JLP diehards are too steeped in political dogma to instigate a paradigm shift, so it is we who will have to rise up and advocate for better leaders who understand their obligation to the citizenry.

I know my vision is an ambitious one given our apathy, self-interested natures, and doubts about whether we have what it takes to achieve meaningful change in Jamaica. However, I continue to protest because I refuse to render myself an acquiescent victim of oppression. I refuse to mute my voice and render myself powerless. The demise of Jamaica is not inevitable, but it is all but a foregone conclusion if we don't move our frustration from our verandahs and social-media pages to the streets.

Our past and present politicians must be held responsible for the state of Jamaica today. By the time the stalwarts who have served since my birth die, their obituaries will tell of how long they served and how dedicated they were to public service, but will say nothing of how poorly they governed.

Jamaica needs change. For change to happen, we need OUTRAGE, not disappointment, apathy or smug self-assurance. We need to wake up and realise that if we don't alter the course of this nation's history, our children, and their children, will inherit a nation that is far worse than the failing one we inherited.

Javed Jaghai, an openly gay Jamaican, is a Lombard Public Service fellow from Dartmouth College and an anti-oppression activist. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and sandevaj@gmail.com.