My worthy opponent has experience on his side, is armed with statistics and history is his friend. Intellectual reasoning never betrays him, defending all his arguments so easily. My opponent's name is pessimism, and recently he said there is no hope for Jamaica.

I could join his side, it would be easier. Our existing crime, economy, corruption and social disorder is about to fall prey to global conditions, such as food shortages, high inflation and a recession; a recipe for disaster. Yet, one thing I am certain of, if we do not believe we can do better, we never will.

We often are inclined to base our hope around the fact that we simply love our country, the magic of the mountain mist, the great smell of curry goat, and the rhythm that flows through our veins. We don't want to live anywhere else, "this is best place on earth!" For the moments after we utter these words we feel better, but words are no match for dying children.

Statistics, history and reasoning

So I called upon the tools of my enemy, statistics, history and reasoning to defend my moot point, there is hope for Jamaica. South Africa, the previous title holder for murder capital of the world, has been able to stabilise and reduce the murder and crime rate in the last seven years, having employed some of the tactics we already have in place. Our Kingfish may have been inspired by their Scorpion Force. They, too, enlisted the help of foreign forces, such as the FBI. But what is even more encouraging is that there is more we have not done, the complete confiscation of all assets gained by illegal means. Goods could then be auctioned and the state reaps the benefit of their work. This may seem harsh but desperate times call for desperate measures. Police are also more present in the streets, more consistently visible, and building relationships with their community.

Conflict resolution is not just promoted in schools, it is something that is taught in a real tangible way. From early childhood children are given the skills and methods to listen to, communicate and resolve their issues. A Jamaican living in South Africa described that at her children's school there are two chairs in each class set aside. When there is a conflict, one child sits in the listening chair while the other sits in the talking one; after a short while they change seats, then they are guided to find a solution. Jamaicans would go a long way with these skills.

Yet, what is also instructive about South Africa, which still has a serious crime issue, is the similarities: a poorly paid, easily corruptible police force, a breakdown in social values and general acceptance of the crime problem. As reported in South Africa recently, "Society itself has to rise up against criminals" for a real solution to occur.

We need not starve

Jamaica is well positioned for many of the global challenges ahead; we need not starve, with our perfect agricultural conditions. We need not be fully dependent on oil when we have an abundance of sunlight, wind, sugar cane (ethanol), and even water for alternative energy sources. Our small island should be easily patrolled and our borders/ports could also be policed effectively once we had the will. Our social values seemed all but gone, yet we also see repeated examples of honour, respect and hard work, and they should never be discounted.

What reasoning predominantly says is that it is our will that determines our security as a nation, or lack thereof, and while there are the few who profit from our failings, if we decided we really wanted a change, history, statistics, reason and intellect say we can.

Tara Clivio is a freelance writer; feedback to column@gleanerjm.com.