Garth Rattray

Sometimes I wonder if our leaders and our people have the strength to fight for this country. This 'fight' doesn't involve violence; it involves the will to do whatever it takes for as long as it takes to get the right things done. The strength needed cannot be measured by our ability to lift heavy objects or how long we can endure; it's measured by our willingness to stand up for what's right. Our current state of affairs demands that, if we are to save our country from anarchy, we must exhibit an unprecedented level of will.

The current administration exhibited the will to commit to reducing the financial burden of our people when it initiated 'free' health and education programmes. Perhaps it was out of genuine concern for our suffering citizenry, or perhaps it was simply a politically strategic move geared towards wooing the 'masses'; but, whatever the reason, no one can deny that - flawed though they may be - these programmes are of invaluable assistance to many. However, what we urgently require are solid, long-term plans for ridding our underprivileged of the perennial need for financial assistance and stringent policing.

One of the root causes of criminality (in desperate need of attention) becomes blatantly evident when I drive past certain areas and observe young women idly traipsing around the streets.

Menace to society

Some proudly sport pregnant bellies when they should be working somewhere. I shudder to think what their children will become. When I see young men sitting on the walls or congregating at the street corners - I wonder when they'll become menaces to society.

And, there's the problem of endemic, intractable unruliness and indiscipline. Loud staccato sounds of street dances continue past the 2 a.m. limit. Drivers negotiate our public thoroughfares as if they were the only ones using them. Aggressive and crass behaviour vaporise my dream for an orderly society. When I hear of so many cruel murders, I begin to think that we are a lost people.

Our politicians seem to be applying cosmetic fixes to vexing problems and expending their resources and energies in the quest for power, while skillfully side-stepping the fundamental issues driving dependency and criminality.

Of course, we can constantly talk about the need for wholesome families, for education, for employment and pontificate about dons and gangs ad nauseam, but talking won't get the discipline back into society or keep our many idle youths out of trouble of one sort or the other.

Full-time volunteerism

Just recently, a concerned Jamaican living in Canada emailed me and resuscitated the (apparently abandoned) idea of legislating that our youth be gainfully employed, enrolled in and attend an educational institution, enlisted in the defence force or be occupied in full-time volunteerism. He called it 'compulsory engagement' and stated the need for a proper database to monitor and ensure compliance.

I've considered and heard of this suggestion several times before and watched it sink slowly into the abyss of deserted ideas. However, given the dire straits in which we now find ourselves, I believe that 'compulsory engagement' ought to be seriously debated. It would be a massive undertaking requiring the cooperation of government bodies, non-governmental organisations and the private sector for long-term sustainability.

We need to consider this and other options to get the idle hands off the streets and empower our disenfranchised. We are a resourceful and resilient people. In spite of our numbing runaway crime and murder figures, we must summon the national will to save our country.

Dr Garth A. Rattray is a medical doctor with a family practice; garthrattray@gmail.com; for feedback columns@gleanerjm.com.