Our young Olympic heroes have been called upon to bear an exceeding weight of glory, to use biblical language.

Triple gold medallist at Beijing, Usain Bolt, may be the fastest man in the world at 9.69 for the 100 metres, and he can dance the Gully Creepa well, but, poor boy, he can hardly be expected to help us with dealing with the impact of the world's financial crisis now bearing down upon us.

Jamaica is hungry for heroes. And those who have distinguished themselves in any field are worthy of honour and being held up as examples. But nothing to excess. The hero worship of the Olympians, from the prime minister to the hordes of the unemployed that he had promised jobs and more jobs, is almost frightening. And as someone has pointed out in the press, the masses of Jamaicans who could line the streets in frenzied adoration of the athletes on a working day, not a public holiday, is a clear indication of the seriousness of the unemployment situation.

The murder of someone in the area in the middle of the Waterhouse celebration of area-girl Shelly-Ann Fraser's Olympic gold is an indication of the relentless seriousness of the crime problem.

Olympic fever may be a way of transcending our considerable difficulties, or a way of deflecting our chronic failure to deal with them, depending on one's viewpoint and purpose. What is abundantly clear is that the Bruce Golding government is playing its unmerited good fortune to excess.

International successes

We have had our most celebrated international successes in sports and entertainment, not due to any particular effort on the part of the Government. The best-known Jamaican ever is one Robert Nesta Marley who lifted himself with his group, the Wailers, on to the world stage by his boot straps with the help of kind private individuals. The next best-known Jamaican, from the domain of international political and social activism, Marcus Garvey, was literally an exile from his native Jamaica.

The Jamaican state could not prevent its hero son Bob from being shot in his own house in political violence.

After the high security of the parades, no athlete will be any safer than regular, at-risk Jamaicans in their house or on the streets. And celebrity status removed, they are not likely to fare any better on a weak job market, even with a university degree.

Neither sports nor entertainment provides sufficient ground for powering national development. After the tiring and tiresome over-done celebrations, the Government should hit the track running in pursuit of its own real core business: restoring law and order, dispensing justice quickly and fairly, building the economy, and providing high-quality services to citizens in areas that the State controls or dominates.

Preparation for peak athletic performance takes a great deal of discipline and hard work, a willingness to be managed and to postpone instant gratification. It was a pleasure discussing her rigorous and highly demanding training regime with Atlanta gold Olympian, Deon Hemmings, on a radio talk show. And we have heard the blood-sweat-and-tears stories of current Olympians.

These traits are not strong Jamaican traits. By and large we are a layabout, soon-come, want-a-bly people at home. The successes of the athletes as a tribute to disciplined effort building on talent is worthy of being held up for emulation. But these youngsters have neither the capacity nor the experience to bear the weight of the nation's unrealised hopes thrust upon them by both government and people. I remember years ago, Barbara Gloudon wondering aloud on radio if it was fair to Donald Quarrie and Merlene Ottey to have schools named after them in their youth with such a pressure of demand attached for being role models. Ottey has subsequently 'defected' to Slovenia, at least partly on the grounds of how poorly her own country has treated her.

National honour

Every Beijing medallist now has another medal: a national honour. Respectfully, no matter how brilliant a handful of performances might have been, what qualifies a 22-year-old for the Order of Distinction which others have earned only after a lifetime of dedicated, consistent effort, an honour which the young athlete has a lifetime to overturn and disgrace should he or she choose to deviate from the straight and narrow?

Diego Maradona, the Argentine football superstar, just to take one example, degenerated into alcoholism after he retired from the beautiful game. I can understand the award of a one-action honour like the Badge of Honour for Gallantry, but distributing life-achievement honours like candy - no disrespect - both cheapens the honour itself and places the young recipients under enormous pressure.

Other brave persons have commented on the sleazy side of the Olympians' reception: bikini-clad girls escorting male athletes, Nubian slaves pulling the carriages bearing female athletes/goddesses, and the commercial overkill by sponsors. Several of those athletes so honoured are praying Christians. Veronica Campbell-Brown, captured kneeling in prayer on the Bird's Nest track, is one of the spectacular Jamaican images of Beijing.

Every patty shop in Jamaica is behind our success at the Olympics, not to mention the big corporate sponsors who exacted their pound of flesh with in-your-face promos. I am personally ashamed that the Government of Jamaica could not find it possible to afford a decent homecoming welcome and moderate celebration of our Olympic victors without a crass public appeal for private-sector sponsorship and a surrender of so much prime space to business interests. But this again is another clear signal that the Government is far less successful in its sphere of business than the athletes are in theirs.

National greatness

And no amount of Olympic hoopla, riding on the backs of the Beijing stars, can conceal this. Watching the head of Government distinguishing himself in the recitation of sports statistics as the basis of our national greatness was quite a sight. In the spirit of the moment, he should have been flanked by two female DJs in batty-riders doing the Gully Creepa. Organisers should be fired, like Huntley Medley from the JIS, for missing such an important opportunity to link sports, entertainment and government.

Redemptively, both Government and the private sector, both of which just love sports, should more seriously back sports programmes in the school system, not just for talented stars but to allow every child to benefit as an invaluable part of a rounded education.

Martin Henry is a communications consultant. Feedback may be sent to medhen@gmail.com or columns@gleanerjm.com.