Errol Hewitt, Contributor'Therefore prepare your minds for action; be self controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you ...' (1 Peter 1:13)
THE PROTRACTED strangle-hold that crime and violence has on Jamaica is most distressing. The range of crime stretches from the proverbial white collar to kidnapping, murder, arson, extortion, rape, and, by now, there is a virtual army of the 'missing'.
The identified causes include drug deals gone sour, political 'tribalism', sexual triangles, corruption in government and blinding selfishness; as well as the burning desire to have power and to acquire wealth at all cost.
Plato suggested that all this is for one purpose: seeking recognition and public identity.
Earning a living morally and through hard, honest work is 'ordinary'; it is no longer important and no longer seems to be the accepted path upwards.
Instead, instant wealth and power and what it means, is for many, the be all and the end all.
Financial institutions recognise the popularity of this sentiment and now offer instant 'wealth' to its clients - not the accumulative process involved with increasing profits.
While all age groups are involved in the range of crime, those involving violence are mostly committed by young men below 30, a group that comprises not only a substantial portion of the population but also single parents, 'absentee' fathers, the bulk of the unemployed, and those without formal education.
It is evident that many of the young people who embrace crime and violence enjoy its 'accessories' such as in vogue clothing, parties, drugs, sex, and importantly, prestige in the community and among their peers.
It seems obvious that as depraved as their actions are, including the murder of innocent children and the elderly, it is a choice they have made whether consciously or unconsciously, and some believe, suggests some outworking of a cultural vestige.
What is being sought is a comprehensive understanding as to the reason for this unprecedented violence and depravity which is sabotaging the future of an entire nation, this 'except for what I want, nothing means anything or has any value to me' mindset.
In addition, there is the public licentious behaviour of young girls; live sex on stage as entertainment; older father or grandfather figures corrupting the morals of girls and boys younger than their own children, and young women under 30, of whom more than 40 per cent are unemployed and as such, exposed to the predators lurking wherever they suspect a prey to be found.
There's an abandonment of what's right and an eager embrace of personal gratification; as if there are no penalties, no 'price to pay'.
LIMITED OPPORTUNITIES
On the other hand, there is an increasing cadre of young tertiary-level graduates who are leaving Jamaica for a number of reasons, including limited opportunities and a sense of frustration that the existing culture of governance provides no reason to hope.
With limited opportunities, the system is largely closed and entry requires either an inside track and/or levels of subservience and hypocrisy which the young, looking through their more moral black and white prism cannot accommodate.
In government, the longest-serving Prime Minister defended the wasteful actions of his ministers, whether they were "young and exuberant" or more convinced that the ends justified the means, seemingly not taking into account the gravity of the nation's financial circumstances and the message conveyed to the country and the young.
A minister of finance suspends fiscal discipline crucial to the nation's interest in order to advance the cause of his political party. And there is the wanton waste of the Springfield project without even a public reprimand (or apology) thereby encouraging the minister responsible to continue 'photo-opting'. Every wasted dollar is from the pockets of the Jamaican people - their sacrifice ironically in the hope of better for all.
VALIDITY OF CHURCH
Bearing the above factors in mind, Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary explains 'education' as 'the act or process of imparting or acquiring general knowledge; developing the powers of reasoning and judgement and ... preparing for mature life.'
As such, those in charge of our education system seem to have forgotten what is most important and it no longer serves its intended role of equipping all Jamaican's for life, leaving a gap of major proportions nationally and contributing to the negatives referred to earlier.
Education is not only for 'the piece of paper', it is life long and life wide. Yet, as Martin Luther King Jr. said and as we have seen here, "The most dangerous criminal may be the man gifted with reason, but with no morals," and this underscores the worth of a valid church to the nation.
But the church in general has been deficient in its role in promoting the morality of the nation.
The pulpits seem increasingly populated by professionals rather than by professors (of the word) and the elders/deacons seem more selected for their position in society than their knowledge of and commitment to God's word, leaving a largely unbalanced society.
Change in the pews is in many instances just skin deep, literally more form than substance.
And the nation in seeking leadership out of this dangerous, seemingly hopeless situation, is instead confronted by a political culture focused on 'spin', forgetful of representational duties and perceived to be corrupt with men and women of selfish intent, partnered to a private sector in which elements seem, while 'talking the talk', to aid and abet these misdeeds.
It is consequently, difficult not to recognise that we are in a society dedicated to greed led in many areas by persons who worship avarice rather than being motivated by a commitment to civic responsibility and a moral sense, i.e. putting country right next to godliness.
There seems to be no compelling concern for the moral degeneracy all around us or see it as inescapably linked to crime and violence.
The ability to reason and to exercise moral judgment seems generally elusive and the inability to think beyond ourselves seems to be a root cause in our very negative circumstance.
There is, therefore, no real sense of history in our society; no sense of an individual and generational destiny; no general pride or desire to accomplish for country; no drive to succeed so that no one among us will be left behind.
Our society, like that of the ancient King Belshazzar, has been weighed and found wanting. Surely, the writing is already on the wall.
The church in general, which should be at the forefront of a moral 'revival' in the nation, is itself increasingly bound by its own lack of leadership and a growing pervasive culture of self-righteousness and complacency in place of an energy and drive for professing God's word to the nation.
Instead of prophetically pointing to the truth, the value and applicability of God's word to today's circumstance, many are, as with the socially-ambitious priests who opposed the prophet Jeremiah, diluting the word by pointing to its real advocates as 'fundamentalists' who take God's word too literally.
Here, then, is where the nation should demand of the church in general that it set its house in order, that it return to its first love; that it recognise its significant role in the moral life of the nation and being neither 'hot' nor 'cold' is wasteful to the interest of the citizens and the nation as a whole; that it return to be the 'salt' of the world; the beacon on the hill.
EDUCATION SOLUTION
With all that has been said, Jamaica's education system needs to be reoriented to enable each person passing through the system to be equipped to think independently, incisively, intently and importantly, to be able to think consistently beyond themselves and to do so effectively.
In this age of 'spin' where the truth is deliberately dressed not to be recognised; where the celebrated and 'educated' are often illogical in their pronouncements; where even our pulpits can become unmoored and adrift education must facilitate clarity, it must equip the citizen to sieve through the inexactitudes that are thrown from every angle, to weigh the evidence, to recognise the facts and see through the fiction.
It has to teach the citizen (including our West Indies cricketers) how to think effectively; how to concentrate and analyse; how to mediate and meditate. But intelligence and the ability to reason are incomplete without character, as the objective must be creditable.
As such, the comparative failure of these two education and the church are two of the major causative factors in Jamaica's present circumstance.
The church must return to its prophetic role, speaking forthrightly and fearlessly based on God's word and its ready applicability to today's society; it must also be about serious discipleship building among our citizens.
The implementation of the full width and depth of education, for this country with its history of slavery and colonialism - and with public knowledge of our roots sparse about the even earlier period - must also ensure a grasp of the accumulated history and knowledge of our people interwoven with their social experience.
Errol Hewitt is an information and communication technology planning consultant with the United Nations and the Commonwealth Secretariat.
