tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498961727602805543.post8385015214316694712..comments2024-02-18T04:34:40.897-04:00Comments on Living in Barbados: Jamaica, land we love.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498961727602805543.post-63763659171985914422008-08-12T18:33:00.000-04:002008-08-12T18:33:00.000-04:00Whether Jamaica's "garrison" process of securing p...Whether Jamaica's "garrison" process of securing political favours is worse or better than say gerrymandering electoral districts (UK, US), or blatantly buying votes (almost universal in some degree), or threating to kill people who vote for the opposition (eg, Zimbabwe), or downright distortion of voting processes (modern Russia, Belarus, etc.), or some other manisfestations of a "spoils system", I cannot say. I'm not naive enough to think of politics as a clean and fair process. I'm also interested in the way that countries that experience certain kinds of evident political travesties deal with them: US presidential election victory of Bush Jr. over Gore did not lead to riots or revolution; Kenyan presidential electoral results followed to deaths of thousands; etc. Popular acceptance of such outcomes is something that I want to explore more in my own time. Jamaica's political machinations have been associated with other socio-economic phenomena and are not, to me, the clear cause in and of themselves of the country's malaise.<BR/><BR/>As regards anthems, I guess that every country wants to inspire its citizens when they get a chance to hail the country. The logic outcome of competitions to choose anthems or the inflicting of anthems on a country without any choice is hardly likely to give results that have sentiments such as "Long may we mire is suffering. Pray that our thieving leaders prosper."! Whether political leaders and others want to hold to the tenets of the anthems will change over time and may even never have been a likelihood from the outset but the two aspects are not in anyway connected. A lot of politics involves the perpetration of hypocracy, but that should not detract from a population feeling inspired by the words of its national hymns.Dennis Joneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07500715553200132089noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498961727602805543.post-73697207667995517152008-08-12T10:42:00.000-04:002008-08-12T10:42:00.000-04:00Those words are very pretty indeed. Terrific poet...Those words are very pretty indeed. Terrific poetry and, for those who know the music of the anthem, truly stirring and inspiring. For a Jamaican, the anthem also pushes all the right buttons.<BR/><BR/>I agree with Esteban's comment, of course. The pretty words have not translated to reality.<BR/><BR/>Or maybe the pretty words, like the comforting motto, have helped to perpetuate a millinarian dream which has been used as a smokescreen to hide the machinations described by Esteban.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12168034941279513740noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498961727602805543.post-76929845807529226782008-08-06T20:04:00.000-04:002008-08-06T20:04:00.000-04:00Interesting spiel on Jamaica, Land We Love.Notwith...Interesting spiel on Jamaica, Land We Love.Notwithstanding, it seems as if you have calculatedly and systematically decided not to discuss, or, address one of the most ugly,monstrous,revolting,and repulsive aspect or feature of Jamaican politics,i.e., the garrisonization,tribalization,and Balkanization of the society especially the urban spaces,by the orange and green parties,and the concomitant problems associated with such a political sociology and political/economic construct.Quite frankly, any discourse on Jamaica, post decolonization must categorically incorporate this monumental and colossal failure of the political system,which in essence, is the cancer metastasizing and eating away at the body politic of the society.Hopefully, it will not take us forty six years to dismantle and de-garrisonize the society.Nuff Respect!!ESTEBAN AGOSTO REIDAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498961727602805543.post-74470624485032763892008-08-06T16:19:00.000-04:002008-08-06T16:19:00.000-04:00Thank you for taking the time to write this piece....Thank you for taking the time to write this piece. I really enjoyed reading it. The positives of Jamaica out-number the negativesthe real mccoy- dj CJhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08100050741488542806noreply@blogger.com