A hunger for heroes
Published:Sunday | September 27, 2015 | 12:00 AM
THE EDITOR, Sir:
As we approach National Heritage Month in Jamaica and we see some of the happenings in the world, we realise how hungry humanity is for heroes. The visit of the Pope to Cuba and the USA reminds us that as human beings we need to be able to be inspired to rise above ourselves and live for greater things.
We have to be concerned for the plight of the refugees, asylum seekers and migrants. We have some of our own in this Caribbean region and from this very country. It is not only happening in the Mediterranean Sea or in Europe.
Many of us struggle to meet our bills in the tight fiscal space in Jamaica and some seek heroes to help them meet their obligations. Heroes, of course, come in many shapes and sizes, including parents and those who contribute to the back-to-school expenses; and there are those who embrace those who claim to rob the rich to help the poor.
Criminal heroes
Criminals are heroes in some of those places where there is a sense of hopelessness and helplessness. Some of the information provided at the West Kingston enquiry shows what happens when the State fails and the criminals and their political backers step in.
When we enter the world of fantasy through the television and movies we meet heroes. When they fall like Bill Cosby, who has now been stripped of his honorary doctorates, there is shock and revulsion.
Dr Huxtable turns out to have been a character who was to represent another view of black life in America. He was that - with an undercurrent of destruction of the lives and reputations of many young women over the years. He and his family must be suffering, but he has failed to acknowledge the wrong that he has done and he must atone.
Hilary Hickling
UWI, Mona