Blame the middle class

THE EDITOR, Sir:

One afternoon, recently, I was engaged in a conversation with a lady at a bus stop in Kingston. The topic of our discussion was based on an article on the front page of The Gleaner - 'Politicians are afraid to tell poor not to have children'.

The lady was curious and wanted to know why. I indicated to her that they, the politicians, are afraid of having the number of votes that they received reduced, especially in garrison-like constituencies.

I went on to elaborate to her, that in those communities, where poverty is the hallmark of the day, the politicians help to foster dependency syndrome among the people, so the more children they have and are unable to care for them is the more likely it will be that their situation will remain unchanged.

Such condition will guarantee that his/her seat in the Parliament is cemented because the people will not be able to break the umbilical cord of poverty that keeps them trekking behind the powers that be for the scarce benefit and the political spoil.

However, the lady made an interesting insinuation that had me thinking. She said that it is the middle class that is to blame; but what did she mean by that?

She went on to explain that the middle class sits on the sidelines and gripe about everything that is going wrong but fail to act. They do not participate in any public forum; they will not join in any lawful public protests, even when the conditions that warrant such is having a direct impact on their daily lives.

They refuse to participate in the electoral process by not getting numerated, ensuring that they do not cast their ballot at the poll.

This caused me to conclude that middle class of Jamaica is not but whimpering cowards who will run away from the battlefield instead of taking charge and lead to the front line - even when they are equipped to do so.

The middle class is the backbone of the society, and the sooner they wake up and realise it they will see the power that they hold in their hands.

DEVON SEWELL

sewell_devon@yahoo.com

Ensom City, Spanish Town