Values are what really matter
Published:Tuesday | March 26, 2013 | 12:00 AM
THE EDITOR, Sir:
I completely agree with Ian Boyne's repeatedly stated view (latest being 'Retreat must tackle values') of the importance of values and attitudes in the development of Jamaica.
Although I have not lived in Jamaica for the past 30 years, I have followed Boyne's Sunday Gleaner commentary almost slavishly and have learnt so much. I shared Boyne's 2008 Sunday Gleaner commentary on values with many of my friends from all over the world.
Having worked with offenders as a teacher, counsellor and correctional officer for more than 20 years, I have observed the importance of values in helping offenders confront their negative behaviours. It's the only approach that seems to work. As I said in my recently launched book, Understanding the Criminal, "Our belief is the chauffeur of our lives ... but it is our closest but not most reliable companion ... and can sometimes land us on the 'bridge to nowhere'."
In the book, I cited Professor Stanford Samenow: "Despite a multitude of differences in their background and crime patterns, criminals are alike in one way: how they think. A gun-toting, uneducated criminal and a crooked George Town business executive are extremely similar in their views of themselves and the world."
Continue to educate and inspire us. The theme of my book is to focus our rehabilitation efforts not only on the common criminal, but on mainstream society who might not be "offenders of the law but are lawful offenders" because of their lack of morality.
ADAM MCINTYRE