Orville Taylor | ‘Judging’ ourselves positively

Call it blind nationalism if you wish. However, it is not only in sprinting that we are ahead of our neighbours to the north, and believe me, they can learn another thing or two from us.

One of the advantages of being Jamaican is that despite our confidence like honey badgers, whereby we believe that being ‘talawah’, we are capable of punching way above our weight; we understand that we are still an incomplete project and therefore we do not have the delusion that we are there yet.

Close to 50,000 Jamaicans became citizens or permanent residents between Alaska and Florida, in the last two years, with the majority of those not being the cream of the ‘crap’. With its selective migration policy, Canada recognises that Jamaican home-grown talent is of such high quality, that they would wish to use it to improve their labour force.

A prime example of the impact of Jamaican migration in the 1970s and 1980s was on the demographics in South Florida by the time the 1990 census was carried out. Contrary to the popular narratives, Jamaicans ranked number one among all migrant groups, including Cubans, who had been facilitated by concessionary selective migration policies by various administrations. Jamaicans ranked only below white Americans in home ownership, years of education, occupational status and median income. In short, the ‘Jamaican miracle’, as monikered by the Miami Herald in 1996, was pretty much a recognition of what many of us already know.

Nevertheless, there is this misconception that because something comes from north of us, it is better.

ROBUST HISTORY

As inconvenient as the truth might be, Jamaica has a more robust history regarding democracy and governance than North Americans. In previous articles I have mentioned that this little island in the turquoise Caribbean Sea had universal adult suffrage since 1944; around 15 years earlier than Canada and 20 before the United States.

Thank God, for thwarting the assassination attempt at former president Donald Trump; and that Jamaica has no such history. In my short lifetime, three persons who have been elected as President of the United States have been shot. A tragic success with John F Kennedy in 1963, and serious wounding of Ronald Reagan in 1981, and now Trump just a week ago. Since the American Civil War in 1865, four American presidents were murdered for political cause; ‘assassinated’. Every single president since Kennedy has had assassination attempts on his life. Thankfully, none of these have succeeded. Importantly, many of these attempted murderers were homegrown Americans.

Jamaica’s blessing has been that in spite of our undeclared civil war from the 1970s to mid-1980s, the losing party in an election has always accepted it with their resistance being nothing more than sour grapes. Unlike Trinidad and Tobago and Grenada, we have only attempted to remove our elected officials by ballots, not bullets.

Thus, for all our bad mouthing, our democracy is doubtless, an exemplar.

And there is more! We selected, with strong multi-partisan support, our first female President of the Court of Appeal. For all of the paper advocacies about equality and gender rights, America has yet to elect a female head of the armed forces, or even one-third of the Supreme Court, or head of state. Jamaica elected a female prime minister, a feat which has yet to be accomplished in North America.

Thus, in the larger scheme of things, the elevation of Marva McDonald Bishop is really nothing enigmatic, except that she is the first. Nevertheless, it evidences an environment of equality, equity and inclusiveness, yet to be emulated.

CORRECT MISCONCEPTION

In my last conversation with her predecessor, the great Georgian Patrick Brooks, who has stepped down after a short but remarkable stint, I had to correct a misconception which seemed to have pervaded a few members of the judiciary regarding some criticism I have had. So let me once more take the opportunity to state that at no point was it ever my contention that our judiciary was, on the whole, venal or corrupt. Nevertheless, it is my assertion, without any apology whatsoever, that like every other institution created by man, it is imperfect and populated by imperfect people. Therefore, unlike my other colleagues on Radio Jamaica 94 FM who happen to be lawyers, and thus officers of the very court; I have freedom to criticise without sanction from a General Legal Council.

I stand by the research and report, conducted by colleagues in my profession, from Transparency International just under a decade ago, which reported that six per cent of Jamaicans say they have paid a bribe to a member of our judiciary. One would not expect to be so arrogant as to suggest perfection in a place where perfection is impossible. Fact is, as stated then, the numbers regarding the United States and the United Kingdom were 15 and 21 per cent, respectively.

Perhaps, it might be a consequence of my education as a senior academic; but at last checking 94 per cent – with the possible exception of the Jamaica Public Service Company – is a very high pass.

For the record, the last judgment by Brooks was an excellent one and thus ‘good law.’ Still, inasmuch as I am happy that Rastafarians can now wear dreadlocks in school, without fear of discrimination, based on their religion; it sits very uncomfortably with me, that individuals who may very well be opposed to Rastafarian ‘livity’ and philosophy, could appropriate a right, which many ‘Rastamans’ and ‘womans’ have been beaten and died for. However, that is another story.

With optimism, we will continue to lead the hemisphere in brilliant judgments and then the Caribbean Court of Justice as a final recourse.

By the way; do you know that the American motto E Pluribus Unum, means ‘Out of Many One?’ our ‘People’ make the difference.

Dr Orville Taylor is senior lecturer at the Department of Sociology at The University of the West Indies, a radio talk-show host, and author of ‘Broken Promises, Hearts and Pockets’. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and tayloronblackline@hotmail.com