I cannot deny my love for history. It provides a background and understanding of many things that happened in our world, which still affect us today. Therefore, I usually read This Day in History in the Observer, which deals with international events that happened on a particular day. I also read This Day in Our Past published by The Gleaner, which deals with events that took place in Jamaica.

I randomly chose Saturday, January 30 just to see how events on that day perhaps impacted the lives of billions of people around the world. There was no particular significance attached to my selection of this date, but 13 international events and four local events jumped out at me. The international events are:

1) 1648 – A peace treaty is signed between Spain and the Netherlands.

2) 1649 – King Charles the First of England is beheaded.

3) 1781 – Maryland is the last of the 13 original colonies to adopt the articles of the US Confederation.

4) 1835 – Richard Lawrence tries to assassinate US President Andrew Jackson.

5) 1902 – Britain signs a treaty with Japan, providing for the independence of China and Korea.

6) 1933 – Adolf Hitler is named Chancellor of Germany.

7) 1948 – Mahatma Gandhi is assassinated.

8) 1957 – UN calls on South Africa to reconsider Apartheid policy.

9) 1979 – White Rhodesians approve new constitution to eventually give control of the nation now called Zimbabwe to Black citizens.

10) 1979 – Iran announces it has decided to allow Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini to return from exile.

11) 2000 – Hundreds of German Neo-Nazis demonstrate at the site of a planned memorial to Holocaust victims.

12) 2002 – The Roman Catholic Church in Ireland agrees to pay US$10 million to children sexually abused by clergy.

13) 2008 – The Australian government says it would issue the first formal apology to indigenous people.

Some persons would say that these events are quite unimportant, but in looking at them we can sometimes see a common thread. Firstly, a number of changes in countries’ relationships with each other were brought to an end by treaty or otherwise. Secondly, one head of state was executed, there was an attempted assassination of another, and there was a successful assassination of one of the greatest figures of the 20th century.

‘This Day’ also noted some events which would turn the world towards some severe levels of chaos. The ascension of Adolf Hitler and the return of the Ayatollah from exile, although vastly separate, would push the world towards a massive conflagration (WW II), and the second is not over yet, and threatens to spread beyond the Middle East.

There is also the beginning of the end of white supremacy in Zimbabwe but the re-emergence of the Neo-Nazis in Germany.

Finally, there are apologies of an unprecedented nature made by the Australian government and the Roman Catholic Church. Both relate to the treatment and handling of juveniles in their care. In both cases, other apologies have also continued.

Here in Jamaica, there were four major events:

1. 1970 – Air Jamaica announces that it plans to solicit other interested carriers with the intention of introducing lower group fares to and from Jamaica during the off-season periods.

2. 1976 – The Gun Court Amendment act is passed by the Senate.

3. 1976 – Senator Carl Rattray, minister of justice, in his contribution to the debate, cites the escalation of gun crime and the need to deal with those who hold the society at ransom.

4. 1979 – The House of Representatives votes for the retention of capital punishment.

5. 1981 – “The time has come when Jamaica must recognise that we cannot borrow our way out of problems…we must work our way,” said Prime Minister Edward Seaga on his return from Washington DC.

These four events are still current. Yes, Air Jamaica does serve the tourism industry, but at what price? Certainly, onboard service is polite and friendly, and the staff over these many years has been very well trained. They certainly represent a segment of the workforce who should remain in jobs that deal with the public, should they lose their tenure at Air Jamaica.

The Gun Court and the retention of capital punishment seem to speak to the acknowledgement of a growing crime problem. The ability to look back indicates that there was recognition of the birth and growth of ugly crime. We cannot truthfully say that the recognition of the problem resulted in a serious attempt to tackle it. As usual, these matters constituted a lively moot for debate, but here we are today with an adult crime problem out of control. It would have been better to heed the 1970s warnings and actually do something meaningful to defeat crime in its infancy.

Again, former Prime Minister Edward Seaga has been vindicated. Statements like “going back to work” gained him severe criticism, and unpopularity to a level that negatively affected his political career. Today we see the results of not heeding intelligent advice, but a desire to hide behind the populist words and clever phrases which have reduced us to our current state of bankruptcy. Face it, we are bankrupt, and some of the measures being taken today seem draconian but should have been implemented long ago. “Man shall not live by bread alone” and today it seems we shall not live by borrowing either. So it’s back to work.

In the single day that I have looked at, people in general seem to be bent on repeating their mistakes. Here in Jamaica it is obvious that we refuse to heed the timely warnings of impending danger. Unless we break the cycle, history will continue to repeat itself. Doing the same things over and over and expecting different results is one definition of madness. Let us make our own history positive this time by acting appropriately to ensure a better future for all Jamaicans. History will either vindicate us or vilify us, but we do have choices.