The warm and friendly disposition of the average Jamaican, for which we are internationally famous historically, is no accident nor does it derive from a servile instinct as some tend to think. In fact, the source is quite the opposite. Owing to the unique geographical location of the island, for the last 600 years or more, Jamaica has been in pole position as it regards world trade and the resultant cross-fertilisation of races and nationalities.

Although predominantly African, our relatively young nation by world standards has been such a successful melting pot of diverse world cultures, that our creative manifestations and lifestyle are authentic distillations, readily identified with by citizens from disparate regions of the world.

Back in the heyday of Black nationalism, my African and Afro-American colleagues would ask me time and time again, to explain why Rastafari songs and our oral anecdotes tended to glorify Zion, which they identified with Jews/Israel contrasted with a persistent and strong admonition of Pharoah and Egypt, the pinnacle of Black civilisation and culture in ancient times. This is seemingly in sharp contradiction of their uncompromising stand and pivotal role in the struggle against European colonialism, which they all so admired.

Unfortunately, that is not a subject we can explore deeper today, because I wish to keep the focus on the gift of nature and historical phenomena that has literally propelled us to the forefront of a universal psychic connection between peoples and contemporary civilisations.

For centuries, Jamaica has been on every sea lane for commerce. Traffic going from north to south and east to west pass through our ports. Up to the present period we continue to be the main door through which trade and migration is passed on the way to Central and South America. Coupled with this, is the fact that our history of occupying this country is relatively recent. All of our forefathers came from elsewhere and the majority of us identify our ancestral roots, depending on our racial mix, in regions far from Jamaica, be it Africa, Asia, Europe or the Orient.

From the very beginning of our history in Jamaica, our forefathers have in various waves, continuously migrated and populated Panama, Costa Rica, Cuba, Honduras, Nicaragua, North America, the UK, Europe, Japan, China, Ethiopia, Kenya, South Africa, Ghana among other states. As a consequence, Jamaicans see life in Jamaica as a sojourn. This confluence of geography and history has served us well, but often produces an unfortunate flipside to our cosmopolitan instinct. We tend to have a very unorthodox, transient philosophical worldview, caused to a significant degree by split loyalties to heritage, country, community, family, profession, job and even religion.

Although it might sound convoluted and definitely there are big gaping holes in this short historical description of who as a people we are, this context is essential in understanding some of our most prominent cultural features and why people of all races and cultures somehow identify in our works, kindred spirits. I have posited it here, in proceeding to broaden the discussion which I began last week, and to which I have had an overwhelming amount of responses. In fact, it’s one of the few times I have only received positive responses to my Observer column and blog. But that does not sit well with me, because some of my respondents have gone so far as to blame dancehall for all of Jamaicas ills.

As I have often said, whereas I totally abhor those dancehall lyrics which glorify violence, we must acknowledge that society continues to provide the social cradle for these lyrics, plus decadence and violent behaviour exhibited in the Dancehall. Now, dont get me wrong. The music industry desperately needs to sever all links with criminals and criminality.

However, please let’s not delude ourselves. With very little state or private sector support, the industry may not have survived the 1980s were it not for them. Since this time, the production of many events, records and CDs have been financed by tainted money from this source. This is inevitable in a country where it is estimated that 60% of our gross national product is generated by the underground economy. Thats prettying up the fact that we have largely become a major drug transhipment centre, governed by drug dons.

Furthermore, the frustration levels in Jamaica are multi-layered. Recession, drought, distrust of public sector- including politicians and their links with drug dons, suspicions of nefarious deals and deeds in collusion with criminals by large private sector companies and organisations, high levels of crime- over 400 murders so far this year, along with a significant increase in burglaries and larcenies, joblessness, no social or economic prospects for poor people from our ghettos, are all putting us on the brink of a complete breakdown of the social order.

The sounds coming from the streets sound more like a cacophony than a symphony. To quote Mark Wignall (Sunday Observer, April 18, 2010), “the investment of our mainstream politics in the street elements who were once controlled by the politicians has spun around un a most dangerous manner, to the extent that much of the governance that the people are entitled to is being clogged up by seamy politics which has risen up like a walking, talking phantasm to haunt the administration”.

Orville Plummer, in the letter of the week (Sunday Herald, April 18) says more poignantly, “for thousand of Jamaicans in several communities across Jamaica, their dons are next to God because traditional values, the established social order and legitimate leadership are crumbling before our eyes, parenting and family life remain weak, churches and pastors remain indifferent and irrelevant, civil society remains dormant and political parties and their leaders remain visionless and uninspiring”.

He goes on to express the fear that if we continue to cede parcels of the country to strengthen and outsource law and order to others than the police force and the courts, then all Jamaica will soon be forced to worship at the altar of lawlessness and criminality.

The two quotes above encapsulate sufficiently the greater sources of Jamaica’s social dilemma. Dancehall simply compounds it. But we must remember that the artistes are influenced by the coarsening of society plus all other factors discussed above. We are all cut from the same cloth. Also our politicians and sections of the media especially, are equally complicit.

Email: che.campbell@gmail.com