Dear Editor,

The ignorant, thoughtless and malicious desecration of the Jamaican flag in Montego Bay should not be taken lightly by the authorities. It demonstrated that even among the presumed leaders of the country the value of the national symbols has become outrageously depreciated. So the egregious error of Montego Bay brings to light the urgent need to build into the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Independence of the country a renewed dedication to citizenship and civic virtues. Indeed, throughout the year the government should be using its media resources to remind Jamaicans of all ages (and especially those in leadership positions) of the inalienable responsibility to place their country’s goodwill at the forefront of their public and private actions.

The good citizen with an abiding love of country is not an accidental achievement. It results from carefully inculcating common ideals that generate a bond between individual, community and country. This is not an awareness that suddenly arrives like a summer shower inundating everyone without warning. Citizenship and patriotism come from a combination of circumstances. In every case, however, the state takes a positive role in selecting and disseminating those desirable characteristics that it considers should be representative of the state and those gradually become sacrosanct among the population at large.

For many countries domestic and foreign wars provide important bonding moments. Napoleon Bonaparte skilfully used wars to mould isolated French peasants into common French citizens but the process took almost a century. The US Civil War was a crucial moment in the development of US nationalism. In both cases the flag was among the magnetic symbols around which common folk congregated and pledged their eternal loyalties. At the end of the long Mexican Revolution at the beginning of the 20th century, the incessant wars inculcated a sense of a common Mexican state, although in that case a common flag did not form a cohesive rallying cry.

Jamaica has no opportunity to use war to build the national spirit. Instead, it should use education. The government ought to begin to teach formally and informally, not only by word but also by deed, the proper respect that ought to be given to the national symbols. Young and old must be constantly reminded of the proper protocols surrounding the use of these symbols. There ought to be penalties for flagrantly disrespecting the national symbols. Respect for the flag indicates respect for the country, and anyone who uses any national symbol in any perverse way deserves to be severely punished.

Fred P Campbell

Kingston