Dear Editor,

Adulthood is a quite daunting affair for those who have not mustered the courage to defend themselves. Unlike young pupils, who rely on their caregivers for advice and direction, mature adults are not expected to do so. But, surprisingly, too many Jamaican adults seem to reside in the realm of childhood and this is reflected in our politics.

It is often said that where there is no vision the people perish, but if greater analysis is applied to this statement, then we will realise that it reinforces a type of dependency among the citizenry. Anyone with a functioning brain doesn’t need to rely on the vision of a leader; he will chart his own path.

If the assumption that Jamaica’s political leaders lack vision is correct, it is only sensible for those of us with foresight to organise ourselves and offer an alternative to the present system. The constant complaining about ineffective leaders will not achieve anything.

Furthermore, we must not allow civil society to be our voice, because these men and women do not possess the independence which they claim to have. Civil society leaders in Jamaica care more about gaining public traction than engaging in actual investigation.

For example, these pseudo-leaders have said nothing about the parlous state of the Capital Development Fund, because clearly such an issue would force them to identify a culprit, something they don’t have the guts to do.

Jamaican people can no longer continue to be passive, we should be creating our own think tanks and grass roots advocacy groups and not relying on opinion leaders and clueless politicians to save the day.

These days we have also been hearing a lot of talk about promoting self-reliance, but self-reliance and collectivism are not the same things. Agencies like JSIF shouldn’t be financing any community programme, we want JSIF to provide more technical assistance to small business people in inner-city communities. Why finance a community project, with limited economic benefits, when the money could be invested in talented individuals? If we are serious about creating a competitive market economy, then the needs of the individual must take precedence over those of the collective. When will we desist from relying on others to solve our problems and chart a course for the future?

Lipton Matthews

lo_matthews@yahoo.com