AMONG its many other purposes, the hypothalamus in our brains controls our appetite. From the look of things, it would appear that some of us have an overactive political hypothalamus — a very dangerous condition that can impair our ability to manage the production and consumption of doom and gloom.

Paradoxically, the supply of doom and gloom always appears insufficient relative to the high demand for it because, like it or not, demand for bad news and bad vibes keeps popping up in different forms, shapes and sizes all over the place. Once it’s bad news, automatic message amplification takes centre stage. It makes me wonder about the true motives and useful motifs behind these kinds of behavioural responses. One thing’s for sure, the practice of celebrating national misfortunes is fast becoming demoralising and painfully annoying.

No one is suggesting that we automatically metamorphose into “Mini-MEs of ‘Mas Be Good’ or “Ms Lovely”, whose neurotic Pollyannaish behaviour knows no bounds. My gosh, the level of cynicism in Jamaica is chronic, and the uncontrollable appetite for negativity among some — including people who ought to know better — is endangering our very existence. The sad truth about the overbearing political overtures that transport the celebration of bad news is its toxicity, particularly to children. Nevertheless, it does not have to be like this at all. We have it within us to change and redirect the trajectory that, if left unchanged, will keep us in the backwaters for an eternity.

Put another way, the political schadenfreude emanating from these doom and gloom experts is counterproductive and unpatriotic, to say the least. Once an organisation, reputable or not, paints us as “the worst” or places us at the bottom of a list — however unreliable or subjective the methodology — we apply our political brush and throw a party. What has become of our national pride? Is it that we have divested ourselves of every ounce of nationalism and have mortgaged our pedigree as a proud people on the altar of political expediency and spite?

Reactions from certain quarters to the recent underperformance by the Government in achieving the $121-billion primary surplus balance is an example of this noxious gloating over bad news. Before the International Monetary Fund (IMF) even had the opportunity to adjudicate on possible negative consequences the aberration would cause, or to comment on ameliorative measures, some political pundits and economic prognosticators had already taken to the airwaves to announce, “Everything crash!” They were busy as hell casting doubts and forecasting economic hardships of unimaginable proportions for the remainder of the IMF programme. As it now turns out, the underperformance “is no big deal”.

In celebration of the missed primary surplus target, naysayers all but popped open the champagne bottles without realising that, as a percentage of GDP, the 7.5 per cent target was in fact met, but the dollar value lagged behind by $4 billion. The $121-billion target derailed because of lower economic growth and tax collections. It is criminally ironic that, as doomsayers basked in the afterglow of what they perceived to be a monumental failure, the IMF is singing a different sankey. Worse, even as these eternal pessimists jubilantly welcomed the news of the missed target, they were simultaneously providing support to public sector workers to sustain demand for double-digit salary increases. One must therefore ask, in whose interest are these people acting? They know all too well that under the current agreement, public sector salaries must reflect nine per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2016.

No one should begrudge public sector workers for wanting handsome rewards, having undergone an extended wage freeze. The sacrifices made by them have helped the country in achieving some semblance of economic stability that it would otherwise not have achieved outside the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). However, there are two sides the story. The Government also had an option of pursuing mass redundancies, as recently obtained in Barbados where Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler announced the Government’s decision to lay off over 3,000 public sector workers in light of the country’s economic woes. The Jamaican Government — wisely or not — opted not to go that route and, instead, kicked the can further down the road by negotiating the MOU deal with trade unions representing public sector workers. There were no mass riots, no burning of tyres, no roadblocks, no killings or maiming, and absolutely no hooliganism in Barbados. Instead, there was national consensus around Government’s actions. Hardships, yes, but look at them today. Barbados is on the road to economic recovery and it owes its quick economic recovery to the advanced state of the social development of its people. I make no apology for saying this.

We love to quote the late Lee Kuan Yew and to elevate his model of success as the “one-size-fits-all” panacea for universal economic success. Seldom, however, do we include the following statement from him about the undergirded reason for the success of his country’s experiment. Lee Kuan Yew said: “Let us create one nation for all Singaporeans. We are a young country, and we share one future together. Let us build among ourselves a sense of belonging, a feeling of common identity and shared destiny. Let us feel instinctly [sic] that we are, first and foremost, Singaporeans…” Emphasis on: “We are, first and foremost, Singaporeans.”

We dream of a better Jamaica, but we continue to trivialise our politics and carry on as though we are superbly ungovernable. We continue, without rhyme or reason, to put politics above every darn thing else. Our politics of strife and sabotage, mixed with our slavish adherence to the inherent flaws of the Westminster System –a system that promotes the foolish dogma and practice of ‘Oppose-Oppose-Oppose’ — will continue to hold us back. Make no bones about it, these kinds of allegiances are the reasons we so gleefully celebrate national failure. For the political twits among us, failure is the safest guarantor of their political fortunes, if even pyrrhic or ultimately destructive.

Name one prosperous nation that practises the kind of backwardness that some Jamaicans appear determined to retain and I will name ten poor and failed States. Colour me Comrade, if you must, for I prefer to be a Comrade than to become a drum major of doom and gloom or a perpetual celebrant at the shrine of political schadenfreude. Jamaica’s failure is our failure and its success is dependent on all of us. We all fail when Jamaica fails, and it matters not where we reside, because we are, first and foremost, Jamaicans. Jamaica being the land of our birth.

No one can deny the tough times. Let us not lose hope, but steadfast remain. Undoubtedly, the “asks” are huge and the gaps that separate the privileged from the underprivileged, upper class from middle class, and middle class from the lower class are wide. Yet, there are positive developments taking place, if not purely economic, most certainly socially among the younger cohort. When I watch young Taheed Garcia and Leighann Dacres, both under 12 years old, sensibly talk budgeting with Jamaica Information Service presenter Andrea Chisholm, it gives me hope that, in spite of the challenges, there are positives about Jamaica we can celebrate. Let us, collectively and individually, commit to blunting the merchants of doom and gloom.

Burnscg@aol.com