“Eternal Father, bless our land, guard us with thy mighty hand. Keep us free from evil powers, be our light through countless hours.”

The first few lines of our national anthem are the beginning of a prayer beseeching the Almighty to provide not only guidance but protection from evil. When Father Hugh Sherlock penned these words he must have known there would be times like this when darkness pervades the land; hence, his plea for divine intervention to light the way.

Jamaica is reminiscent of the Golden Fleece in Greek mythology: A thing of great beauty and value surrounded, as it were, by fire-breathing dragons that go by names we know all too well. Names such as poverty, apathy, mistrust, neglect, envy, grief, strife, crime, and violence.

The island is the toast of the world highlighted by the performance of its sons and daughters in global and national competitions —

The X-Factor, Miss World, the RJRGleaner Foundation Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year, and the Grammy Awards, to name a few of the more recent ones. At the same time, there is, it seems, another type of competition consuming our attention, an undeclared one, at which the country is excelling — a competition to see who is the most depraved among us.

The condition of the mind described as depravity is characterised by an inherent moral deficiency. It is evil personified; corrupt and perverted intent devoid of human dignity; perpetrating acts against the helpless with indifference and without regard for human life.

At just one month old, the year is already revealing a level of depravity like nothing we have seen before. The battlefield, it seems, has been extended to our schools. Three especially dastardly acts have been reported in the press.

In one report, a school bus that took almost 20 years of fund-raising to acquire was hot-wired and driven away by masked men who threw rocks at the watchman. In another, a school, also located in a poor community, was robbed of critical learning aids — 16 computers and tablets that could be helpful in breaking the cycle of poverty through education. The incident at Vauxhall High School involving that other plague, murder, in this case the murder of a valuable teacher, takes the prevailing moral decomposition to a new low.

One can sympathise with the prime minister putting on a brave face, doubling down on states of emergency (SOEs) and zones of special operation (ZOSOs), promising to move homicide rates down from the current 41 per 100,000 to 16 per 100,000 individuals in the populace by the end of the decade. The statistics do not, however, support his optimism. The first 30 days of 2020 saw an 8.4 per cent rise in murder, mostly occurring in areas under the imposition of SOEs and ZOSOs.

We can agree SOEs cannot, on their own, deliver the harmonious society we so desperately desire. ZOSOs cannot do it. Along with these security measures, only men and women of passion and courage, who are seized with love for country and humanity and working within troubled communities with at-risk groups to show them a better way and engender hope, can do it.

In the story of Jason and the Golden Fleece, Jason is ordered by King Pelias to defy danger and adversity to get the fleece. Who is the modern-day Jason that will slay the dragons to unlock and free the full potential of Jamaica?

Sixteenth century Scottish protestant reformist John Knox demonstrated exemplary revolutionary zeal and an indomitable spirit, which had a wilting effect on opposing forces of his day. His was the passionate plea of a man willing to die for a cause. Known for his incessant and fervent praying, Knox once famously prayed, “Lord, give me Scotland or I die.”

We need that kind of national resolve to successfully tackle rampant crime and violence perpetrated by depraved and demented minds. The time for action is now. It’s time for the John Knoxes to arise from their slumber and take back Jamaica, land we love, from the forces that seek to destroy it. With what shall we do it?

Quoting 2 Corinthians 10: 4 – 5, “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds. Casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalted itself against God and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” We will do it with love.

“To our leaders, great defender, grant true wisdom from above. Justice, truth be ours forever, Jamaica, land we love.”

hmorgan@cwjamaica.com