When the invasion of Poland in 1939 forced England into the war it was not a convenient time for them. They were still sore from the high cost of winning World War I. This in respect of both the cost to their economy and the cost in human capital.

When their troops where defeated and embarrassed in their attempt to rescue France, culminating in what is often referred to as the Dunkirk Disaster, it was not a promising indication of what was to come. Despite the inconvenience, the preview of the suffering to come and the embarrassment, they rallied together as a nation and did their part to defeat Germany.

What did they have as a people that allowed them in the face of almost certain disaster to commit themselves, their way of life, their ambitions and, most importantly, their sons to a cause that frankly they could have avoided? Switzerland did!

More importantly, why where they successful?

Well, the first element of fighting a war, before you get to guns, ships, planes and bombs, is the will.

I speak to the will of the people, not necessarily the Government. Although both are important, it is the people we are discussing today.

England came together as a nation. Yes, they were ready for a fight. Then there was a common enemy, that being Nazi Germany. Unlike France, which had a local fascist body known as the Vichy supporting the invaders, England had no major group supporting the Germans. So they were unified against the common enemy.

They had a culture of fighting, from years of fighting, period, fights they often started by themselves. They also had a good understanding of the threat.

Now let us compare our war against the gangs and see what may be missing from our mix.

Well, do we as a people have the will to commit to a fight, especially one that involves us committing ourselves or our family members to fight. Not a chance!

If you ask for a call to arms that is likely to involve loss of life, you will be lucky if one in 10 males commit. In addition, that ratio will become much worse the further uptown you go.

Do we believe we have a common enemy?

The answer is no. Some people view the gangs as political assistance, cheap security, possible clients and in the human rights world they are dear little boys who only kill because police shoot at them.

The culture to fight

We have a rich history of resistance that culminated in violence. The only pacifist in our list of National Heroes was Norman Manley, but he fought like a pit bull in a courtroom. I tell many people that, that is where some of the scariest battles are waged. I prefer 10 high-risk entries to one cross examination from attorney-at-law Peter Champagnie.

In the last 40 years, a large cross section of Jamaica has backed off from fighting the enemy. I am not sure if it is the perception of political embracing of the enemy or just the belief that it is too great a task.

How about a good understanding of the threat?

Believe it or not, this is probably our worst handicap.

Most people simply do not understand what the threat is, how great it is, or how our laws allow us to fight it. This is true. The most talented finance guy or computer brain sounds lost when he discusses crime. Bewildered even. I cannot tell you how many times I have heard the phrase “wa unno let him go fa”.

Well let me answer it once and for all. Unless you woke up in Moscow this morning, you need evidence to keep people in jail. Therefore, we need witnesses to give evidence.

If the multimillionaire will not go to court to give evidence, why in the world would the pauper?

Most do not even know the court structure, or that bail is guaranteed under the constitution, or even that our police force is 3,000 officers short of its budgeted requirements.

So let me ask all the critics, do you consider gangs enemies of our country? Are you willing to live with curfews? Are you willing to commit your son to the fight? Do you understand the depth of evil of the gang members? Are you willing to come to court and give evidence against them? Will you restrict you and your family’s movements to accommodate your part in the process. Most importantly, are you ready for a fight?

If all of these ducks are not lined up, we will never defeat this evil, this evil which our retailers, taxi drivers and vendors are forced to support; this evil that kills us during robberies and takes our hard-earned possessions; this evil that deprives us of our peace of mind where we live, looking for an attack at any time.

Despite all that they have taken from us, we still are not ready for this war. However, one day we will be.

There will one day be that Government, that minister or that cop that will inspire us all to stop thinking as a political group, or social class, or even as opportunists. Then, we will just say: “I’ve had enough of this garbage, let us defeat them by any means necessary”.

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