With the appointment of Ms Robyn Rihanna Fenty, the international superstar and fashion mogul, as national hero, Barbados seems to have earned both the respect and revulsion of Jamaicans.

Truth be told, Barbadians, whether one agrees with them or not, have been very decisive in making up their minds about things they regard as important to their national self-worth or ethos, such as the appointment of national heroes or ditching the British monarchy for republican status.

Whereas Jamaica can’t get past naming seven national heroes out of a population of roughly three million people, Barbados, with just below 300,000, has 11 nationals bearing the hero designation.

Jamaica has also been debating the idea of becoming a republic forever. We suspect that our inability to reach conclusion on so many big issues comes down to our politically partisan stance on nearly every thing under the sun.

The names that come up most often in the Jamaican debate about national hero status are late prime ministers Mr Michael Manley and Mr Edward Seaga. The unofficial list of nominees also frequently include cultural icons Mr Bob Marley and Mrs Louise Bennett-Coverley.

As we have said before in this space, we suspect that any such debate would be over even before it begins, if both Mr Manley and Mr Seaga are so named at the same time, thus short-circuiting what would otherwise be a vitriolic and hugely divisive campaign against either of them.

The first hurdle is likely to be, what are the criteria for being nominated national hero? An examination of the current seven national heroes would no doubt leave questions about the yardstick used in arriving at those decisions.

It is not far-fetched to suggest that the seventh and last to be named hero — Nanny of the Maroons, who was named by then Prime Minister Michael Manley in the heady days of the 1970s — escaped the heat of nasty debate because of her gender and the fact that she’s the only woman among them.

There are bound to be serious inconsistencies in the criteria for selecting the other six heroes — Messrs Sam Sharpe, Paul Bogle, George William Gordon, Marcus Mosiah Garvey, Norman Washington Manley, and Sir Alexander Bustamante.

If the criteria are not clear and credible, with popular buy-in from the people, any such debate will inevitably descend into a bitter political war of words that would render the exercise worthless and defeat the very purpose of honouring the men and women who have most impacted the destiny of this land.

Indeed, if we are looking for a perfect man or woman, we best forget the enterprise. There is none such among the popular names which could easily include Mr Jimmy Cliff, Ms Merlene Ottey and, dare we suggest it, Mr Gordon “Butch” Stewart, and even Mr Usain Bolt, the world’s greatest sprinter, who is almost the same age as Rihanna.

Everything comes down to the criteria. Currently, “The honour is bestowed on any person who was born in Jamaica or at the time of his/her death was a citizen of Jamaica and rendered to Jamaica, service of a most distinguished nature.”

There are endless numbers of Jamaicans who could qualify under this criterion. The Chancery of the Societies of Honour should do more to help the country understand the selection process and possibly invite suggestions for revised criteria.