SURPRISINGLY, one of the most polarising words in the world is evolution. It is used by scientists to attribute plausible explanations for our origin as humans.

Being religious, many people lunge at the opportunity to dispel any claims that challenge their religion’s version of the creation story. Of course, there are also those who are incapable of separating the theory that humans evolved from apes from the idea of evolution as a whole.

According to scientists, this evolution happened approximately six million years ago, and many struggle to fathom 2023 years much less six million. The point is, science preaches that the evolution was incremental — bit by bit — and we are still evolving, but not at a rate that is readily noticeable to us. Such is the rate of the war on our identity as Jamaicans.

Jamaican history and our forefathers’ visions, guided by religion, instilled certain core values within us and our society which gives us our identity as Jamaicans. Being a once God-fearing nation there were particular things that we never endorsed. However, much like the scientific theory of human evolution, we are slowly, over many years, starting to relax our position on certain values to adopt principles of more “developed”, godless societies.

Even in this very article I chose to desist from directly identifying the atrocities — not out of fear of the repercussions for myself but because of what these repercussions may do to prevent me from providing and catering to the needs of my loved ones and on a larger scale, my ability to serve the people of Jamaica.

However, I shall speak freely on the values that have grown endangered due to the advent of over-inclusion and extreme political correctness. God is with us, even when the freedom of choice He granted us leads us to a place where we are now deliberating whether or not morning devotions should remain as a mandatory staple in schools.

I care not for conspiracy theories but I do know when something looks fishy. Whether you believe the Bible with its teachings came about through divine insights or just by man, it was created for a moral purpose. Why are we trying to remove God from our classrooms? Could it be because to remove God from the classrooms is to remove Him from the consciousness of the future generations? We are removing God from our world to allow what in as the replacement? These questions are surface-level, yet it appears nobody wants to ask them. I am also guilty of this, but my fear stems from a fear of the answers to these questions.

These agendas that threaten to corrupt that which we know to be irrefutably true bear too much resemblance to the devil. Much like the devil whose attacks are never bold enough to spook you, such are the attacks of these institutions. Bit by bit they are slowly introducing concepts to us and, even worse, our children. “You will never see smoke without fire,” a wise voice once said; pay keen attention to the adjoining concepts that accompany the school curriculum the moment we fold and allow the lost to omit godliness from schools. Clearly, whichever ideals are therein cannot coexist with godliness.

We are at war, whether we like it or not. You do not win by turning a blind eye and looking out for only yourself and your loved ones. When a power declares war, in our tongue “yuh either a fight back or a get beat up”. The strategy of the enemy is the same one used in many wars around the world, like the one between Israel and Egypt where that war is being won through wearing down the opponent and diminishing its resources. This strategy is commonly known as a battle of attrition.

On August 6, 1962 Jamaica showed how tallawah we were when we formally gained our Independence. We believe Independence meant we finally gained the ability to stand on our own feet as proud Jamaicans. It also meant that our laws, morals, values and wealth became our own. I say this to mention that many of the agendas being propagated are not local. In fact, they are in direct conflict with our identity as a collective. You likely already know what these concepts are and how damaging they can be to our social construct. Our best shot at winning this war is to leverage our position as an independent nation and continue to filter out ideologies that we know to be parasitic and regressive.

Please note, this is not an effort to stunt growth nor is it a resistance to change. However, not all evolution is positive. We can grow and become developed without losing our identity or selling our souls.

Hugh Graham is Member of Parliament for St Catherine North Western and CEO of Paramount Trading Company Ltd.