Dear Editor,

The general election in Jamaica is constitutionally due in just over a year, and the political aspirants on either side will peddle promises of better management of State affairs in their quest to be first past the post.

In the process, both sides will, inter alia, claim superior management of the country’s economy, highlight the other’s reports of public corruption, and politicise the country’s crime and socio-economic challenges. They will both present their case in a manner which would suggest that they have not been at the locus of governmental authority for several decades.

It is almost certain that no one aspiring to run for office in the next election will lay out a cogent strategy to curtail public disorder, which runs the gamut of our country. And if that is the case, we need not be surprised, as sadly, not many in Government and civil society can boast of clean hands in upholding order and adherence to systems. Even government institutions are characterised by the breakdown of law and order.

Let us consider how frequently we witness police vehicles disregarding the road code in situations that do not constitute emergencies. Then there are the daily occurrences of emergency vehicles speeding to address real emergencies while motorists refuse to pull to the side of the roadway. The insanity on our roadways symbolises an unparalleled degeneracy in our society, and the fact that a majority of these infractions are unlikely to be prosecuted embolden our citizens to push the boundaries.

We are in a perilous state, and our nation appears to be of the view that the pursuit of macroeconomic developmental benchmarks and the creation of an ordered society are mutually exclusive. In the past three decades there have been vast improvements in the standard of living of most Jamaicans. The evolution in mass communication, the improvements in access to housing, and improvements to major road networks are among areas multiple administrations will brag about. However, despite the positive trajectory of global developmental benchmarks, a critical mass of our citizens have not realised social actualisation.

The conduct on our roadways may be singled out as one of Jamaica’s most demonstrable symbols of the erosion of order. The daily carnage on our roadways — an upshot of indisciplined and untrained drivers — has reached crisis proportion, to the point that those who attempt to observe the rule of law are abused and threatened.

Our roadways are completely unsafe for senior citizens and tourists who wish to operate motor vehicles. This scenario leads one to question if the nation has been taken over by an ochlocracy. But it did not happen overnight. In the past three decades or so we have seen the liberalisation of the Jamaican economy and sadly, simultaneously, the liberalisation of order and good governance.

There are many other areas of disorder which are destroying the social fibre of this country and shaping the character of failed institutions, and if not addressed frontally will have serious consequences for the viability of the State. I put it you, while homicides are at an intolerable level in our nation, breaking the backbone of public disorder is an imperative, one in which the fight against violent crimes may be framed. It is evident that our citizens have been pushing the boundaries as a result of the lack of consistent enforcement when statutes are breached.

As our major political institutions get ready to present their cases for management of the country’s affairs, a blueprint for the reshaping of values and conduct in our country must be presented and considered the catalyst for the pursuit of true prosperity. Whichever party demonstrates the resolve to create a more ordered and functional society is deserving of being first past the post.

Mark A Hylton

markahylton@hotmail.com