One of the most distressing aspects of the recent US presidential election was the level of hatred, negativity, nastiness, and sheer evil that came largely from the Republican side of the campaign. It was one of the most putrid elections in America that we can recall.

The diatribe from both sides — whether it was Vice-President Kamala Harris calling Donald Trump fascist or him indulging his usual smears of women and people he deemed his enemies — did nothing to lift the quality of the debate. Harris did not have to remind us at every stop what Trump’s problems with women were or what his fascist instincts are. These were already well baked into people’s thinking.

The constant harping on these and other negative personal attributes of Trump’s could have infuriated some people, as it left little room to discuss the people’s business in a more fulsome way. The election results reflected this deficit. In the end, the descent into an abyss of personality diatribe while ignoring what people really cared about was an insult to their intelligence.

I draw attention to this to focus on our own looming general election, due by September 2025. Already there is evidence of an emerging nastiness that, if allowed to mature, would cause the US elections, by comparison, to look like a Sunday school picnic at a public park. I refer especially to the overt racism that is to be seen on either side of the political divide. We have seen in the past that racist smears were used to damage the reputations of people in political campaigns. With our growing political maturity in getting to the point at which free and fair elections are no longer a bother, one would have thought that this kind of smear politics was dead and buried, never to be resurrected.

But, alas, the ghosts of Christmas past, digging up old political bones with a view to score cheap political points, are not tactics that are easily forgotten by lazy politicians who are bent on creating mischief, or worse, political malice. This is not only idle politicking but the indulgence of practitioners who are bereft of ideas to stimulate the thinking and interests of the electorate.

The smearing of former prime minister and Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) Leader Edward Seaga in the past brought great harm to his reputation and undoubtedly great pain to his family. Here was a man who embedded himself in the structure of political governance in the country simply because of his patriotic commitment to his country and at a time when he could have made great success in the nation of his birth, the USA. He gave up his native (as opposed to naturalised) citizenship to enter the Jamaican political fray and became political fodder for the People’s National Party (PNP). He did not deserve the racist smearing of his name and the evil epithets which he endured for most, if not all, of his political life.

And neither does Mark Golding today. It has to be more than a twist of irony, perhaps a cruel one, that a white man (Golding) is now the leader of his majesty’s loyal Opposition and is now being heavily vilified by members of the JLP. He is getting some of the same vitriol that was directed towards Seaga. As it has been said: what goes around comes around and that is why the wise person would do everything in his/her power to avoid vilifying others. One never knows when the fingers of fate will come knocking on one’s door.

The predictable Member of Parliament Everald Warmington’s outburst against Golding must be strenuously condemned. So too must be the penchant of some in the JLP to smear his character on the basis of his skin colour. The truth is that Golding is a patriotic Jamaican who has given himself in service to his country. He is no less so than Seaga who did so before him. And he does not love the country any less.

So let us end the distractions and resist those who would want to insult our intelligence with this racial diatribe. We are better than this as a country. There are large problems to solve and great possibilities to aspire to as we strive to make Jamaica the beacon it can become in the world.

Let us distil the issues around which Jamaicans can gather. We are intelligent enough to be able to pick sense from nonsense, as they say. As we move closer to September 2025, let us keep the politics clean. To the voters, I would advise not to reward nastiness as a conduit to political power. We have seen it in America. Let it not be so in our beloved country.

Cuba and Haiti

Cuba and Haiti are two of our closest neighbours. At the moment both are embroiled in very serious social and economic problems which threaten the very survival of the states, especially the gang violence in Haiti.

As our closest neighbours, we can expect Jamaica to be severely impacted by the problems in these two countries. We hope that the authorities are very alert to what is happening and are preparing the country for any eventuality that can emerge.

Dr Raulston Nembhard is a priest, social commentator, and author of the books Finding Peace in the Midst of Life’s Storms; Your Self-esteem Guide to a Better Life; and Beyond Petulance: Republican Politics and the Future of America. He hosts a podcast — Mango Tree Dialogues — on his You Tube channel. Send comments to the Jamaica Observer or stead6655@aol.com.