Among other things, this election campaign, like others before it, has unambiguously demonstrated that we have some men and women itching to sit in Gordon House who do not have a moral spine, courage, and conviction to stand for what is right.

Some, too, who are hankering to sit in Parliament are not only without a moral spine, but devoid of a spine altogether — the strength of character and commitment to ethical principles. These are very dangerous and need to be dismissed out of hand.

I don’t expect our politics to be Pollyanna-like and/or exist in a Goldilocks-type atmosphere, but I strongly believe there are some basic minimum standards regarding truth and the protection and preservation of human dignity that must never be breached.

Men and women who have shown us in the past and/or during this campaign that they are suffering with an acute inflammation regarding the retention or acquisition of especially State power must not be trusted. Individuals with vaulting ambition have ‘pull the wool over our eyes’ in the past; we must wiser now! As the saying goes, “Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.” Fact!

MORAL SPINE DEFICIT

Ponder this saying: “Unlike the stomach, the brain does not alert you when it’s empty.” Some of the men and women seeking admittance to Gordon House continue to do their best to promote and indeed put a premium on ignorance. This is a fact!

Some of these self-aggrandisers of especially State power have had the benefit of schooling, some at great public expense. These conmen and conwomen know that, generally speaking, many of the citizens who they can pack into assorted vehicles and transport them all over the country to political meetings are often not among the shrewdest in our population. Charlatans seeking power in the midst of this reality use the opportunity of political rallies and related activities not edify and educate people, but to abuse them with the spewing of ignorance — ignorance which can only result in the diminution of the life chances of our citizens.

The “milk of human kindness” has long dried up in the breasts of power-seekers who preach on the hustings that a Probox, AD Wagon, and assorted small taxis are better suited for a rural school bus service when compared to larger and much-safer buses, equipped with monitoring systems which parents can access on their phones, driven by trained drivers, with determined route schedules, and controlled by the State. Power seekers who preach that a system which has caused the deaths, maiming, rape, and abuse of hundreds of our citizens, especially children, for decades, is better than one which has been and is being used in many developed countries like Canada and the United States of America. This is not only lack a moral spine, they are devoid of spine altogether. Be afraid of them!

Those who spread and try their best to sponsor backwardness among our people need to understand that, while many of our citizens did not grace the doors of a university, they are not fools. They know what you are trying to do. A college degree is not a prerequisite for understanding manipulation by bad actors. And self-preservation alerts are not sparked by possession of a college degree, either. “You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all the time,” said Abraham Lincoln. I agree. The vast majority of Jamaican parents always want better for our children. That is non-negotiable. Some power-seekers, in their vaingloriousness, do not seem to understand this very basic trait about Jamaicans.

The talented Black Uhuru had a popular song some 48 years ago called, Plastic Smile. The 1977 hit has these and similarly potent lines: “Don’t show I yuh teeth, plastic smile cyaan work.” An Individual who castigates others for using profanity on a public platform in one breath, but then is caught in his own snare of criticism, is guilty of blatant hypocrisy.

Some of the people vying for high and low office think they can trick citizens with episodes of false authenticity, or plastic smiles. Folks see straight through those fake actions. Using a local expletive to curry favour with the population does not demonstrate authenticity. Using patois on the hustings to curry favour with the population does not demonstrate authenticity. I previously said here that Jamaicans understand Standard English perfectly. Power-seekers just don’t get it. Local folks are not idiots. Plastic smiles just will not work.

ANYTHING GOES, REALLY!

Now I know some are going to holler, “But, Higgins, in politics, anything goes.”

Really?!

I don’t buy into that rotten dictum. I said here long ago that politics must help raise the dignity of citizens at all times by, among other thing, doing no harm, especially to the most vulnerable among us. I stand by that position.

The adherents of ‘anything goes politics’ need to remember that it was that kind of politics which resulted in the sordid 1976 State of Emergency and the dreaded Green Bay Massacre in January 1978. The People’s National Party (PNP) has yet to apologise for the 1976 State of Emergency, which lasted from June 1976 to June 1977, or the dreaded Green Bay Massacre which resulted in the deaths of young, poor, innocent, and black Jamaicans.

Regarding the 1976 State of Emergency, recall that former Prime Minister Michael Manley told Parliament in 1976 that “new and unique types of violence” [Hansard] had been imported into Jamaica and, therefore, the need for a state of emergency. Scores of Jamaicans, many of the them Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) supporters, were locked up, beaten, and imprisoned. Some were killed. Dozens were forced to flee their homeland in order to save life and limb.

If the present PNP leadership really wants to impress Jamaicans that it is authentic, a sincere mea culpa for the mentioned and similar acts of great wickedness would be a good start. I made that recommendation here many years ago. But, of course, the PNP is too puffed up to acknowledge that documented injustices that happened on its watch have resulted in long-standing emotional, social, and physical scars even to this day.

It was anything goes politics which resulted in the deaths of nearly 900 Jamaicans during the period leading to the 1980 General Election. Anything goes politics has caused this country to be poorer and less respected. Those power-seekers; religious leaders; social, economic and intellectual cheerleaders and sponsors, here and abroad, who abuse the ignorance of citizens by spewing falsehoods are not friends of our development. These are simply swindlers without moral spines. History has shown us that they are very dangerous.

DEALERS IN HOPE

“One idiot is one idiot. Two idiots are two idiots. Ten thousand idiots are a political party,” said Franx Kafka, renowned German novelist. Believe it; too many of our political leaders spend too much time undermining the very trade of their survival and a critical vein on which our development hinges.

Two Sundays ago I explained here the importance of political parties in the Western liberal democratic system which we have embraced in Jamaica. Politics must not centre on turning people into idiots and/or tainting the vehicle called politics, itself. Instead, our political leaders, especially, must be “dealers in hope”, like French General Napoleon Bonaparte famously said.

Among other things, Jamaica needs more leaders who can inspire hope, realistic hope which can transition into awakening the potentials of our people. The kind of potential which late ace journalist Wilmot “Motty” Perkins said, “Has never been understood by our political leaders.”

Our leaders must tell us what is happening and cease being totally obsessed with telling the country what we must think is happening. Some things matter more, much more than others things. Truth is one.

FORECASTS AND FORECASTS

* St Catherine Central: A traditional JLP seat. In the 2020 General Election Olivia Grange polled 8,179 votes to defeat Maurice Westney of the PNP, who polled 893. She will win again by a country mile.

* St Catherine East Central: This seat has seen very competitive contests over the last several general elections. The upcoming will be no different. Member of Parliament (MP) Alando Terrelonge received 6,374 to beat the PNP’s Raymond Pryce, who got 4,257 in 2020. Terrelonge is adept at retail politics. He is very visible in the constituency and has spearheaded a good amount of infrastructural and social improvement in some of the very gritty communities in the constituency. I forecast that Terrelonge will again beat the flamboyant Pryce, and fairly comfortably too.

* St Catherine Eastern: This one is to be watched closely when the votes are being counted on election night. MP Joyce D Daley polled 5,602 votes in 2020 to defeat the JLP’s Dwight Peccoo, who received 4,257. I forecast that voter turnout in the electoral divisions of Lauriston, Greendale, and De la Vega City will determine who wins. Daley is not home and dry as some pundits have said. This one is too close to call at this time.

* St Catherine North Central will stay in the PNP’s column. In 2020 Natalie Neita polled 5,653 votes to beat Natalie Campbell-Rodriques of the JLP, who received 4,351.

* St Catherine North Eastern: This seat has voted for the JLP far more times than it has voted for the PNP since 1944 when Samuel Augustus Black won it for the JLP. MP Kerensia Morrison polled 5,980 in 2020 to beat Oswest Senior Smith of the PNP, who received 3,312. Morrison is a firebrand. She, like Ann Marie Vaz in Portland Eastern, is a political gold bar. Regarding social and infrastructural development, Morrison has been putting in a lot of good work in the constituency. Still, she needs to pay some more attention to especially the roads in Guy’s Hill and Troja. I forecast a win for Morrison.

* St Catherine South Central will be another cakewalk for MP Andrew Wheatley. In 2020 he polled 6,972 to beat Kurt Matthews of the PNP, who received 1,699. Dr Wheatley is great at retail politics. He has done a fair bit of work in the areas of infrastructural and social improvement and is very visible on the ground. Wheatley has much potential and will be an asset to a future JLP Cabinet, notwithstanding hiccups of the past.

* St Catherine South Western: Known as Warmington Land, in 2020 Clifford Warmington polled 11,185 to defeat, Kurt Waul of the PNP, who got 6,084. Say what you want about the irascible nature of Warmington, but his work as an MP cannot be discounted. He looks out first and foremost for his constituents and they appreciate the fact that he does. He is liked by his constituents primarily because he gets results which benefit them materially. His constituents have kept on rewarding him, too, because he is accessible. Several of his constituents have said publicly that the snappish Warmington in front of the camera is not the man they meet and know, especially in one-on-one engagements. He is a good retail politician. I forecast that Warmington will by ‘donkey lengths’.

* St Catherine Southern will be a battle royal. In 2020, MP Fitz Jackson polled 6,318 votes to beat the JLP’s Delroy Dobney, who received, 5,576. There is a win of change blowing in this seat. Jackson may well believe that he is a shoo-in, but the winner in the upcoming election will be determined by voter turnout in the electoral divisions of Hellshire, Greater Portmore East, and Braeton, I forecast. This one is too close to call now.

* St Catherine West Central will stay in the JLP column. Dr Christopher Tufton polled 6,986 in 2020 to beat Kenyama Brown of the PNP, who received 2,167. Tufton has done some good work in his constituency regarding social and infrastructural improvements. He has a national and positive presence as a Cabinet minister. Tufton is on his way back to Gordon House.

In summary, the JLP will win 36 seats and the PNP 11; 16 are too close to call at this time, I forecast. There will be no honeymoon for the winners or losers.

Garfield Higgins is an educator and journalist. Send comments to the Jamaica Observer or higgins160@yahoo.com.

GRANGE… will win again by a country mile.

Alando Terrelonge, the Jamaica Labour Party candidate for St Catherine East Central, acknowledges his supporters.

PRYCE… will face a battle

NEITA GARVEY… should win seat again

WHEATLEY… a cakewalk.

WARMINGTON…works hard as an MP.

JACKSON…seat too close to call

MORRISON…has been putting in a lot of good work.

TUFTON… on his way back to Gordon House (Photo: Naphtali Junior)

The 1976 State of Public Emergency must never be forgotten.

There remains no apology for the actions that have been dubbed the Green Bay Massacre.