Tomorrow, August 6, Jamaica will celebrate 64 years of Independence from Great Britain. This is on the heels of Emancipation Day celebrations last Saturday. Independence Day will provide for many a welcome relief from the hustle and bustle and competing demands of daily life — and God knows we need every break we can get, though we ought to be careful about an overabundance of national holidays.

As readers of this column may recall, I have argued repeatedly that though we may have gained political independence and are working our way towards economic resilience. It is clear that we are not a truly independent people. One of the fulcrums of my concern has to do with our judicial independence.

One of the most fundamental characteristics of an independent people is their ability to make laws which speak to how they govern themselves. Yet, after 64 years of Independence, the final appeal regarding any law made in Jamaica is still under the direction, determination, and jurisdiction of our former colonial masters. In fact, no Bill can become law unless it is signed by the King’s representative in Jamaica, the governor general. When a Jamaican has to make an appeal to any judicial matter, he or she has to make it to the Privy Council which is based in the metropole that we say we are independent of. This is a fundamental contradiction of any notion of Independence that we should hold dear.

And we seem to be in no hurry to change it. Successive governments over the past 50 years have spoken of their desire to do so, but they have failed abysmally to effect any change. This and other aspects of constitutional reform have been trumpeted on political platforms by both major political parties as matters to be addressed, but we have nothing to show for all the noise.

As I write the process is bogged down in a quagmire of partisanship, largely from the Opposition, which is adamant that any future discussions on the matter must first address our final appellate court. Both parties need to understand that all well-thinking Jamaicans are tired of the political pussyfooting and want to see a serious effort on the part of the political leadership to get this done.

And this must involve the full participation of the Jamaican people. The first attempt failed mainly because the constitutional committee failed to do so, perhaps with the mistaken or narcissistic belief that what an intelligent elite decides must be accepted by everyone. People never felt that they were integral to the process, that their views mattered, and many certainly did not know what was being addressed. The latter because little or no attempt was made to robustly educate Jamaicans on the contours of constitutional reform. This must not happen in any future attempts.

As we celebrate what we call our Independence this year, there are dark clouds on the horizon that may very well test our resolve as a people. Some may argue that these clouds are already sending threatening showers on the island. I refer to our present relationship with the US and the mercurial posture of its Government in its designs on the Western Hemisphere.

In this present iteration of the Donald Trump presidency, we have been hit needlessly with tariffs, even though our trading relationships bring more benefits to the US than it does us. The trade gap is wide in favour of the US. Then there is the third-country national boondoggle, whereby the Trump Administration expects Caribbean states to accommodate deportees for a period of time. Any country that does not go along with this edict and sign a memorandum of understanding with the US can expect to be penalised. There are several ways in which America can exact penalty, none of them good.

It is clear that America will not back down from any demand which it believes, corruptly or otherwise, is in its best interests. It has showed its hand in Venezuela with the capture of former President Nicolas Maduro. It is currently putting Cuba under severe pressure and there could be regime change in that country by the end of this year. The Cuban people are suffering immensely and there is no doubt that to have his way Trump will not resile to heap further suffering on them and anyone who gets in his way. And he can bring the same kind of pressure to bear on any small country who opposes him especially those sitting in his back yard.

So I believe that the time will come, if it has not already, when our sovereignty as a people and our sense of independence will be greatly challenged by this new world order that Trump wants to create. It is gunboat diplomacy par excellence. We are witnessing an abdication of American moral leadership around the world fuelled by a megalomaniac who believes explicitly in the doctrine that might is right. It is enforcing conformity of the weak by using force as a tool of fear.

We will have to learn to navigate the winds of geopolitical uncertainty that are blowing our way. And I do not believe that the American ambassador-designate to Jamaica, Kari Lake, will bring cool breeze. I hope to be surprised, but I predict that we will have an uneasy relationship with her and the US, especially given that she wants to steer us away from China which, in her testimony in Congress, she seems wedded to do.

So we will be in for interesting times in the near future. We have grown a sense of dignity over the years in presiding over our own affairs. I hope we will not lose that essential dignity when the times of testing come. There is much that an America can learn from us.

In that spirit I wish you a reflective celebration of our 64th anniversary of Independence.

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 also hosts a podcast — Mango Tree Dialogues — on his YouTube channel. Send comments to the Jamaica
Observer or stead6655@aol.com.

Raulston Nembhard