Bad mind, or severely corrosive envy, is a crippling communicable disease. Those afflicted with bad mind are obsessed with hindering the success of others, whether the success of others impedes theirs or not. Those infected with bad mind are highly infectious all the time. Social distancing and routine practices like frequent mind cleansing can help to reduce the rapid spread of bad mind germs.

Bad mind exists on a continuum. It is like stage 4 cancer. The crab-in-a-barrel mentality is stage three. Individuals resent others trying to rise above shared economic struggles. Those infected with bad mind hate the success of everyone, including those they have never met. Like the scorpion that stung the frog who reluctantly gave him a ride across the river, hatred of others’ success is in the very DNA of those who are afflicted with bad mind.

“Red-yeye” is like stage 2 cancer on the bad mind continuum. Covetousness over someone else’s material possessions fuels those who suffer from red-yeye. Malice is severe ill will that makes a person want to see another suffer or experience trouble. Malice is like stage 1 cancer.

William “Willie” Lynch portrait.

THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS

America is called the “land of opportunity”, among other things, because of its historical promise that anyone, regardless of family background or social class, can achieve success, wealth, and a better life through hard work and determination.

Hollywood does its deliberate best to ensure that the idea of the American Dream, which is part and parcel of the land of opportunity promise, is continuously riveted into the psyche of nearly all who inhabit planet Earth. One does not need a degree in economics and politics to figure out that the decades-old land of opportunity branding is part and parcel of a larger economic model. This model is massively advantageous to America. Anyway, the finer points of that discussion are for another piece.

Like it or not, the United States still has the largest economy in the world, with a nominal gross domestic product (GDP) of over US$32 trillion. China ranks second in nominal GDP, though it takes the top spot when measured by purchasing power parity (PPP). America is still king of the hill in many areas that determine the strongest of the strong.

And, yes, I am aware of the choking debt with which America is saddled. The total public debt outstanding for the United States is approximately US$40.03 trillion, according to official reports from the US Treasury Fiscal Data. This total breaks down into debt held by the public and internal government holdings.

One does not need a degree in economics to figure out that this is not a particularly healthy state. And, yes, I am aware of Ferguson’s Law on debt, which states that any great power that spends more money servicing its national debt (paying interest) than it spends on national defence (military) risks entering a terminal geopolitical decline. The United States crossed this threshold in 2024. As I understand it, no great power stretching back to the Venetian Empire in medieval times has surmounted Ferguson’s Law. Again, that is for an upcoming piece.

Notwithstanding the conspicuous indicators that some scholars say prove the sun is setting on America, “O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave” (the famous final line of
The Star-Spangled Banner, the National Anthem of the United States) is still the unipolar power.

One of the factors that has caused America to rise from a colony of Great Britain to becoming the most powerful country on Earth is the foresight of its founding fathers. Great foresight is conspicuous in, among other things, the Constitution of the United States. It was “written in 1787, ratified in 1788, and in operation since 1789. The United States Constitution is the world’s longest surviving written charter of Government” (US Senate). The founding fathers of America — to their everlasting credit — realised that Great Britain’s economic model was fuelled, among other things, by an ethos of institutionalised envy. By and large, we in the Caribbean inherited institutionalised bad mind from Britain.

Ponder this: William “Willie” Lynch, a British slave owner in the West Indies, in 1712, on the banks of the James River in Virginia, USA, made a now-infamous speech in which he told other slave masters that the “secret” to controlling enslaved Africans was to set them against one another. Here is an excerpt from Lynch’s template:

“The black slave, after receiving this indoctrination, shall carry on and will become self-refuelling and self-generating for hundreds of years, maybe thousands. Don’t forget you must pitch the old black male vs the young black male, and the young black male against the old black male. You must use the dark skin slaves vs the light skin slaves, and the light skin slaves vs the dark skin slaves. You must use the female vs the male, and the male vs the female. You must also have your white servants and overseers distrust all blacks, but it is necessary that your slaves trust and depend on us. They must love, respect, and trust only us.”

These practices seem to have worked and have put a “curse” on descendants of African slaves, including those in Jamaica. Lynch did not create bad mind. But Lynch massively helped to institutionalise it.

The founding fathers of America sought a total departure from British institutionalised envy. Did they achieve that departure in practice in their time? No. Were there glaring contradictions in the fact that some of the founding fathers owned slaves? Yes. Were they thinking about people of colour, black people in particular, being equal when they wrote the constitution? No. So what was the unique contribution of the founding fathers of America?

They wrote a document that was not set in stone. It was built on a pragmatic view of human nature. The founding fathers recognised they were flawed and fallible men. Institutionalised envy did not and does not encourage or envisage change.

Understand this: The American Revolutionary War, which began on April 19, 1775, and officially concluded with the signing of the Treaty of Paris on September 3, 1783, was among other things an ideological war for the birth of a new nation.

A revolution is a complete change in the social order. That complete change in the social order is encapsulated in the Preamble to the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” This was written by Thomas Jefferson. “The pursuit of happiness” does not mean “Gig gig gig gee” (mindless laughter/amusement/entertainment,) as we say in the streets. As part of the complete change in the social order, the founding fathers sought to create a society in which anyone — white males at the time — who was willing to work hard could release and realise their purpose — happiness. The thinking of the founding fathers was diametrically opposed to the rigid class system that was the modus operandi in Great Britain.

Bad mind cannot comfortably exist and/or thrive in a system in which “the pursuit of happiness” is a national premium, if not a national positive obsession. This national premium of the pursuit of happiness is one of the primary reasons that America is still king of the hill — and I suspect it will remain king for at least another half a century.

Jamaica did not have a change in the social order like America. I am not saying we should have had or need to have a revolution. There is more than one way to change the social order. Anyway, bad mind is very unfortunately a national instinct in Jamaica.

SUCCESS = SUSPICION

Bad mind is inimical to rapid positive growth and development. If Jamaica does not find a way to curb the pervasiveness of bad mind, we will be an emerging economy for another 100 years. I don’t know of any great economy in which success is invariably met with suspicion. This is a formula for underdevelopment.

Among other things, Jamaica needs a new and better national instinct. In observance of our 64th year of political independence, I was hoping that Governor General Sir Patrick Allen, Prime Minister Andrew Holness, and/or Opposition Leader Mark Golding would have bravely made the debilitating and deadly habit of begrudging achievement in this country a primary theme in their Emancipation and Independence messages. They did not. Instead, we heard the predictable.

We complain that the best and brightest are leaving our shores. The push factors include more than crime and violence, bureaucracy, tacit classism, and the high costs associated with doing business.

Bad mind is one of the biggest push factors. When one among us succeeds, it is too often treated with automatic suspicion. Many begin to reel off reasons success must remain a stranger, especially to individuals who look like the majority. We are ingesting poison.

Do these expressions of self-hate sound familiar?

“Mi hear sah him inna drugs.”

“Him must ah wuk Obeah.”

“Political pop-offs, friends in high places, underhanded business practices, that is why he has made it big.”

“He/she must be deep in sexual immorality.”

We need to spend far more time in this country celebrating the honest achievements of our countrymen. We spend far too much time plotting and executing how others can be ripped to shreds.

When will we realise that success is not finite? Many among us seem to believe that if my neighbour succeeds it prevents and/or diminishes the chances of my success. Tearing down successful people is a national pastime and nearly every successful person is a target. This sickness will only make us poorer, weaker, and less respected globally.

I am not saying we should avoid asking legitimate questions or conducting legitimate investigations of people whose lifestyle bears no resemblance to their income. I am not advocating that admiration of others’ success should place us in a state of amnesia. I am not saying the success of others raises them above scrutiny. The point is that permanent suspicion, no matter the evidence that individuals have earned their keep honestly, is severely corrosive. Understand this: We can build great edifices, but until Jamaica puts a premium on success, we will not become “the place of choice to live, work, raise families, and do business”, as per Vision 2030, Jamaica’s National Development Plan.

Recently, on Independence Day, August 6, the names of individuals who will receive national honours and awards in October, on National Heroes’ Day, were made public. Like clockwork, some took to social media to rip apart many of those who are slated to be honoured. Like confetti, hateful statements were released. Some individuals who have honestly served this country for donkey’s years were vilified and pilloried. Some were ridiculed with grotesque animation. Some, who evidently feed their dispositions with lime juice every morning, cursed the nomination process.

National honours and awards are announced on Independence Day, August 6..

THE VAZ SAGA

“Bad mind is active,” is much more than a popular refrain. It is a warning of a clear and present danger. For some 40 years Daryl Vaz, a man who has devoted his life to this country, was the victim of a contrived and nasty whispering campaign. Vaz and his family were made to suffer great emotional, financial, and social trauma by individuals who sought, among other things, to gain political and related advantages.

Slander is costly and deeply hurtful. For years some who ‘say prayers to the devil’ every day and/or worse circulated vicious falsehoods about how Vaz’s American visa came to be revoked. Recently it was revealed that the genesis of the revocation was precipitated by a tissue of lies, concocted by people in high places and noised abroad by confederates. Bad mind is crippling Jamaica. A new and better national instinct is needed like yesterday.

Daryl Vaz making a presentation in Parliament

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

HIGGINS … .