In civilized societies out of necessity governments must engage in a challenging balancing act between ensuring citizens civil rights and ensuring the rule of law.. Representatives of the people enact laws in line with the demands of those they represent . The enforcement of those laws and the commensurate stability of said societies are a consent decree between the Governed and those who govern. This marriage works only when both parties show fidelity to the stated goals as is the case in any marriage.
No society can claim to want security, human and civil rights yet refuse to obey laws and show respect and give support to those who enforce said laws.
The challenge inherent in striking that balance is not a job which will ever be completed, it continues to be a work in progress even in the most sophisticated and advanced societies.
Nations which have accomplished some of the best results in terms of less incarceration of their people are generally societies which are largely racially homogeneous societies ie, the Scandinavian region of Europe. The seemingly more harmonious nature of their societies are generally ones in which social and economic conditions are attended to with strict focus. On the other hand there are societies where laws are strictly enforced with stunning brutality . The end result is that citizens are cowed into submission, they avoid running afoul of laws , ie China , Suadi Arabia Iran etal.
Simply put the consequences of getting caught does not justify the means.
It is reasonable to conclude that many of us are not exactly lining up to enter the latter societies,
This leaves us with the other societies where there is an alphabet stew of different types of people with differing views, temperaments and attitudes.
Such is the Jamaican society, a mass of opinions and a cornucopia of attitudes not constrained by totalitarian edict.
How do we run such a society in which everyone is stridently opinionated and vehemently opposed to hearing the other person out ? Yet everyone clamor for the trappings of other societies , societies which subject themselves to the consent decree between those who govern and those they govern?
THE GOVERNED
That arrangement requires a disciplined approach by the governed which eschew criminal activities and a decision to respect laws, understanding that laws are there for their protection. Citizens have a right and indeed a responsibility to lobby, agitate and even peaceably militate to have laws deemed injurious to their well-being removed and replaced with more appropriate ones.
The latter is particularly true for a nation like Jamaica in which many of the present laws were designed to keep the masses in check by powers antithetical to their interest.
The same is true for societies like the United States where ethnic minorities are not always best protected by some laws which were designed to empower one race over another.
Citizens who demand security must recognize and buy into the idea that the security they crave is their security not that of another. On that basis it is important that they become equal partners in the implementation of whatever strategies are employed toward ensuring that security.
Security of their persons, homes , communities, and country is not an abstract concept to be ensured without individual participation.
A person whose life is seriously threatened will report that threat to authorities , he/she will do whatever it takes for agents of the state to protect him/her.
The same principle applies to homes and other personal properties.
Why then is that level of coöperation removed or absent when the same coöperation is required to protect the community and by extension the nation?
It reeks of utter selfishness and myopia that once the threat is removed from the properties we deem ours, we remove our coöperation with those whose task it is to provide said security.
It is probably one of the best barometer to measure whether we speak with forked tongues when we utter the false words about love for Country when our commitment goes no farther than our own lives and our personal properties.
THOSE WHO GOVERN
Those given the privileged to serve in Government must divest themselves of the notion they are rulers.
That privilege is fleeting, fickle and can be taken away at a moment’s notice.
Government too must keep it’s end of the bargain if the relationship is to have a chance to work. The protection of the citizenry is paramount, after all government is comprised of representatives whom the people elect to carry out their wishes.
Government is similar to a human body, each part of that body is equally as important as the next.
Sure the eye can argue about it’s importance but the bladder though hidden away holds urinal waste for disposition .This function prevents lethal poisoning of the entire body.
The moral of that analogy is that every part must work in tandem for the health of the body, a dead body also includes dead eyes.
So too should every arm of Government work together for the common good. A house divided among itself will not stand.
It does Government no good, and the people a tremendous dis-service when one part of Government seek to play both sides of the fence which ultimately results in animosity and enmity. Each arm has a duty , each arm should do it’s duty without bringing undue ridicule, condemnation and stress to the other.
The job of governing is difficult enough without the hand sticking the eye to appear relevant .
In the end chopping off the nose to spite the face hurts the body and makes for a ugly picture.
We accomplish much when we work together, not when we seek to set ourselves apart for cheap popularity and self aggrandizement.