My Optimism: Your Reality: Happy New Year
"Take
the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take
the first step."- Martin Luther King Jr.
The beginning of a new year is special for so many reasons. A new year can be the start of a new job or a promotion. For others the start of a new year can be the beginning of a new relationship such as a marriage. Yet for others the start of 2020 can mean a commitment to lose weight. While for others the New Year can be synonymous with an addition to one’s family. We all look forward to the new year whether we are superstitious or not. Each society has superstitions and cultural practices. The calendar year 2020 is a leap year. As a result many people are already very wary of bad things happening. I suspect in the same way some of us believe in horoscope or palm readings which are other superstitious beliefs. However, I throw cold water on these things. One cannot be identified as a child of God and hold on to these fallacies which are not of God. On the other hand, superstitions can serve as social control mechanisms in holding a society together, especially those societies which are polytheistic. As a child growing up I often heard that one should not be caught sleeping at the start of a New Year. Undoubtedly, there are many patients in nursing homes, infirmaries and hospitals who care very little the state the New Year catches them in, whether awake or asleep. I am sure many of us have been caught sleeping at the start of a New Year, and so what? In most cultures people use champagne to toast the start of the New Year. In other civilizations going to Watch Night Service and or viewing a fireworks display are important elements in ushering a New Year. Then there are those among us for whom the New Year is just a continuation of the old. Where do you fall on the spectrum regarding the New Year? I am grateful to God for taking me, taking us through 2019 and into 2020. I am mindful that many families are hurting due the loss of loved ones. Perhaps, it was a case of a sudden death or maybe a homicide or suicide case. Possibly, your loved one was sick and passed off. In order to plan for the New Year we must remember some of sad moments of the old year. Last year more than 435 Jamaicans were killed in vehicular accidents. Additionally, a number of Jamaicans were shot and injured in celebratory gun salute to usher in the New Year. A journalist attached to Nationwide90FM was grazed in the chest when a bullet entered the roof of his house in Kingston. He was treated at hospital. A 22 year old customer service representative was shot during a gun salute on Spanish Town Road, while a 43 year old resident of Plantation Heights, St. Andrew was struck by a bullet at her house. Yet in another incident, a 60 year old woman was also injured during a gun salute in Arnett Gardens. The woman was shot after leaving a watch night service in Trench Town. The police reported that several persons with bullet wounds turned up at hospitals Wednesday morning. Pastor Mark Mullings, whose daughter is in hospital after being shot in the head at the Emmanuel Chapel in St. James, Wednesday morning, has appealed for an end to gun salutes. His daughter was watching the fireworks display at Pier One when she was shot during an illegal gun salute. Unfortunately, for the past five decades Jamaica has cultivated and embraced a gun culture which now threatens to destroy the very fiber of the society. Regrettably, at least 1,326 Jamaicans were murdered in 2019, a 3.4 per cent increase over 2018. Nowhere is sacred anymore. Criminals will take you out even at the churches’ altar. As a society we need to turn our backs and our resources on this destructive gun culture which has become popularized by our popular dancehall culture. The nation of Jamaica needs to repent from her sinful ways and return to God. We need to embrace a culture in which every Jamaican life is accorded the same respect, regardless of social status, gender, age, education, sexual orientation or religious affiliation. We cannot continue to kill off ourselves in this manner. The country is bleeding. My prayer for 2020 is that somehow our leaders find a way to stop the hemorrhaging which is currently so pervasive in the society. In the world of optimism where I spend most of my time; 2020 is going to be a wonderful and blessed year.
In the words of Jeremiah, For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
Happy New Year!
Wayne Campbell is an educator and social commentator with an interest in development policies as they affect culture and or gender issues.
waykam@yahoo.com
@WayneCamo
#NewYear
The beginning of a new year is special for so many reasons. A new year can be the start of a new job or a promotion. For others the start of a new year can be the beginning of a new relationship such as a marriage. Yet for others the start of 2020 can mean a commitment to lose weight. While for others the New Year can be synonymous with an addition to one’s family. We all look forward to the new year whether we are superstitious or not. Each society has superstitions and cultural practices. The calendar year 2020 is a leap year. As a result many people are already very wary of bad things happening. I suspect in the same way some of us believe in horoscope or palm readings which are other superstitious beliefs. However, I throw cold water on these things. One cannot be identified as a child of God and hold on to these fallacies which are not of God. On the other hand, superstitions can serve as social control mechanisms in holding a society together, especially those societies which are polytheistic. As a child growing up I often heard that one should not be caught sleeping at the start of a New Year. Undoubtedly, there are many patients in nursing homes, infirmaries and hospitals who care very little the state the New Year catches them in, whether awake or asleep. I am sure many of us have been caught sleeping at the start of a New Year, and so what? In most cultures people use champagne to toast the start of the New Year. In other civilizations going to Watch Night Service and or viewing a fireworks display are important elements in ushering a New Year. Then there are those among us for whom the New Year is just a continuation of the old. Where do you fall on the spectrum regarding the New Year? I am grateful to God for taking me, taking us through 2019 and into 2020. I am mindful that many families are hurting due the loss of loved ones. Perhaps, it was a case of a sudden death or maybe a homicide or suicide case. Possibly, your loved one was sick and passed off. In order to plan for the New Year we must remember some of sad moments of the old year. Last year more than 435 Jamaicans were killed in vehicular accidents. Additionally, a number of Jamaicans were shot and injured in celebratory gun salute to usher in the New Year. A journalist attached to Nationwide90FM was grazed in the chest when a bullet entered the roof of his house in Kingston. He was treated at hospital. A 22 year old customer service representative was shot during a gun salute on Spanish Town Road, while a 43 year old resident of Plantation Heights, St. Andrew was struck by a bullet at her house. Yet in another incident, a 60 year old woman was also injured during a gun salute in Arnett Gardens. The woman was shot after leaving a watch night service in Trench Town. The police reported that several persons with bullet wounds turned up at hospitals Wednesday morning. Pastor Mark Mullings, whose daughter is in hospital after being shot in the head at the Emmanuel Chapel in St. James, Wednesday morning, has appealed for an end to gun salutes. His daughter was watching the fireworks display at Pier One when she was shot during an illegal gun salute. Unfortunately, for the past five decades Jamaica has cultivated and embraced a gun culture which now threatens to destroy the very fiber of the society. Regrettably, at least 1,326 Jamaicans were murdered in 2019, a 3.4 per cent increase over 2018. Nowhere is sacred anymore. Criminals will take you out even at the churches’ altar. As a society we need to turn our backs and our resources on this destructive gun culture which has become popularized by our popular dancehall culture. The nation of Jamaica needs to repent from her sinful ways and return to God. We need to embrace a culture in which every Jamaican life is accorded the same respect, regardless of social status, gender, age, education, sexual orientation or religious affiliation. We cannot continue to kill off ourselves in this manner. The country is bleeding. My prayer for 2020 is that somehow our leaders find a way to stop the hemorrhaging which is currently so pervasive in the society. In the world of optimism where I spend most of my time; 2020 is going to be a wonderful and blessed year.
In the words of Jeremiah, For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
Happy New Year!
Wayne Campbell is an educator and social commentator with an interest in development policies as they affect culture and or gender issues.
waykam@yahoo.com
@WayneCamo
#NewYear
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