In Pursuit of Civility and Mutual Respect

"Utterances from some in the political sphere and positions of authority belittle us as a nation and also undermine respect for all. Public respect is rapidly descending to an all-time low. The language used routinely is distasteful, disgraceful, and comments are derogatory.”- P.J. Patterson. The introduction of vulgar, crude and rude remarks in the public space is nothing new. Over the years we have seen our parliamentarians behave in a manner that is unbecoming of elected representatives of the people. The Jamaican Parliament has become a haven for all sort of toxic remarks and disrespectful comments from both sides of the political divide. Civility is about more than just politeness. Patterson argues that it is not to Jamaica's benefit that our citizenry should disengage from public discourse because of the fear of vulgar personal abuse, or reduce the available talent pool from which successive effective leadership will emerge. Perhaps we should however be thankful given that we are yet to witness the exchange of fists or a physical attack on a parliamentarian by his or her colleague. It is a national disgrace to see how low we have descended as a people whose ancestors were once enslaved. The fact that a former prime minister and the current prime minister have spoken about the lack of civility in the society clearly speaks volume concerning where we are as a society. Brand Jamaica is a powerful brand. Jamaica’s cultural influence is akin to that of a superpower. Jamaica continues to be the darlings of the track and field space as well as sports in general. Just about everyone wishes to emulate a Jamaican. In fact, in Hollywood, there are many movies and television series that have attempted to pull off what they believe to be an authentic Jamaican (patois) language. Recently, former leader of the People’s National Party (PNP) and former prime minister of Jamaica PJ Patterson spoke about the increased usage of distasteful comments regarding political discourse. Interestingly, within the same week, leader of the Jamaica Labour Party JLP and prime minister of Jamaica Andrew Holness also opined on the lack of civility in the Jamaican society. PJ Patterson who has the record for being Jamaica’s longest serving prime minister from 1992 to 2006 attempted to reset the button on civility with the introduction in 1994 of the Values and Attitudes Programme. The programme was aimed at addressing indiscipline, incivility and violence. However, the programme died a natural death from a lack of societal buy-in and partisan politics. PJ Patterson said, "instead of mutual respect, a small but vociferous number of our public speakers are consistently mean-spirited and vulgar. This appalling deterioration cannot be allowed to continue without our clear denunciation as 'one people out of many.” We dare not remain silent as it cannot be condoned. Mr. Patterson added that no person or office is exempt from criticism, and in doing so, there will inevitably be disagreements. However, civility and respect must be maintained. Patterson himself was not spared the offensive language and crude remarks that have now defined us or at least our political process. In fact on the political stage Patterson’s perceived sexuality was often fair game by the opposing Labourites. As homophobic as Jamaica is Patterson served 14 years as Jamaica’s prime minister. However, the discourse must be balanced in that his opponent Edward Seaga was very much dehumanized by many sections of the society. Additionally, former prime minister, Portia Simpson Miller also endured her fair share of mudslinging on and off the campaign trail. In fact, Sista P as she is affectionately called had to endure various offensive names from both within the People's National Party and outside of her own political party. The offensive remarks about Mrs. Portia Simpson Miller were always about her mental acuity. Interestingly, many of the problems we are grappling with as a society have their genesis in the political sphere. The process of political bantering holds no hostages. As a result everything and anything is said during this period about political opponents. Jamaica is once again in that election mode phase as the Local Government elections are due in early 2024. The Prime Minister, Andrew Holness announced recently that no more postponement of this election is envisaged. The political temperature is once again going through the roof and we should expect more name calling and mudslinging on the campaign trails. Politicization of Public Office. The politicization of public office is not unique to Jamaica. In fact, we have seen examples of this in the twin republic of Trinidad and Tobago. Recently, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley during a People’s National Movement (PNM) public meeting accused the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) of wasting taxpayers’ money with demands for security measures at a building the Government had sourced for its operations. Roger Gaspard SC is the Director of Public Prosecutions in Trinidad and Tobago. In response to the prime minister’s comments , the Opposition in Trinidad claimed that the Prime Minister’s “bitterness” towards Gaspard had nothing to do with any empty building, but more so with the fact that the DPP discontinued one of the corruption cases relating to the Piarco Airport development project. In Jamaica, a political tsunami erupted when the JLP led government used its majority to increase the retirement age for both the Director of Public Prosecutions DPP and the Auditor General AG. Opposition Leader Mark Golding strongly objected to the constitutional amendment, stating that it was brought to the House without prior notice, without any consultation concerning provisions to do with the appointment or extension of tenure of the DPP and the auditor general. As a result of the government’s action a number of actors entered the public discourse and in so doing we saw the politicization of the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. Additionally, a number of personal comments were made against the current DPP, Paula Llewellyn, who will be 63 this September. Respect For All. Many of us do not show any respect for those we deem lesser than ourselves. This level of disrespect happens almost on a daily basis in both the public and private sectors. It is however worse in the government service. In many instances letters are written to officials who are being paid with taxpayers’ dollars yet no response is forthcoming. The last two weeks have been mind-boggling with regards to the crude remarks by some learned folks among us. Is there a benefit to the wider society when we engage in politicizing public offices? Who will be willing to serve their country knowing very well that their integrity will be so tarnished? We are all guilty regarding the level at which the society has descended. Whether it is in sharing those comments on various social media platforms or liking them, not one of us is blameless. Democracy is a fragile concept. The entire world saw this with the January 6th, 2021 insurrection as supporters of Donald Trump marched on the Capitol in order to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential elections in the USA. Our actions have consequences. We must be mindful of the sacrifices of our ancestors who gave their all so that we can enjoy some of the benefits of being free people. Let us not squander that legacy in the heat of politicking. We need to turn our backs on mean- spiritedness and vulgarity and instead embrace a more gentle society. It costs nothing to display good manners and show respect. Unfortunately, we have not been setting positive examples for our children. We should leave our children a legacy of respect instead of one of uncouth behaviour. We all can do better and we must. Now is the time for us to pursue civility as we work together to become agents of change for our society. In the words of Andrew Holness, it cannot be disputed that there has been evidence of a reduction in the level of civility and the quality of the political discourse. 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 © #Jamaica #Independence