Emancipation Park, Kingston
DJ Miller Photo
Between the Olympics and the Independence celebrations. Jamaicans were feeling good. But can we keep that feeling going? Sadly, past experience says no.
Thanks to the coincidence of the London 2012 Olympics, and the celebration of Jamaica’s 50th anniversary of political independence, patriotism was on full display in July and August. Public spaces, as well as buildings, both public and private, were bedecked using the national colours in creative and colourful decorations. Jamaicans were wearing, day after day, black, green and gold clothes, the hashtag #teamjamaica was trending, and most people were declaring themselves “proud to be Jamaican.”
This wasn’t new. During the previous two IAAF World Championships in particular, and when the Reggae Boyz made the 1998 World Cup, there were similar expressions of patriotism. None of them lasted, and I doubt this one will.
KSAC building
DJ Miller Photo
It’s not hard to figure out why. Life in Jamaica is hard. Not as hard, sure, as in some developing countries, but for many people, hard nonetheless. The grind of poverty, and the fear of crime and concern about issues like heath, education and corruption are never-ending. Advances are few and glacially slow. Events like the Olympics are actually a pit stop, a welcome break from reality.
So when the closing ceremony is over, and the accolades for the athletes have ended, when the remains of the Grand Gala have been cleaned up, it’s back to that reality of everyday life, which for many, isn’t fun.
I’ve been trying to figure out how to keep that fantastic energy going on a national scale, to harness that patriotism for national and economic development, and I must say I don’t have the answer.
It seems to me that while one problem lies in leadership, and that a 2008 Obama-style visionary could help, that could create problems of its own. The problem with hitching your hope to a political star, is that when the star starts to fall, as Obama’s undeniably has, and as Michael Manley’s did in the 1970s, you end up with a disillusioned and bitter populace.
So if we can’t draw inspiration from our leaders then where should we look?
The curb in Liguanea painted in the national colours
DJ Miller Photo
The only answer I can find is that we have to find it within ourselves and from whichever sources we draw on for personal inspiration. The incredible achievements of people like Usain Bolt and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce have to be harnessed by each of us individually to propel us to greater heights in our individual lives. We can all then lift Jamaica together. It might sound inadequate, but as they say, the only person you can change is you.
Balloons for sale at the Denbigh Agricultural Show
DJ Miller Photo
If you have any other ideas, I’d love to hear them.
Related articles
- Forget Politics and Crime – It’s Olympics Time in Jamaica! (newsandviewsbydjmillerja.wordpress.com)
- London 2012 Olympics: Jamaicans celebrate ‘one, two, three’ medals in men’s 200m final with lively carnival atmosphere at O2 (standard.co.uk)
Good post DJM. I am in this pit everyday until I’m in the dance studio, then I can dream again. Jamaica is a very depressing place for me and I will agree we have to find that inspiration inside. Outside of the Olympics and other events where we can dream and feel good to be Jamaican, the options are rather limiting. BTW I did not feel patriotic seeing the decorations and flags on cars.
Any other idea you ask? We have to help each other along the way. I find it that we are not supportive of each other at all. It’s each man/woman for him/herself and whilst we could accomplish more together, we spend the time complaining and working in our own corners.
It’s time we help a brother/sister up and help build the nation. This culture of nepotism will continue to stifle those with big dreams to get people inspired and motivated again.
****
Thanks so much. I agree that that cooperative and community element is also very important.
Dionne:
Clearly an entire nation cannot maintain the kind of “high” that Jamaica 50 and the Games of the XXX Olympiad, London 2012 generated in July and August. Therefore, we need to highlight more of the positives around us. And, that is not to say that we are going to ignore the negatives.
For example, during this back-to-school period, we will probably hear more about the schools that are NOT ready, than the ones that are. Why? All schools should be ready at the start of the school year. And, more stories will surface about students who cannot get transfers, than those who did, etc.
Take the new leg of Highway 2000…I know more about the lack of access at Sandy Bay, and very little about the new leg, per se.
Those are some basic examples; however, there are many “feel good” stories that can be generated, if we choose to be more positive about our lives and country.
Peace,
Carmen
Thanks Carmen – we have a couple of programme coming up that you may be interested in. I will give you a heads up when we plan to air them.
We have to highlight what is positive about Jamaica. Importantly, since the tag line is ‘on a mission’, Jamaicans have to know what the mission is, feel it, own it and understand what is required of them to make it a reality.
People live the negatives each day, we need them to believe in the positives and potential of the country and use this as a catalyst. Therefore our policy makers, media and all stakeholders need to promote the positives, educate on the prospects and encourage partnerships in this regard. The government has an important role as facilitator in this process – rather than inpiration, we need the leaders to facilitate. We will not achieve on a “high” created by sports, food and music alone but the feel good aspect is a good start on which we can build.
I should have added this link at the end of my blog post which I just finished. I said something rather similar. Reality sets in! That’s a good way of describing these all-too-brief periods – a pit stop. http://petchary.wordpress.com/2012/08/19/sunday-sighs-august-19-2012/
I agree with Corve DaCosta that the way to make this country a little better is to simply care for each other. A little kindness and compassion goes a long way. And I don’t just mean love your Mom and Dad more. I mean care for other Jamaicans – whether rich or poor, friend or stranger. It’s actually not hard to do, and very often, it’s not going to even cost you anything to lend a helping hand.
And still being an Obama fan, I don’t agree that his star has undeniably fallen! He has achieved a great deal, even if some of the glamor has worn off a bit.
PS Frankly, I am not sure “feel good” stories per se are going to make a difference. The media has done that so many times before. But media reports and programs with a purpose (rather than just churning over the same old problems) COULD help, I think.
My two pennies’ worth!
I will argue that Obama point with you another time!
I am not an entrepreneur, but the idea offered by one of your guests on All Angles that a group of entrepreneurs get together for a think tank session to try to come up with ideas for making gains from Jamaica’s sport prowess sounds like a good thing.
I always wonder though in these discussions, “Where is the money going to come from to ‘capitalize’ on all the goodwill?” Money doesn’t grow on trees and our economy is very shaky right now.
I don’t know about maintaining that level of a high or even if this is important. For the same reason we don’t celebrate our birthdays, corporate anniversaries etc. for a year but rather a commemorative moment. It’s hard to keep doing but we could try with events but to top the Independence propelled by the Olympics; that is what created the high. What I feel needs to be done however is instilling national pride in our people and especially our children.
I always marvel how Americans are taught they are the greatest nation on earth and they buy into it and have anger when their dominance in the world is threatened. They feel they are great and should succeed in everything. They are taught about their rich history and made to feel proud.
We need to teach our children our history; beyond slavery. My lesson in history at the primary level was white people are wicked because they stole us from Africa, brought us to cut cane in the sun and God bless what we were given to eat. Come on! Ask any child about our heroes and they probably can name them. Nanny is a joke to them because we are told she shielded bullets with a particular part of her body. Who is Tacky? What did Garvey do? Why was Colin Powell a part of our celebration? Who is he and what did he do?
Why can’t we learn about great Jamaicans? I’m happy to hear that Garveyism is being introduced and civics brought back. How about Jamaicans making an impact at home and abroad? How many children know the people from their own communities and schools that achieved? A simple Google search of Jamaican Americans contributing greatly to the American society is a marvel. I watch profile on a Sunday evening and am amazed about what our people continue to achieve. We don’t just run well, we are good at a number of things. We should have 3 minute features on TV and radio on Jamaicans: what we were first in, greatest in, known for and the very important what we are doing (globally).
If you ask me, we are the greatest nation on earth. This to the point that every time I see a black person achieve something I look them up to see if they have Jamaican heritage. Every time I hear something about a Jamaican making a positive impact I say “here we go again”. We are quietly taking over the world but for crime and corruption. We need to instill confidence in our children and let them know they can achieve, just because they are Jamaicans.
Got your point about not being able to stay on a high forever, but there are no happy mediums with us. We go from the high to rock bottom in the blink of an eye, with all the pessimism and despair about this country that was there in June, and vanished temporarily while we were on that high. That is really what I was getting at. How do we keep people feeling patriotic and positive about Jamaica?
I hate the word “patriotic.” But I do agree that instilling a sense of confidence in who you are and where you come from is so important. And as Julius Garvey said in an interview while he was here – stop blaming everyone else – shed that “baggage.”
Dionne, great blog! I wondered the same thing when I realized that the 4X100m races were about to be run and the Grand Gala had passed. How do we keep this high? Or how do we maintain the patriotism we had for those two wonderful months? I honestly believe that if we recite our national anthem and/or pledge, we will find words that not only resonate with the entire nation but people across the world. If we could love each other as we love ourselves and really take on the challenge of “a nation on a mission” then we could somehow keep that spirit alive. These celebrations were a great reminder of the spirit of our people, I truly believe that in those moments we forgot all our ills and saw how great a nation we are. We can’t hide from the realities but if we could bottle these moments and use them as reminders, perhaps we could start digging our nation from the black hole that we’ve fallen into over the decades. So I agree with you 100%, it all begins with each and everyone of us remembering our national pride and symbols and understanding who we are as a people. We are a great nation and the people who help to bring us down should be exceedingly less than those we rise us up.
Won’t last of course. But was certainly a very good time. Very proud to be Jamaican. Anyhow Now let’s deal with the serious issues at hand, like the economic uncertainty, a wobbling PM etc
A lot of very interesting comments, would more positive stories help ? do we celebrate achievement enough ?
Similar questions are now being asked in the UK , especially in light of the fact that the country is still in recession and unemployment is still very high and the Coalition Government has been cost-cutting funding for school sports programmes and selling off school fields . The BBC did a survey a few days after the closing ceremony and 54 percent of persons did not think the Olympic ‘ feel good’ would continue or translates into any lasting benefit.
But there is not so much at stake in the UK – although its economy is wobbly too. They have other things that they can fall back on, so they can’t really be compared. Does Jamaica have any other strengths to draw on? Probably, and we need to draw on those too.
noted
Not to dispute the points noted, Dionne, but I don’t particularly want us to be on the #TeamJamaica high all the time. It’s these moments that make it special. Can you imagine if it were Christmas everyday?
On another note, I think the nation on a whole is too busy reveling or complaining about the now to focus on the future. If we were, there would have been planning teams in place before the celebrations to set plans in motion for the aftermath – such as the #BuyJamaica campaign I referred to on Twitter the other day.