Sean Major-Campbell | Be thankful and prayerful

WITHOUT KNOWING who will win the general elections on Wednesday, September 3, (I am submitting my column before Election Day). I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate whomsoever has won same by the time this is printed. Most importantly, I give thanks for free and fair elections in our free and democratic society.

This has been a well-fought race. Jamaica needs a strong parliamentary Opposition as much as it needs a strong administration. Dr Andrew Holness and Mr Mark Golding are our Jamaican sons. We thank them for their important roles in political engagement.

Today, Prophet Jeremiah’s conversation with God is most fitting. In Jeremiah 18, “The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “Come, go down to the potter’s house, and there I will let you hear my words.” So, I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was working at his wheel. The vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as seemed good to him.”

We may find the word to the people of Judah is most fitting to Jamaica on this first Sunday after the General Elections: “Thus says the Lord: Look, I am a potter shaping evil against you and devising a plan against you. Turn now, all of you from your evil way, and amend your ways and your doings.”

Jesus’ use of the image re building a tower is instructive to the new administration. Whoever does not carry the cross and follows me cannot be my disciple. “For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it will begin to ridicule him, saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish’.”

A tower in Jesus’ day provided tremendous and invaluable opportunities for surveillance and defence. The fortress was incomplete without a tower. In the modern era, drones have the capacity to provide unmatched surveillance. However, there is another tower that is not matched by drones and weapons of physical warfare.

During election campaigning there is often much traditional usage of gospel songs and biblical images on both sides. The Tower of Babel was alive and well with the abundance of words and war of words. Now that the elections are over, the new administration may want to keep on board the image of God as the strong tower. Proverbs 18:10 no doubt proclaimed by the voice of faith notes, “The name of the Lord is a fortified tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.” Andrew or Mark, whoever is prime minister, you do well to take seriously this position as men whose parties have also employed the language of religious faith.

We may liken Jamaica’s distant tower to our sovereign King Charles III. Andrew and Mark, let us hasten the process leading to the realisation of our Jamaican republic. Beware of a referendum which may politicise the decision concerning repatriating or not repatriating our final appellate court to the Caribbean Court of Justice. Beware of delaying our decolonisation journey. While we are at it, may we affirm our Jamaican identity as within the broader context of our Caribbean identity.

In keeping with the prophetic tradition, Christians do well if they live as agents of light, love, and hope. It is we the people, religious or otherwise, who will determine the success of the new administration. They have been employed by us and may be fired by us! Let us prayerfully support each other even as we peacefully challenge them to do the work of good governance and justice for all.

If I may broaden the manifestos, I would add three unpopular concerns:

1. The removal from public spaces of all the green rags, orange rags, graffiti, and poster boards associated with election campaigns.

2. The establishment of municipal animal shelters.

3. The affirmation of freedom of religion as being equivalent to freedom from religion.

Now we must continue preparation for the next big shock. Will it be another epidemic? Will it be a major earthquake? Will it be a geopolitical storm? These are omnipresent threats for which we must be prepared. And let us not forget that Jamaica is in climate departure. This means that the average temperature of Jamaica’s coolest year is projected to be warmer than its hottest year between 1960 and 2005. On June 22, 2019, just prior to the arrival of COVID in Jamaica, Kingston saw its highest temperature on record. 39.1 degrees Celsius (102 degrees Fahrenheit). Preparation is a must for any attendant consequences to not-before-seen heat, drought, and food insecurity.

Jamaica is indeed poised to be the next major success story in the Caribbean. It continues to be an island paradise with so many springs of hope, resilience, and renewal. Our democracy works with the understanding that Jamaica belongs to all of us regardless of who leads the political administration.

Tinga Stewart in his famous winning festival song is still appropriate for us today:

All nation have dem sensation,

an every nation av dem baderation,

This is the time for a appi meditashan.

Nuh badda fuss, enjoy di celebrashan yeah.

Mama dadi, anti, daata, an yuutman

enjoy yuself iina your homelan;

An likl more, I an I ruop iin

guh rub a dub it pon a irie likl scene;

Caas wen a check it out Laad, nuh weh nuh betta dan yaad

Even great enimiz sit up an a reason;

No time to war iina dis ya season;

Uptown, downtown com tugeda,

Nuh mata wat di time, no mata wat di weda;

Caas wen a check it out Laad….

Justice, truth, be ours forever, Jamaica land we love. Amen.