Dear Editor,

No matter how functional the shock absorbers of a country are, if that country continues to be plagued by debilitating shocks, it is bound to be plunged into a downward spiral. I write of no other country than Jamaica, land we love.

Every day we wake up to a different crisis which tests our resilience as a people. For the last five years we have faced numerous elevated stress-related issues that have breached our tolerance levels as citizens. These have been manifested in a rise in suicide, murder-suicide, strokes, infidelity, fraud, domestic violence, and many other antisocial behaviour.

But what has plunged our dearly beloved country into this spiral of crisis over the past five years? My conclusion is that it has its foundation in moral, political, and economic issues.

Morality seems to be a curse word in Jamaica today. We see the the lack of morals among the leadership across the country in media, politics, religion, public and private sectors, and even in our own homes where children are being grown.

The crisis of leadership in our politics is the spear that has pierced the heart of our crisis. They lie to the people, are unashamedly corrupt, and blatantly take them for idiots.

Our economic programmes and policies are geared towards benefiting those who have money and power, and those without these, like the majority of us, are blown away by the winds of the crisis such programmes and policies cause.

We see the crisis in crime, education, health, economic output, and migration of skills. How can small states like The Bahamas, Trinidad, and Barbados have economic output three times greater than that of our country, although they have a smaller workforce.

Elections are in the air, even though we are in a crisis of truth, but I can’t wait to vote as the ballot box is our only saviour.

Fernandez Smith

fgeesmith@yahoo.com