Dear Editor,

My fellow Jamaicans, the time has come again which signals the truth that our voices matter.

A friend of mine recently asked me if I plan on voting in the impending local government elections. When the question settled in, I was taken aback that I am middle-aged and yet to have thoughtfully voted in these elections.

I did, in fact, vote once before. Someone dared me to vote for the candidate he was supporting; I actually didn’t take it seriously then. In my mind I was thinking: How would he know for whom I would indeed vote? I agreed to vote for his candidate. When the time came for voting a few days later, I took his escort to the voting station as agreed, I went in and then voted for the party whose leader was making strides at the time. All this did was prove to me that no one could ‘buy’ my vote and how slippery it was to navigate the voting process.

The years passed and I grew more disinterested in voting with each election, as the older I got the more I realised the many flaws and sometimes gaping holes in what we call government and the systems put in place by such a body.

Growing up I took being Jamaican for granted. Never mind that I experienced first-hand the blazing trails of the sporting greats, musical giants, and can draw from the impact of some of our late icons, the likes of the great broadcasters and social commentators such as Wilmot “Mutty” Perkins, Barbara Gloudon, Antoinette Haughton, and the meticulous in media such as Leonie Forbes, Ian Boyne, and Dorraine Samuels just to name a few. Yet I didn’t take my homeschooling — so to speak — seriously until I took my culture overseas.

When I started to travel, it soon became clear how Jamaicans stood out abroad.

Just the dialect would garner the attention of others. Our energy and vibe are intoxicating to those of different cultures.

It is time to thoughtfully vote, Jamaicans. I personally have not got over the taste of a politician being charged with the murder of his wife, the mother of his children. And I have not heard a firm stance against these matters from either party so far. Where are we going with this?

I would like to support some individuals who seem effective at what they do, but there are those bad fruits, threatening to spoil the whole bunch.

As we draw on our influences this month, whether it be our national heroes; musical icons, such as Bob Marley, Dennis Brown, Jimmy Cliff, Burning Spear, Third World etc; or our current crop of reggae/dancehall artistes who depict social ills, let us recognise our greatness as a people. Our greats are many.

We must put in the effort to change the system. Remember, your voice matters most in the upcoming elections. Ask the right questions of your representatives. Speak out about what affects you and help to change your communities.

I don’t want to see things remain the same, so I am being a part of the change.

Karen D Crosdale

@poppyseedsforyu