This week saw the eruption of meaningless narratives that do not help us to become the best we can be. How do we expect our citizens to dream of becoming better? We get seduced by rhetoric that induces hatred and possibly violence. When will we seek what is in our …

There were two disturbing events in a week when the nation needed to be reflective because of the anniversaries of 27 July and Emancipation Day. The first was the re-publication of a Jamaica Observer column by Lisa Hanna about the Jamaica bank debacle, and the second was the re-emergence of …

On 17 July 2014, Eric Garner was accused of selling loose cigarettes by a New York police officer. Daniel Pantaleo, the officer, placed him in an illegal chokehold while arresting him. Multiple officers then piled on, pinning him to the ground. Eleven times Garner pled, “I can’t breathe!” He died …

“If the kingdoms of this world are to be transformed into the kingdom of our Christ, qualified Christians need to be deeply involved in political, legal, and economic processes. “Resistance to the calling to address these social issues intelligently and with spiritual force arises within some local churches and Christian …

There is an exquisite Jamaican saying: “When dog have money, him buy cheese.” That is most applicable to our national spending on tertiary education. The expression means we recklessly purchase unnecessary items when we get excess funds. Hosein R and Tewarie B (2007) saw this recklessness concerning our tertiary education …

Last week, the incumbent Prime Minister, Dr Keith Rowley, pronounced that The University of the West Indies (The UWI) has fallen from its scientific research mission. At the time, he was celebrating The University of The West Indies’ 75th and 70th anniversary of its Seismic Research Centre (SRC) (Express, June …

Disappointment and impatience cloak our land in the run-up to the Local Government elections. Oh, Gorm Man! When will we get serious about our life, children, and future? A Lloyd Best quote captures our dilemma, which is the appalling lack of imagination and gravitas to tackle our nation’s problems: “[…] …

“Grave fiscal irresponsibility!” was former Central Bank governor Jwala Rambarran’s characterization of the announcement of a US$900 million loss by the Heritage Stabilisation Fund (HSF). Invoking a dog whistle, he continued by saying that this spoke to the “incompetence of the Board”. Roodal Moonilal reminded us of Mrs Kamla Persad-Bissesar’s …

“The history that is accountable to the enslaved cannot fulfil our yearning for romance, our desire to hear the subaltern speak, our search for the subaltern as a heroic actor whose agency triumphs over the forces of oppression…what comes into view instead are the inner workings of power and violence.” …

In 2014, Brij V Lal, an Indo-Fijian historian, at a Fiji Day of Remembrance said: “One of my life’s ambitions has been to remember what others have forgotten or chosen to forget—to give our people a voice and a modicum of humanity, to give them a place at the table …

I am sure you would remember this truism: “Beauty is in the eye of the Beholder!” I accepted this aphorism as a means of teaching that persons could have divergent views about the same incident. Professor Richard Drayton at King’s College, London, in 2011, wrote: “History is not merely reflection; …

In 1958, the author, John Steinbeck, wrote an essay describing San Francisco as a city with “a golden handcuff with the key thrown away”. The article was a rhapsody about life in that city. On the other hand, we watch our nation slide into a putrid abyss—never leaving but badmouthing …