THE EDITOR, Sir:
LET US be candid, Jamaicans are quite fond of copying fads, trends, and supposed solutions to ongoing problems from its larger, sometimes-more-developed, neighbours.
Unfortunately, many of these 'big brother' ideas just do not work and others do not ever seem to work well in Jamaica in particular.
For example, one of the worst things the United States does is to try to solve all its problems by declaring a 'war on' them.
There's a 'war on' everything from poverty to drugs to things called insurgents, terrorists, and the like. In fact, if it's at all unpopular, there's a 'war on' it.
Indeed, next to using sex to sell anything, having a 'war on' something may well be one of the most successful sales tools today's politicians and businessmen ever used, but it isn't a panacea and the approach can't be used to face every growing challenge.
In most instances, Jamaica itself has all the ability, talent, and enthusiasm that it needs to create its own solutions.
Perhaps Jamaicans need to be more independent and realise there are often better ways of addressing even a nation's worst problems than those already tried before in other places.
For all too many of us, both in Jamaica and the U.S., this 'war on' everything mentality, for one example, has just gone too far to live with comfortably any more.
Let's hope the good people of Jamaica will help their new, woman Prime Minister to find new, 'home grown,' and hopefully more successful approaches, then put them in place.
I am, etc.,
ED McCOY
mmhobo48@juno.com
Bokeelia, Florida
Via Go-Jamaica
