Garth Rattray
IN NINE DAYS Prime Minister Patterson will pass the rather heavy baton to his successor, Mrs. Portia Simpson Miller. Some were clamouring for his hasty retirement. They were not only ignorant but also ungrateful, rude and contemptuous. Mr. Patterson is a decent, dutiful and responsible Prime Minister. Unfortunately, in spite of his hard work and solid stewardship, the country suffered from criminality, economic woes and debt of epic proportions. It's obvious that the Prime Minister-designate has an awesome and unenviable task ahead of her.
I hope that no one expects Mrs. Simpson Miller to perform miracles. Our Government is just about broke. It literally scrounges around for funds at the end of every month in a futile effort to pay all its bills. It is being handicapped by the far-reaching ramifications of criminality and corruption. We constantly look for redemption from abroad, for some genius anti-crime expert or some benevolent nation to deliver us from (our own) evil and lack of prosperity.
'NO ONE CAN SAVE US BUT OURSELVES'
However, I have always held the view that no one can save us but ourselves. It's going to take a renaissance of unbridled patriotism to bring about the changes needed to redeem the nation. If Mrs. Simpson Miller wishes to succeed and to make her mark, she must inspire within our people a will to change for the better. This is her mission and it will become her legacy.
Muted concerns are that Mrs. Simpson Miller may not possess the bearing or enough intellectual prowess to tackle complex international issues. Many also worry that she does not have the savvy to solve our numerous problems. People are now hoping that Mrs. Simpson Miller will be a responsive and conscientious leader who will use her 'people skills' to unite the nation and the competency of her Cabinet to manage our affairs. We get the impression that there is a retinue of wannabe advisers just itching to rule by proxy. She'll have to thresh out the chaff from the wheat and separate the sense from the non-sense.
It is also my belief that, although our men contribute significantly to society, it is the women who will play a vital role in turning the nation around. On a whole, men have abdicated their responsibilities and so most 'families' (such as they are) remain matriarchal. I hope that all our women will assist in Mrs. Simpson Miller's quest for peace and development by encouraging industry in their men, by condemning criminality and by eschewing the proceeds thereof.
People have been agitating for a change and (unfortunately for the Opposition party) Mrs. Simpson Miller may represent enough of a change to satisfy that need. Her femininity, popularity, likeability, long-standing association with the grass-roots people and her familiarity with most movers and shakers provide her with an advantage over her peers.
MULTIPLICITY OF MINI-LEADERS
Our current leaders appear somewhat ineffective. Economic pressures have cast a gloom across our island. Despicable criminals have lost all respect for civil society and life. They have sunk so low as to kill innocent women and children with impunity. One reason that traditional leadership has failed is because there is a multiplicity of mini-leaders (dons, area leaders, community leaders, gangsters and criminal masterminds) operating alternative governances throughout society. Perhaps a people person like Mrs. Simpson Miller can heal and rebuild our nation by uniting Jamaicans. She may succeed, not so much because of what she is but because of who she is. I sincerely hope that she will capitalise on her forte and take the message to the people (in person) that there must be a change of attitude, an investment in nationhood and a cessation of violence.
Dr. Garth A. Rattray is a medical doctor with a family practice.
