Peter Espeut | Gold, glory and Orwell

The Christians are in Lent, the Muslims are in Ramadan, and the United States (US) is at war.

The Catholic hierarchy in the US largely supported Donald Trump in the last US presidential election because of his pro-life (i.e. anti-abortion) stance. They are now experiencing buyer’s remorse. The political landscape in the US (and in Jamaica) is too complicated to practice one-issue voting.

The man who changed the title of his Cabinet Minister from Secretary of Defence to Secretary of War is lobbying hard to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. He takes consolation in the fact that – so far – less than ten American lives have been lost in his adventures; that is somewhat pro-life, I suppose: to fight from a distance using high-tech weapons. One supposes that the more than 1,000 Iranian lives lost in a few days this week – including 165 schoolgirls – do not count for much. So much for the pro-life President!

On the last day of Black History Month, Iranian black gold was certainly enticing! Almost as much as the Venezuelan variety the month before!

But then Jeffrey Epstein offered something else even more enticing. Big money does run behind it! Just to have one’s name mentioned seems to result in resignations. Imagine: princes fall without any conviction, or even charges being laid (no pun intended). Others are not embarrassed at being associated with corruption; and rumours of romps under the covers only spice up the reputation. How honourable!

In the meantime, in a fit of doublespeak, the Jamaican authorities last year changed the name of the Ministry of National Security to the Ministry of National Security and Peace, while the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) which falls under the Ministry of Peace, executed a record number of fatal shootings last year (298 Jamaicans dead), the most killed by security forces since the repression of the Morant Bay Rebellion in 1865 (439 Jamaicans dead) under Governor Eyre. I hope that in 2026, the JCF does not try to Trump Governor Eyre’s record.

BULLIES ABOUND

Might is right! And bullies abound! Anyone who speaks out is likely to be called names. And decent people remain silent, for fear of being targeted. To where am I referring? Take your pick!

Remember what happens when good people remain silent!

We are more than forty years after 1984, and Big Brother – bolstered by a humongous personality cult – is still watching! The Ministry of Truth still trucks in propaganda and Newspeak, and public relations substitutes for reality, which is negotiable, and changeable.

As for the Ministry of Love, responsible for enforcing loyalty to Big Brother through torture, surveillance, and brainwashing: that is coming along nicely. The surveillance software is in place, and elements of the media have begun the brainwashing. Ways will be found to squeeze out media houses that do not co-operate.

And don’t forget Animal Farm. All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others, especially when well connected to Big Brother.

The authoritarianism of the right is just as distasteful and undesirable as the authoritarianism of the left. Not everything can be put into a constitution; the system assumes a basic decency. But, we are learning that we must assume less and less, and put in place ever stronger guardrails.

BACKED WRONG HORSE

There are few institutions which have the ethos and the vision to counteract the current dystopia, and the Church – which so many looked to with hope – seems – in a fit of despair – to have backed the wrong horse. Hopefully she can find her feet, get things together, stop dumbing down her doctrine, and be true to herself.

Her traditional strength is in her philosophical foundations, which we in the Caribbean have allowed to atrophy, as we focus on theology. Theology is important, but without the philosophical underpinnings, it has proven to be less understandable. The conceptual weakness has infected our education system, and has seeped into our social and political life as well.

Clear thinking and precise language will prove a solid foundation in which to build an identity. Can I encourage my readers to school themselves in the discipline of philosophy, the love of wisdom? I mean in subjects like logic, metaphysics, epistemology, hermeneutics, philosophical ethics (from first principles), and aesthetics. The results will be critical thinking, and the ability to reason rationally. You will not be easily fooled by spurious arguments and the blandishments of Big Brother. You will be a better voter, and an even better candidate.

The Rev. Peter Espeut is Dean of Studies at St. Michael’s Theological College. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com