Ahhhhhh the silly season is here again.....no, not christmas! GENERAL ELECTIONS!!
Our system of government, handed down by the british, consists of an upper and lower house. The lower house is elected by the people in a general election...there are some sixty constituencies and at the end of voting, whichever party wins the most seats, put forward their leader as the next prime minister. The upper house is then chosen by those parties that were lucky to get a seat along with a few independents thrown in to make things interesting.
Historically, in Jamaica land we love, with elections comes violence...and i am talking violence that results in death. There has been no date announced for an election, but it has basically been confirmed that one is soon to take place..........and so the killing begins....of course mainly in depressed communities severly loyal to one party or the other. Based on the rhetoric being thrown out, if you know the community is loyal to the other party, you have no right to go campaigning in this area! Now if i were to write my thoughts on this, i would have to do so in all caps, and i dont want to be rude...so i will leave it for you to comment on. Already there have been deaths and attacks in more that one community and we the level headed people look on and wonder when will they learn....the people they are fighting over live uptown beside each other.....what the hell are they fighting for??
Unfortunately they are fighing for something....they are fighting for the scarce benefits that come with voting for the party in power..they are fighting so that they aren't left out in the cold if they vote for the wrong party, they are fighting so that they can 'eat a food' for the next 5 years when their candidate wins...We all know that its the type of politics we practice that leads to the violence, but when are we going to find the courage to create change?
About Me
- Kara - Jamaican Woman
- I like reading! I can get lost in a good book at any time. I have a very short attention span, . I dont have AADD (the new buzzwords), i just need to be stimulated often to keep me interested. I think its a sign of a brilliant mind!!
3 comments:
very sad indeed to see the grip partisan politics has on an entire nation...even more sadening is the difficulties that lie ahead in creating a change...
I never really understood the impact of politics in Jamaica until I read Born Fi Dead...it just always seemed so senseless to me to kill over who's in power. But when it's a matter of life and death (literally loss of food and jobs) for those of the losing party, I guess they do what they have to.
Unfortunately the inability to campaign in the opposing party's "area" because of past incidents is just creating a vicious cycle, and keeping those in the depressed areas dependent upon one party for their survival.
its a vicious cycle that the political leaders have to put a stop to...and though most of the violence in society is no longer politically driven...it is still enough of a factor to cause concern, and one that we cannot ignore...
i wonder if i have to put down green and red during the silly season?
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