Jamaica has a serious issue when it comes to critical thinking. It has reached such a level that the Government, usually the last to acknowledge things are bad, has been sounding the alarm for years and even sought to remedy the situation. A nation bereft of critical thinking is a dead nation, one unable to function or adapt to the times, and that is the drive to improve critical thinking levels in the country starting at the school level to then flourish across society like cherry blossoms.
The drive will go nowhere to improve these skills, things will remain the same and life will go on and when you think about it, it makes perfect sense. We live in a country where if you apply critical thinking skills you will go mad. We live in a country where our leaders do not employ critical thinking when speaking to us or operating in ministerial capacities and to expect critical thinking from the public is to ask them to do self-harm. The first thing about being human is to avoid harmful situations and self-harm, we are asking our people to be mad.
The most recent lack of critical thinking came from the silly Senator Aubyn Hill who, in a fit of electioneering and a bid to salvage the flagging image of the ruling Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), said that the Opposition People’s National Party (PNP) has no right to insist on integrity in government due to their lack of integrity over the last 23 years.
Mr. Hill shows his lack of critical thinking because both parties have erred, to put it mildly. In fact, people in the Cabinet and who lead the country were there when the JLP gave the country the biggest black eye by defending Dudus then giving him up to the US, this after lobbying the US to not seek his extradition.
This is the party which, according to polls, will have George Wright run on their ticket and have Dalrymple Philibert running, while before the courts.
Both parties are as clean as mud and everyone knows it, so is he saying that when the JLP make up the Opposition they will be mum on moral issues? No, they will beat the issue because even a broken analogue clock is right two times a day.
He fails to employ his critical thinking because of the 23 years, 18 and a half were at least 16 years ago. Children were born and have had children and neither know nor care of that period. What he really means is four years, but he can’t say that because the last 16 years have been dominated by the JLP, first under Bruce Golding and now Andrew Holness, winning three of four elections in that period. When spoken of in that light things become more murky for the JLP, issues with bridges and UK contractors, issues with Petrojam, allegations of literal sweetheart deals, and the list goes on.
But let us be honest, critical thinking has never been the strong point of our politicians, least so when the silly season of elections come on the horizon, and now seems to be no different. It is not surprising, but to hear the statement out loud or to read it can only shock you if you have a functioning brain. And therein lies the rub of everything which we have witnessed in this country post-independence.
The lack of critical thinking we see deployed by the majority of our citizens, which is decried and highlighted by all and sundry, is there as a defence mechanism — employed to ensure that the people of this country, most of whom suffer with some form of mental illness — so that they can continue in this rat race we call life in Jamaica. Imagine employing critical thinking about the fact that our politicians got a 300 per cent wage increase while the average citizen cannot even get 20 per cent and not going crazy. Imagine thinking critically about politicians telling you to assist the police when they themselves admit the police force is riddled with gang members and leaky as a sieve.
It would drive a sane person mad and force a crazy person to seek an in-patient institution and I believe goes some way to answering why we have this issue with critical thinking.
Even if that is the answer though, it is not a good enough excuse and is really a reason why we should be critically thinking and remove the bums who spew such nonsense.
The failure to think critically, on a political level, has left us atrophied and apathetic. We know what we have on offer is no good, either for us individually or the country, yet we find ourselves either holding our noses to vote or for the majority staying home. That does no one any good as the bad we seek to ignore continues to fester and grow into something worse and more difficult to handle.
Both parties continue to show themselves to be unfit to govern by their words and actions and a change is needed if we are to go forward as a country. Be it running candidates who have shady pasts, ignoring the plight of the masses who have and continue to tighten their belts, or be it pandering to the business classes and other ruling grandees, both parties have shown time after time, when pressed, that their interests are not ours.
Our refusing to use our critical thinking faculties has resulted in this and it must end. Either we exercise the muscle, use our critical thinking and remove the jokers who currently represent us or continue on this downward spiral and societal destruction. This is not the call for rule by the brightest. Everyone can utilise critical thinking and no one can deny that we have been “led” by some of the brightest in the nation to serious negative effects.
No, this is an everyone issue and will require everyone to think and act together if we are to change our situation from negative to positive. It will be long, it will be difficult but the past shows us that it can be done if only we put our heads together. Over 60 per cent of the voting public stays home. If we put our heads together, then we could implement the change we need. It’s our choice; either remain with the defence mechanism, which will leave you worse for wear, or fight the natural instinct.
