Oligarchic welfare kings versus US democracy
The real difference between a democracy and an oligarchy is poverty and wealth. Wherever men rule by reason of their wealth, whether they be few or many, …
Our Journey from Africa to Jamaica
Many years ago, I was watching a documentary showing tourists on their visit to Ghana. They were all standing at the famous port from which large numbers of captured Africans were …
What is Mad Johnny Bwoy going to do next?
Oh, Lord! Oh, my word! I live in another country – one that happens to be miles, and miles, and miles away from the great United States. But due to the …
“Out of many,one people” – actual or aspirational in respect to Asian Jamaicans?
There were moments in my youth and in my early adult life when I heard it said that the problem in Jamaica was never about racism but one that was, more …
A twisted nightmare about checks and balances
“We are such stuffAs dreams are made on,and our little life is rounded with a sleep” William Shakespeare (The Tempest) I sometimes wonder not only about the mechanics but also about …
“If yu live in a glasshouse”
“If yu live in a glasshouseDon’t throw stonesAnd if you can’t take blows brotherDon’t throw blows Harm no manLet no man harm youDo unto othersAs they would do to you” Song …
Not for want of wisdom, but that of will- the spirit of Caribbean regionalism
Ever since I wrote my last oped calling for stronger Caribbean inter-regional cooperation, in the face of increasing threats from outside forces towards the wellbeing of our peoples, I wondered how …
Oh, just because they can! – The idea of “Might is Right”
There was a time when corporal punishment was part and parcel of our Jamaican school system. It was, perhaps, a holdover from the old British colonial era. It was often abused …
Parable of a conversation with a dead squirrel
Mr. Nelson Mandela wrote a book which was titled, Conversations With Myself. I doubt that anyone who had seen that title, initially, had any concerns about his mental health. Perhaps no alarm …
Mirror, Mirror
In Greek Mythology, Theseus, the King of Athens, rescued the children of Athens from King Minos after slaying the Minotaur and then escaped onto a ship going to Delos. The creature, …
An open letter to my leader
Dear Mr. President, Good day to you. Although I was not one of those in the electorate who voted for you over a year ago I congratulate you on your victory …