Jamaica no longer beautiful

[halfwaytree]

Re: Jamaica no longer beautiful

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Gungo Peas</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
... I love the Jamaican spirit of old and I will miss the landscape, my country people, the literature, the theater of every day life. But these memories are in my mind tucked away with happy thoughts. And that's where they'll stay.

</div></div>

Those are my thoughts exactly!!!

While a part of me will always be there in spirit I have no wish to return to the island to live. The memories of a place I hold dare would only be shattered by the modern day realities of Jamaica.

[Dr.Dudd]

Re: Jamaica no longer beautiful

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Gungo Peas</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I don't pay attention to what media say. I am intelligent enough to weigh news sources against the truth. Look, some Jamaican government, military, police, and general populace are simply too irrational. I've known for years that reasonable folks have simply left the island or else are too cowardly to come forward and reclaim the truth.

I love Jamaica of my youth and only remember being truly deeply happy as a child and teenager. Then, during the 1980s as a young adult, I remember fear seeping in - killings, irrational politics, "Christians" who became dogmatic, the list is endless - it wasn't the acts of unreasonableness so much as a deep-rooted fear, of not knowing what to expect, of constant anxiety about whether merely driving to work or going to visit family in the country, or an outing with friends to the South Coast would mean being gunned down.

To be sure, a similar kind of fear crept in here in the U.S. as Geo. Bush &amp; Co. started an irrational war, fear-mongering, and sudden shift to the religious right. But this time as a grown-up, I fought back by reclaiming my adopted country though grassroots organizing, helping fellow Americans see how misled they were.

So now I reflect on my past ... where were the adults who sought to reclaim Jamaica from the "crazies"? Did they try valiantly like my parents did and then just gave up and decided to leave the island when there was no other way out?

I love the Jamaican spirit of old and I will miss the landscape, my country people, the literature, the theater of every day life. But these memories are in my mind tucked away with happy thoughts. And that's where they'll stay.

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How did you say you tried to reclaim Jamaica ans you valiantly did in th eUSA again??
i seem to miss that part.
or is it that youexpect others to do it?
Do you remember we had a similar conversation,some time ago?
I do.
I learn long ago not to expect more from others than I am willing to do about a project.

[Peasie]

Re: Jamaica no longer beautiful

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Dr.Dudd</div><div class="ubbcode-body">How did you say you tried to reclaim Jamaica ans you valiantly did in th eUSA again??
i seem to miss that part.
or is it that youexpect others to do it?
Do you remember we had a similar conversation,some time ago?
I do.
I learn long ago not to expect more from others than I am willing to do about a project. </div></div>

<span style="color: #000066">Dr.D, I don't remember a similar conversation [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/confused.gif[/img]? But that's me, not you. So to answer your question ... of course I expected others to reclaim Jamaica. At the time I mentioned earlier, i.e., the 1980s, I was still an impressionable and naive recent UWI graduate in my first job. So yes, I expected adult leaders to save the country from an ignorant and destructive force that took over the government and local religious and community leaders. How silly of me!

But all is not lost. As a result of my early experiences in Jamaica, I became an activist for social and political causes in my adopted country. You see, in Jamaica I experienced the almost overnight disappearance of a middle class, in the United States I am observing a gradual erosion of the middle class. So now I fight for working people here in the U.S. So there you have it, I am a product of my experiences.

I left Jamaica a long time ago. It is no longer the place I want to reclaim - that's for others to do. And I'm cool with that. Peace. </span>

[Dr.Dudd]

Re: Jamaica no longer beautiful

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Gungo Peas</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Dr.Dudd</div><div class="ubbcode-body">How did you say you tried to reclaim Jamaica ans you valiantly did in th eUSA again??
i seem to miss that part.
or is it that youexpect others to do it?
Do you remember we had a similar conversation,some time ago?
I do.
I learn long ago not to expect more from others than I am willing to do about a project. </div></div>

<span style="color: #000066">Dr.D, I don't remember a similar conversation [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/confused.gif[/img]? But that's me, not you. So to answer your question ... of course I expected others to reclaim Jamaica. At the time I mentioned earlier, i.e., the 1980s, I was still an impressionable and naive recent UWI graduate in my first job. So yes, I expected adult leaders to save the country from an ignorant and destructive force that took over the government and local religious and community leaders. How silly of me!

But all is not lost. As a result of my early experiences in Jamaica, I became an activist for social and political causes in my adopted country. You see, in Jamaica I experienced the almost overnight disappearance of a middle class, in the United States I am observing a gradual erosion of the middle class. So now I fight for working people here in the U.S. So there you have it, I am a product of my experiences.

I left Jamaica a long time ago. It is no longer the place I want to reclaim - that's for others to do. And I'm cool with that. Peace. </span>

</div></div>
I understand your position and appreciate your efforts.
I am also happy for you that you are experiencing the fruits of your efforts.
I don't expect you to or anyone else to have my level of commitment to the country as I do. simply because I realize that we all have our own individual personal developement integers.
I believe too in helping those in ypur promixity first,as You have done. I also like me you still see the need for assistance as far as Jamaica is concerned. I probably may have more resources to do somthing about it and have been doing it for sometime.
I havwealso seen th ebenefiots of my actions.
I am also trained in project developement,so As a result I am not discouraged avout the state of the country. The reaso is that i have rhad the good fortune to study the period immidiately after the US independence,and have found that they sistem of economics were the same as in Jamaica now,and the resultant burgeoning crime,corruption and murder far outclassed theJamaican context. I also realize that this was solved. I am not suggesting the use of the same strategies that created those changes,but I have them as a guide. I know that what is happening in Jamaica,will happen in th emajority of newly independent former colinies. remember that the USA did not become fully economically strong until after world war 2. that took quite some time and a lot of invasiona ns and wars.
I am happy that we won't have to go that way. we will get it done.Building a new country is like building a sky scraper. We have to dig a very deep hole and then make a terrible looking skelliton fo a building,before we get there.
There are no short cuts. Those who cant take the noise,dust and unsightly mess will move,a those who stay will enjoy th ebeaty and th eincrease value of their properties that the new sky scraper brings.

[Morpheous]

Re: Jamaica no longer beautiful

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Dr.Dudd</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I understand your position and appreciate your efforts.
I am also happy for you that you are experiencing the fruits of your efforts.
I don't expect you to or anyone else to have my level of commitment to the country as I do. simply because I realize that we all have our own individual personal developement integers.
I believe too in helping those in ypur promixity first,as You have done. I also like me you still see the need for assistance as far as Jamaica is concerned. I probably may have more resources to do somthing about it and have been doing it for sometime.
I havwealso seen th ebenefiots of my actions.
I am also trained in project developement,so As a result I am not discouraged avout the state of the country. The reaso is that i have rhad the good fortune to study the period immidiately after the US independence,and have found that they sistem of economics were the same as in Jamaica now,and the resultant burgeoning crime,corruption and murder far outclassed theJamaican context. I also realize that this was solved. I am not suggesting the use of the same strategies that created those changes,but I have them as a guide. I know that what is happening in Jamaica,will happen in th emajority of newly independent former colinies. remember that the USA did not become fully economically strong until after world war 2. that took quite some time and a lot of invasiona ns and wars.
I am happy that we won't have to go that way. we will get it done.Building a new country is like building a sky scraper. We have to dig a very deep hole and then make a terrible looking skelliton fo a building,before we get there.
There are no short cuts. Those who cant take the noise,dust and unsightly mess will move,a those who stay will enjoy th ebeaty and th eincrease value of their properties that the new sky scraper brings.</div></div>
[img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/70458-applaud.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/70458-applaud.gif[/img]

Dr Dudd keep on [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/proud_jamaica.gif[/img] of hope and positivity [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/70409-waytogo.gif[/img]

[atticus]

Re: Jamaica no longer beautiful

I agree, that was another excellent post by Dr.Dudd. Kudos [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/notworthy.gif[/img]