We Are Not Unique

Recently I was reminded that we in Jamaica often fall into the trap of thinking that our culture is uniquely bad, and that life in Jamaica is uniquely hard.

As I mentioned in a prior post on Moving from First World to Third, most of the bad things that happen in Jamaica are not all that unique. Instead, they are the kinds of things that happen in every country around the world that have some of the same resource constraints that we have. It strikes me that if we had a bigger world view, we might relax a little and be able to see that our problems are for the most part, common one.

For example, every country around the world that sits between an illegal drug producing country and a consuming country experiences an upsurge in crime as it is used as a transshipment point. If all of a sudden, North Americans were to lose their appetite for illegal drugs, or if they were to legalize drugs, then our crime rate would drop immediately. Lives would simply be saved.

Jamaica sits half-way between Columbia and Miami.

Any country that grows to the point where it reaches full employment will experience an upsurge in traffic (if cars can be purchased freely) and an influx of illegal immigrants.

Trinidad has faced the first, and is about the face the second.

We need to gain a better understanding of the world, the problems being experienced everywhere. That will only come through better education.