Supporters of the Republican Party have been heard to shout threats of 'kill him' when the speakers call Barack Obama's name.

Looking back at the conduct of the election campaign taking place in the United States of America during the last few weeks, there have been parallels with ours which are interesting. It leads me to wonder if some of the horrible and disgusting things done by politicians and their supporters in the US were learnt from us; or have we picked up these traits from them.

When we first began political elections in 1944, one of the smears daubed on the People's National Party was that its members were communists. Small farmers were therefore warned that if the party won the elections, the Government would take away one of their cows and give it to someone who did not have any. The PNP suffered from this fear for many elections.

Consorting with a terrorist

As 'communists', they were also anti-British and anti-Jamaican and were terrorists.

So it is, too, for the Democratic Party's contender for the office of US President. He has been accused of consorting with a terrorist, of intending to share the wealth of people if he wins, of being anti-American, of planning to hold personal talks with the enemies of America - without preconditions, and more recently of being a communist.

Supporters of the Republican Party have been heard to shout threats of "kill him" when the speakers call Barack Obama's name. One gets the impression that the seeds of hate are being sown in the American society by men and women who fear the impending presence of a black family in the White House.

Jamaicans have suffered during the last 70 years by this hate-and-divide tactics. The zenith was reached during the 1970s with the war of the colours, green and orange. There had been a rehearsal for this war during the months approaching the 1967 general election when guns were introduced as political weapons.

End of a glorious beginning

By the 1970s, Jamaica was about to take off economically, but when the PNP adopted the ideology of democratic socialism it was the end of what could have been a glorious beginning. The word 'socialism' was a cover for communism. Manley introduced the shirt jacket and kareba suits similar to the male attire in China, Tanzania, Kenya, Ghana and other 'one-party' countries. Cuba had by then carried out a successful literacy programme, and for the PNP to launch a literacy programme based on the volunteer system used in Cuba was the second sign that the PNP was introducing communism.

Other programmes, National Youth Service, Worker Participation in Management and Home Guards suffered from the same smear.

Thank heavens the rhetoric has cooled. The sale of the JBC, which was seen as a red rag, contributed to the lowering of the temperature. Neighbourhood Watch has become an accepted substitute for the Home Guard programme. The name of the Government's information agency is no longer being kicked from the API to the JIS goalpost and vice versa.

Many of my friends who sleep, eat and drink politics 24/7 have been watching the progress of the American political campaign. We speak to each other regularly and all are disgusted with the vulgarity of what is taking place in this 'home of the free'.

Democracy is a very fragile system. It can easily be destroyed by lies.