And, as a nation, there is always the hope that we will see a change in the damning statistics which seem to reflect an insatiable appetite for self-destruction. The hope is for a reduction in reports of killings, road fatalities and children left at home alone, only to perish in an inferno, among other regular news items.
Unfortunately, the reports in yesterday's Gleaner do not indicate a reduction in the carnage that characterises Jamaican life, coexisting with the unbridled exuberance which we still display in our vibrant culture. The main story was about a New Year's Day traffic accident in St Elizabeth in which three people were killed, a grisly flying start towards the mark of over 300 people killed on our roads in 2008.
And so far we also seem determined to match the unbelievable murder average of close to four persons daily in 2008.
Of course, assessing the required changes the social conditions and attitudes which lead to these bloody statistics on the basis of a clock ticking over the few seconds which separate one year from the next is extremely unrealistic.
Programmed
But, as human beings, we are programmed to judge our lives and environment by the calendar, so even as common sense tells us that we will not see a change in conditions which have gradually worsened for decades literally overnight, our internal clocks hope for the miraculous transformation.
And, frankly, as a nation (or, at least, significant parts of it) we have tried this miraculous transformation before through mass prayer sessions (a 'bawl-out' as one Christian organisation called it), as well as the more grounded attempt to capitalise on the unprecedented success of our athletes at the 2008 Olympics.
Neither 'bawling-out' nor welcome-home celebrations for the nation's top athletes has brought about the desired change.
We believe that lasting change is most often gradual and to expect our nation's most damning statistics to change simply because it is now 2009 is not only unrealistic, but puts Jamaica in a position where collective outright despair and the tendency to give up are not far away.
We also believe that the Government lacks not only the resources, but also the capacity to effect change at the personal level which will go a far way towards reducing the statistics that haunt us from year to year.
So as we caution against unrealistic expectations and giving up, we encourage all Jamaicans to adopt behaviour that will bring about lasting change, refusing to harbour criminals, refusing to go on overloaded taxis, and refusing to succumb to the rabid materialism which leads to dangerous lifestyle choices.
For it is only this collective resolve which will isolate those determined miscreants and resolutely irresponsible among us and bring about the change which we are sure the majority desires, whether or not a new calendar year has begun.
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