I am convinced that, notwithstanding the negatives - the most prevalent being our proclivity to crime and violence - we Jamaicans are among the warmest and friendliest peoples in the world.

Our affections for each other are always manifested in the way we meet and greet each other, the various ways in which we offer assistance to others who, from time to time, face deep personal challenges, and our willingness to treat visitors to our shores with the utmost respect they deserve.

The misguided elements among us, who cause others to feel that we are a barbarous people, are few in number. It is my firm belief that they are inherently good but something went amiss in their lives, causing them to develop devious and antisocial tendencies.

We, therefore, need to identify the causes for the anomalies, as they were not born this way. If this is done with the determination to eliminate these causes and institute proper correctional structures to reform those who are deemed 'wicked and bad', what would result is a people who would invariably display that natural Jamaican characteristic to love, respect and care for each other.

This, I believe, is something to which we must give serious attention in advancing our prospect for the well talked about 2030 vision.

I am, etc.,

Lebert J. Brown

lebertbrown@yahoo.com

Brown's Hall, St Catherine