ARE WE Defeated not by the weapon of our enemies, but at the hands of our pessimism? Following Independence and Emancipation celebrations, I have heard much sound-off regarding the 'mental slavery' to which we Jamaicans are still subjugated. Now, I am not denying or advocating that no merits exist to base these allegations because too often, I have seen the vestiges of an enslaved mind many times by the utterances of friends and strangers alike.

How often do we hear "If a man violate me, mi a go kill him". by 'violate' they mean trivially disagreeing with someone's chatter or simply, opposing another's decision. Senseless talk like this serves no purpose than to continue strengthen the chains that limit our intellectual growth, mental slavery at its best, or worst.

scapegoat to complain

So, while there are many good reasons to continue question if we are 'truly free', we must never use this as a scapegoat to complain about everything under the sun that goes wrong in society. If we were to be completely honest with ourselves, it's not the "strings of government" or "the white man" that keeps us down, it could very well be our own ambitions or lack thereof. Sometimes, the culpability lies on no one else's shoulders but our own.

Racism, sexism, classism and all other forms of bigotry will never cease, alas such is the reality of the broken world in which we live, fuelled by sin. Don't let that prevent us from succeeding. On the eve of our 48th Independence, let us not say "a dat a hol mi down" but instead, let us shout "in spite of ..., success is mine". If we let complaint, however legitimate, be our only route of recourse, we have already been defeated by the very thing we lodge that complaint against.

It's time to emancipate ourselves from these heartfelt but rather old-world complaints.

I am, etc.,

Derefe K. Chevannes

Orange City, IA

Kimarley05@hotmail.com