By Peter Polack

Peter Polack

Some time ago I was involved in a a case where the complainant looked like Pippi Longstocking. She looked so cute, petite and harmless, as if lies would be strangers to her mouth. It took two tries, but the jury eventually disbelieved her appearance and her falsehoods. She was no match for leading Jamaican counsel.

The old, worn adage, is that looks can be deceiving but it is a perpetual truth.

This was recognized by the Swiss psychiatrist Jung in his profound statement on the duality of man, or, every good that comes in the world has a corresponding evil.

The Caribbean is like that. The colours, beaches, palm trees and music would have you believe that it was all part of a grand movie set with lead actors of purity and a cast of happiness. As we all know, nothing could be further from the truth.

Behind that exciting facade lie specialist sins like deceit, debasement, faux emotions, fake loyalty and the worst of all, unconditional belief in false narratives. There is human application for this phenomenon but it is far bigger than we appreciate. Countries, institutions, businesses and leadership would have you believe we are all part of one team going for the big win. It is only on closer inspection of the fine print that we discover minimum wages, delayed hurricane relief, non performing government institutions, giant travel budgets and pretend happy press releases.

What is whispered in government offices and private boardrooms and regional groups among the elite is: 

Everyone must paddle their own canoe.

Reliance on self is the greatest asset of families in times of disaster where even a single individual, the youngest individual, the oldest individual will have to preserve themselves. Reliance on governments or aid groups or overseas governments or remittances are promises that are only comfort to a fool, as the Cool Ruler has reminded us.

This has been a very basic dimension of relationships and governance for centuries. Pick an instance and you will find it in history. It is a rocky but, necessary road to a better future.

Embrace reality. It will be a lifesaver.

Peter Polack is a former criminal lawyer from the Cayman Islands for several decades. His books are The Last Hot Battle of the Cold War: South Africa vs. Cuba in the Angolan Civil War (2013), Jamaica, The Land of Film (2017) and Guerrilla Warfare: Kings of Revolution (2019). He was a contributor to Encyclopedia of Warfare (2013). His latest book is a compendium of Russian espionage activities with almost five hundred Soviet spies expelled from nearly 100 countries worldwide 1940-88. 

His views are his own.