Last week Jamaica again was confronted with the machinations of its degenerate culture with the assassination of a valiant public servant, chairman of the JUTC, Douglas Chambers.
While I didn’t attend Kingston College with Mr. Chambers, one nevertheless could not ignore his successes in varied areas of business and academics. Many like me possess a tremendous amount of admiration for a patriot of such luminous distinction. Although just 42 years old, he was a tried and true brave.
Mr Chambers came from a later breed of Fortis graduates who carried that undeniable trait, the selfless need for personal sacrifice and the strong desire to confront the challenges facing the nation with a willingness to nobly put the need of the country before his and his own family. He did this for free, with nothing but a symbolic dollar as monetary compensation for this task that he knew would take all the resolve that a tough brave from North Street could muster. He knew this ailing and hemorrhaging government feeding trough was in need of bitter remedies and he was just the one to administer it. He was prepared to pay the ultimate price to save a country that for far too long has squandered the resources of its future on political curry favoring and sustenance of political gunslingers.
Some will mistake his valor for recklessness in light of his refusal to seek security protection to preserve his person. Yet he chose to live like most braves who are culled from the fires of North Street; show no fear, shrink from no challenge and go into each battle knowing God almighty is behind you. To this great brave we pay homage and honor his services to a nation so desperately in need of soldiers willing to take a stand against the atrocities of its contemptible deviants.
His sacrifice highlights a trait that those who truly benefited from attending Kingston College will always display in all aspects of their natural life; this is the personal sacrifice for the betterment of the larger society. Those who were touched by their attendance at the college will always find a way to give to the causes that are an uplift-ment to country as opposed to self-serving. In our sacrifices sometimes we are enamored by the nobleness of our causes and this encourages a feeling of invincibility and therein lies our one vulnerability.
I am often reminded of the wisdom of one Douglas Forrest who one day under the old Lignum Vitae tree gave us a lesson in survival. A number of us boys were relaying to him our challenges on traveling up North Street early in the morning to school, we told him about a group of truant older boys who decided to prey on us for our measly lunch money and we were just tired of being robbed daily. We told him of our plan to defend ourselves against the robbers and in his old wise way he muttered “he who fights and run away, lives to fight another day” we tried to point out that this ran counter to our motto that encourages us to never give in, but he cautioned us about how precious each and every one of us were and he could not bear the news of losing any one of us and as such, he wanted us to give up our lunch money if challenged and make it safely to our place of refuge at 2A North Street where he would make sure we are able to go out and fight another day.
Today as I reflect on that lesson, I knew what we were being taught, valor and sacrifice must be tempered with wisdom, only then can we truly maximize all the talents of our being and stay around long enough to make the best possible impact on our community and our country. In all our contributions and our sacrifices we must ensure that they are not offered in futility and the impact of our lives should truly serve as many as possible. Our limited offerings must be accepted with genuine graciousness and appreciation, because only then will the value of our sacrifices be understood. Even families have a way of trivializing our sacrifices, at times making it appear as if it’s insufficient or made with conditions. But conditions are sometimes the only mechanism to trigger checks and balances. Experience has taught us that without checks and balances we are prone to recklessness and that serves no one but waste.
If you listen closely, you can still hear the words of the immortal Bob Marley in his song “Johnny was a Good Man” He sang “woman hold her belly and cry, because her son had been shot down in the street and died, she cried why? Johnny was a good man”. Bob sang this decades ago at the passing of another great soul. We sing this today so we may never get so callous or insensitive to the murder of great men who have paid the ultimate sacrifice to save a country that we have silently sat by and watch deteriorate into depravity. And we dare not seek to assign blame to them for somehow being responsible for their own murder so we can in someway justify that our country is truly not as barbaric as the actions of these villains portray. We must instead publicly mourn the passing of such heroes while we celebrate their contributions and quietly admit that we all bear some shame in the perpetuation of this bloodletting, because we have allowed politicians to lead us to the alter of sacrifice, but we have not asked them to redeem their souls.
We must acknowledge the passing of the Great George Thompson, Coach Emeritus who single handedly taught so many of us about personal sacrifice on and off the field. In true Fortis fashion, he was a giant of an individual and humanitarian whose path was unmistakably lit by years of selfless dedication to school, country and individuals. Many can attest to his generosity and prospered by his gift. Again, we honor this man for his life of service and may his legend find immortality.
In every life experience there are lessons to be learnt and in every passing of a great soul there is a light that is lit. May we chose to follow the light that these wondrous souls have lit, emulate their spirit, discover what true sacrifice means to our and future generations as we make our mark on this difficult world.
Last week Jamaica again was confronted with the machinations of its degenerate culture with the assassination of a valiant public servant, chairman of the JUTC, Douglas Chambers.