“Isn’t this the purpose of education, to learn the nature of your own gifts and how to use them for good in the world?” ~ Robin Wall Kimmerer.

In Jamaica in years gone by, at age eleven, children sat a ‘Common Entrance’ Examination.  It was a full day of Mathematics and English questions, and an essay.  They gave you two essay topics in advance and you could choose one to prepare for.  The results of the exam came several weeks later (maybe eight?) and were published in the Daily Gleaner (the main all-island newspaper at the time).  You didn’t see your score, but if it was high enough, you were granted a ‘full scholarship’ to the high school of your choice.  Not quite as high, you received a ‘half’ scholarship, maybe not to the school of your choice.

On the day the results were due to be published, in the rural areas at least, children would wake up early to be in the center of town when the ‘Gleaner’ van arrived with the bundles of hot-of-the-press newspapers to purchase a copy.  I remember getting the paper, and opening it as I hurried home.  Looking at the list of those who received full scholarships to Clarendon College (my school of choice, walking distance from my home in Chapelton) I did not see my name.  How could this be?  I was mortified to see the name of a schoolmate of mine, but, and I looked again, no Bethany Jones! Dejected and tearful I returned home.  Only to discover that there were two lists of names, all of the high schools were listed with the boys’ names first, and then a second list came with the girls’ results.  What a relief!

At my primary school that day there were tears and joy as the children in my class compared results.  The schoolmate whose name I had seen showed up to school wearing a brand-new watch, a reward from his parents for his good results.  When I went home after school, I asked my mother if I was getting a reward, like my friend.  Her response was simple: all they ever asked of us children was that we do our best.  That did not comfort me.  It was in later years I realized that she meant that even if I had not done well in the exam, but had done my best, my parents would have been happy. 

But that expectation that I should always do my best, must have hung heavy over my head.  I have recently been looking over my report cards for those years in high school, which in Jamaica (like England) began at age eleven.  My mother had carefully saved each one, including ones from my earliest years in Jamaica, and so I have held on to them also.  But what is notable is that several times, different teachers commented on the fact that I was ‘too serious’.  Perhaps the fact that both of my parents taught at the same high school, and would have quickly received reports from my various teachers if I had been out of line in any way also influenced my serious behavior!

There is a story about my great-grandfather who was widowed at age 58.  When he began visiting Dublin fairly frequently his daughters thought he was attending the races, but then one day he came home with a young wife, Fanny Mary.  She was about the same age as his daughters and, it was said, was ‘no better than she ought to be.’  When I first heard that saying, I had to ask what that was supposed to mean! It was an old-fashioned put down, an insinuation that the person (usually female) was probably of loose morals, perhaps of a lower class.  Anyway, suffice it to say that the daughters were quite upset about it.  Before too long, she left the marital home, having found out that, despite being able to live in relative comfort, her husband was not an easy man to live with. 

That phrase: ‘no better than she ought to be’ rang in my ears this week.  I was listening to Anand Giridharadas discussing his new book entitled ‘Man in the Mirror’.  Based on a tragic death on the subway after a former marine used excessive force to restrain a troubled, mentally ill young man, Anand uses the event to look at our society, and what contributed to this encounter.  In talking about our current times, he used the phrase: “So much barbarism, day after day.”  To be sure I understand the word barbarism correctly, I looked it up: it means extremely cruel, violent, or uncivilized behavior.

At times the numbers and events wash over us.  In August of this year there were 51,000 ICE arrests, the third straight month of over 50,000 arrests monthly.  We may not be seeing as many videos as we did when they were in Minneapolis, but activities are ongoing at a location near you.  Over 50 people have died while in ICE custody in the first 18 months of this administration.  According to the Marshall Project, over 200 children are in ICE detention facilities daily, 25 of which are very young children; more than 3600 children have been abruptly deported, while around 1500 have been released into the US while their parents (either one or both) have been deported.  According to the Brookings Institute, over 200,000 children (roughly half of whom are US citizens) have experienced the detention of a parent.  At least one toddler died after being left with a relative with a history of violence, due to injuries received while in his custody.

If all of the above (and more) does not warrant the term ‘barbarism’, I am not sure what does.  It would appear that at this time we are, as a nation, no better than we ought to be.  For sure, that is how the world sees the United States, for all that is being done globally and at home.

There is a possibility of a different way of being in this world, one that sees all of humanity as part of one organism, of each man as my brother, with no man as an island.  Fortunately, there are people who are working every day to achieve a better planet, one in which the environment is taken care of.  If you can, watch the Youtube documentary narrated by Benedict Cumberbatch called ‘How to live on Earth’ which gives examples of people, cities, communities around the world who are doing things which improve the health of the planet and each other.  We can live differently, we can do better, we can do our best to be ‘better than we ought to be’.  And we must hold accountable those who are in positions of power, and who are the barbarians at the gate.

This Friday morning may we all live up to our fullest potential, which is what the world desperately needs of us, NOW!

Have a wonderful weekend, Family!

One Love!

Namaste.