Weighing in on the Jamaican Citizenship Issue.

The hot debate in Jamaica, for those who are not aware is whether a public official should be required to be a Jamaican citizen. I almost feel as if I should be saying, Duhhh! In the US the American President has got to be an American born citizen. I cannot help but recall that recently, Presidential hopeful John McCain’s citizenship and therefore eligibility was questioned because he was born on an army base outside of continental USA. This leads me to reason that although it is true that affairs in miniscule Jamaica could hardly be fairly compared to those of the vast US, they do serve as some sort of precedence pointing out how such issues may be handled.

Further to that fact, one would imagine that persons who seek to fill public office given their presupposed wish to serve the public well-being should not balk at the requirement to be a citizen; I mean to say how do you propose to lead me if you cannot commit to pledging allegiance to the state that governs me? How are you going to uphold the law in my country when you have an escape route reserved for yourself if things go south through your citizenship in another country? Could I go to the country of your citizenship and hope to become a public servant there if I was not a citizen? I think not – a foreigner as gleaned through my own experience cannot vote in local elections in this country until they become a citizen and rightfully so because with citizenship an individual declares his or her vested interest in upholding the state’s wellbeing.

I’ll never forget that my American born cousin years ago tried to enter and win the Miss Jamaica contest. She did not win and was told by one of the judges at a later date that although she was a pretty girl, she could not hope to represent Jamaica as she was not born in Jamaica – And that was just a beauty contest. True, we (all her family members) did react in horror at that statement because we her saw her as a Jamaican more than anything else but I think if a poll was taken of our hearts we would probably privately admit that we agreed with that judge. My niece was a beautiful girl who loved Jamaica dearly but we all knew that she had no chance at winning that contest as a born American, so most of us would have advocated that she enter the Miss USA contest, do her best and wear her heritage as a proud part of her essence on whatever stage she commanded.

I love my Jamaica. But if I ever decide to run for public office in Jamaica, I could not really hope to sit the fence on such an issue. I firmly believe that one must have the strength of one’s convictions. If you run for public office you must be a citizen of that country. Come on people, man up!!