Punish, pity and pastor this Teenage mother

The reported incident of a nineteen year old mother abandoning her baby in an old animal shelter off Spanish Road in Kingston has cut to the very core of our emotions. My initial response is to simply condemn the mother as being an uncaring, inhumane person behaving the way that not even animals do. Perhaps Nicolette deserves some of the harsh comments that we will all throw at her. She has scarred the life of an innocent two year old. How can someone ignore the weeping of a two year old crying desperately, Mommy, Mommy?

The report goes on to say that this child has been experiencing abuse for two year. The citizens intervened but the authorities seem to have made an error of judgment in placing the child in the grandmother’s care apparently without consulting with Children’s Services so that follow up work could be done. This two year old was let down by her family and by the state. This nineteen year old mother must be punished; she must be made to know in no uncertain terms that in any society no matter what level we have reached this behaviour is unacceptable and cannot be condoned. I am not sure what is the appropriate punishment for this young lady, especially when you think that while her baby was crying away in the abandoned animal pen she was getting dressed to go to “Sting”. This girl should be ‘stung’for her irresponsible and heartless behaviour.

This nineteen year old mother needs punishment. That’s my first response. But something deep down tells me that she needs pastoral help more than anything else. There is a hint in the report that she was troubled on the night that she was getting dressed to go to Sting. Could it be that this girl still has a conscience, still has a heart, still cares? Many may find this hard to believe but in the worst of us there is at least a sprinkling of humanity. What can we do to rescue this girl from herself? This girl got pregnant when she was a little over sixteen years old. Obviously she was ill prepared for the responsibility of raising a child especially a child that is either physically or mentally challenged. Note well that I am not in any way excusing this young woman I am simply trying to understand the other side of her story.

A large proportion of teenage girls who get pregnant are from a disadvantaged or dysfunctional socio-economic background. Many were themselves born to teenage mothers who generally occupy underpaid and undervalued work positions. These young women can nevertheless be very good mothers if they receive proper support. Is it possible for this young woman to be transformed into a good mother? She needs our help. Nicholette needs lessons in how to be a good parent, she needs to be taught responsibility, she needs tough love.

My focus has been on this mother but I believe that we have to raise questions about the father. Where is he in all of this? Has he been a supportive father, present for his family or is he being distracted by another family that he has to pay attention to elsewhere? Women don’t get pregnant by themselves, there is a man involved. I believe that sometimes our young women are taken to the limit. After they are used by some of us sex hungry, porn fed men they are then left on their own with the herculean task of raising children.
Nicholette went to the end of the road but I tell you that they are many teenage parents who have not tied up their children and left them to die but have left them at the mercy of house fires or have loosed their hands and left them to the mercy of the streets.

As a nation we certainly need to pay more attention to family. All our attempts to fix the crime problem will end in futility if we continue to give scant regard to the teaching and practicing of sound family values. Our nation is being fed with too much filth. We rank number ten in the world in the list of countries that most explore porn sites on the internet. Many of our entertainers spit out filth on the stage and on the airwaves. Our diet is wrong and no surprise we have become so sick.

The story of this nineteen year old mother should be another wake up call to this nation. We cannot continue like this. I lament the fact that so many of us as pastors and churchgoers continue to be so irrelevant to this nation. This is a wake up call for me. Nicholette abandoned her baby and we hold her responsible but many of us have abandoned our call to carry out the Jesus mission, “ to preach the gospel to the poor; to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. (St Luke 4:18)

What Makes Christmas Great?

Its Christmas time again but only a few bells are ringing and the fancy lights are as scarce as the sought after greenback US$. So many people are complaining that this is the worst Christmas they have experienced for many years. What really makes Christmas great? Is it the money, the parties, the gifts you receive or the pleasures you enjoy? At the risk of sounding quixotic I contend that Christmas is a time when we are blessed with the greatest opportunity to exhibit our truest humanity. We experience liberation to become human when we recognize the true meaning of the incarnation and submit to Emmanuel, the God who is with us. Jesus Christ demonstrates for us what it means to be truly human when he emptied himself so that we can experience fullness.

We become fully human when we recognize the humanity of others and treat them as fellow pilgrims created in the image of God. Acts of generosity and selflessness are expressions of our truest selves.

This is what makes Christmas great. Therefore each of us should seek to embrace the other and guard each man's dignity and enrich each person's life. Christmas affords us the opportunity to end each year as humans and sets the trend a new year.

The Stall Removal Ritual

Its Christmas time again and there is trouble in the market place. Stalls are being destroyed and people are frantically trying to rescue zinc and board as Caesar's men follow orders to clear the streets. For the person who may be sojourning to Jamaica for the first time this may seem shocking and very disturbing but for Jamaicans who live on the rock this is an annual ritual that we all have to endure. But do we really have to endure it?

I am for law and order but it puzzles me why the security forces have to wait for twenty stalls to be erected before they take action? Isn't it easier and more prudent to prevent one stall from going up than to try to take down twenty? Is it the drama that we relish?

I am tired of this ritual. I encourage the police to be more vigilant in preventing persons from engaging in these illegal activities and I encourage the authorities to be more caring and make every effort to make those who trade to be as comfortable as possible.

The Collective Voice - Response to Earlmont

I really appreciate Earlmont's comments on my "Vote Your Conscience" post. He has obviously given serious thought to the issue and is taking me to task on the comment I made which is quoted below. "Whenever we see leaders going against the popular view it is more often than not a sign of courage and higher reason."

I agree with Earl in cautioning against generalities. I am of the view however that the above comment is a "qualified generality." I certainly recognize the value of the collective conscience but a leader has to discern whether or not the collective voice is informed by the right values. It is my view that there are occasions when the collective conscience is compromised because it is shaped by forces like rage, prejudice and the need for revenge. I am reluctant to embrace the view that, “the voice of the people is the voice of God.” As a leader, the collective voice must not be ignored but it is not slavish obedience to the collective voice that makes me a democratic leader. It is rather my critical response to that voice, to inner conscience and to the minority voice that together must inform a leader’s judgment and decision making.
This indeed is a delicate issue and the matter of subjectivity continues to stare at us.