Doctor,
We often think along the same lines.
For me, Jamaica has always been bitter sweet.
From the first time I set foot on that beautiful soil I felt a stabbing pain in my heart - almost as if I could still feel the sting of Slavery.
I sometimes find myself filled with emotion and tears when I pass through various places in Jamaica - it is as if the pain of slavery is still echoing through the hills. I am a highly sensitive person and I often find myself feeling others pain. I don't understand why I feel so connected to that when I am in Jamaica- but I do. It does not happen to me in the Southern US or on and other Caribbean islands I have visited. I think the ramifications are so very present - hence the lack of family structure as you just described.
The saddest thing for me is the lack of sexual boundaries and the sexual corruption of the youth. Slavery has got to be the root of that.
Being a survivor of childhood sexual abuse I know how hard it is to break the cycle. I was part of the first generation in my family to do so. It has taken me a lifetime to come to terms with it - and it still rears it's ugly head on a regular basis.
It takes a lot of strength to see what most do not want to see.
As far as Rasta Heart goes - LOl lol Doctoro - you were trying to be polite - so I will say it - who wants to hear white some privileged white American dude has to say about Rasta? I was surprised that you even own the book lol lol
I was very nervous after I recommended it to Macy as I was waiting for such responses.
However - the book goes way beyond Jamaica and Rasta - (Ineed to reread it - its been several years) It is about love and healing - you do need to read it and let us know.
This is from amazon - it is outdated but it will help you to understand how rasta heart evolved
"To date, Roskind, his wife, Julia, and their 19 year-old daughter, Alicia, have organized and hosted 74 of these "One Love Events" in Jamaica and on Native American reservations, colleges and at public venues in the U.S. All are non-commercial, involve no sponsorship funding and are free to the public. They are non-denominational, apolitical and bring forward a message of universal love for all.
Their latest event was on February 6, 2005, Bob Marley's 60th Birthday Celebration, in Kingston, Jamaica with a live audience of tens of thousands and a TV and radio audience of almost two million. It included presentations by the Jamaican head of state, Governor General Sir Howard Cooke, the Minister of Education, the Minister of Tourism, Bob's daughter, Stephanie Marley, many conscious civic leaders and talk show hosts and twenty well-known recording artists also performed including Bunny Wailer, Culture, Luciano, Ernie Smith and Abijah.
These events have often led to a community-wide healing. Their five events on the Hopi reservation in Arizona led to the Hopis defeating reservation gambling and preserving their ancient ways. Their two events on the Havasupai reservation on the floor of the Grand Canyon led to the tribe electing a pro-environmental tribal council committed to protecting the Canyon. In Jamaica, their 54 concerts brought a much-needed message of love to a country in turmoil."