A Stone Poll in the Jamaica Observer, has caused some consternation as it showed that a small majority of the adults in the sample polled, regretted Jamaica departing from British rule.
Whilst this has caused some soul-searching, in this Jamaica's Emancipation and next week's Independence day of celebrations, it can be shrugged aside as the Independence train will press on, for the rest of this century.
Independence fervour will steamroll ahead regardless of the economic travails that all states undergo. Whether these countries are small dots in the map of world states, like island states like St. Kitts-Nevis (who must be rejoicing at claiming the 100m gold Commonwealth title through Kim Collins) or parts of now sovereign territories, the nineteenth century bug of 'nationalism' (which carries with it independence desires) will strengthen, despite all the problems that independence can bring.
East Timor, for instance just became the world's 192nd state, and faces an unemployment rate of 70% and an illiteracy rate of 43%, along with a low per capital (not being one of those off-shore financial centres) but has welcomed independence, after decades of Portuguese and then Indonesian rule.
It is the same fervour that drives young persons to leave their parents and live on their own. What drives young adults also drives nations.
This is why on the colony of Gibraltar, they are going ahead with an internal referendum, despite the wishes of Britain and Spain.
From Cyprus, to North Korea and South Korea, the desire to partition up a country will be fuelled by religious and political fanatics, regardless of how wasteful it may seem to outsiders. Who is not to say that before the end of this century we may not see an independent Barbuda, or Tobago, or a million more little states.
All across the world, from Quebec in Canada, to Kurds in Iraq, to Basques in Spain, to France and Northern Ireland, there are minorities that wish to change the political status quo.
Some may be violent (Kashmir in India and some of the earlier ones mentioned before) but others may be diplomatic (Puerto Rican nationalists) but all desire this independence status.
The colonialists (or should that be neo-colonialists) may regret Britain's loss of political control but then dependencies like Bermuda and others have had to remove buggery laws, give up capital punishment and approve homosexual marriages, because Britain used their political muscle, and many persons in those islands could do nothing about it.
It is doubtful that the Cayman Islands could turn away a homosexual cruise ship again with the current British-European laws. Independent countries can take a stance, regardless of what others think.
