Have you ever wondered why foreigners visited Jamaica then go back to their domicile country and reported that Jamaica is so nice? Sometimes they can’t find words to describe their experiences.

The reason is one single word called

‘Freedom.’ Unfortunately as nice as Freedom is, it comes with a cost; sometimes a very burdensome but unavoidable social cost. We enjoy the freedom to totally express ourselves when we visit Jamaica. The freedom to buy a Red Stripe beer and consume it on the street. The freedom to establish more churches per square mile than any other country on earth. The freedom to write this letter and get it published. Last but not least the freedom to have a reggae concert.

As is customary when people become irate with an event that does not affect them in anyway they usually call for its abolishment. This time in the case of the 25-year-old reggae concert Sting 2008, many are appalled at the expletives used by some of our most popular DJ superstars. What supposed to be a ‘clash,’ a lyrical contest between two top DJ’s turned out to be the worst type of insults and cursing match between two grown adults. For this one cannot blame the critics. There is enough blame to go around. I personally blame the promoters and the security forces to have encouraged so many thugs on the stage during the performances. The pace was set for unruliness from the onset.

With all this said and done we have to be careful about calling for the eradication of ‘Sting.’  If we start curtailing freedom by going after things that powerless people do, we will slowly upgrade to dictatorship by asking for the elimination of other things or people we do not like. What we need to do is hold the organizers of these events responsible by leveling a huge seven figure fine on them for this inexplicable behavior. That will be the only tune they will dance to.