DIRECTOR OF Elections Danville Walker clearly means well in his proposal that people should avoid wearing colours associated with the island's major political parties on Election Day. He has suggested that gold, the colour of the National Football team, the Reggae Boyz, be worn as a symbol of unity and patriotism instead.

He put forward this proposal at a recent meeting of the Public Relations Society of Jamaica as one way of reducing tension and potential conflict between and among supporters of the different political camps.

Given our recent history of open warfare among the rabidly partisan, Mr. Walker will have a lot of sympathisers for his position. Yet we express some reservations about the means to the desired end.

The kind of violent behaviour that has accompanied much of our public life is rooted in the pork barrel politics that has held sway these past 40 years. For many of the supporters, it really is a matter of life or death who wins; hence they consider it their duty to fight might and main to see that their side emerges victor.

Civil society must keep up the pressure to expunge that as the way to do business. Additionally, we believe that to remove all open displays of support for one party or another is to give in to an unhealthy fear factor. In other societies, people put up signs and posters in the windows of the homes to indicate their support. Others use stickers on their cars. We do not believe that Jamaicans are of a lesser breed incapable of displaying civilised behaviour.

We should note too that many of the people who don the gold colours of the Reggae Boyz are no less rabidly partisan. They merely bury their differences for a football game. We suggest that civic organisations must intensify their lobbying to change the way public affairs are managed and involve ordinary people.

In parallel with efforts to promote conflict resolution at the level of the school system, ways must be found to reduce tension and to inculcate the idea in the wider society that people are not enemies merely for having different perspectives on national development; or wear any colour of the rainbow.

THE OPINIONS ON THIS PAGE, EXCEPT FOR THE ABOVE, DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE VIEWS OF THE GLEANER.