what becomes of civic engagement when truth itself is strained in the nation’s highest forum? Espeut speaks to a troubling contempt for the Jamaican people. Gyles urges deeper, more meaningful civic participation beyond performative gestures and political patronage. Both are right. But there is a prior condition—one that must underpin both respect and engagement. It is accuracy. It is truth. For only the second time in my longish life, I feel compelled to state that a m