When Nations Break and Rebuild: The Jamaica Story
I left Jamaica at 13. Watched from America for 40 years as the dream of independence slowly died. Record violence. Mass exodus. Political dysfunction so deep nobody even pretends anymore.
This isn’t just Jamaica’s story. It’s happening everywhere. Institutions collapsing. Old systems dying. The sense that we’re living through something that can’t be fixed with better policy or different leaders.
There’s a framework that explains this moment: the Fourth Turning. Every 80 years - one long human life - societies go through complete transformation. The old order breaks. Something new gets born. We’re in that breaking moment right now.
But here’s the seed of hope: Fourth Turnings don’t end in apocalypse. They end in renewal.
In this episode, I use Jamaica as a case study to help you understand where we are in the cycle, why the breakdown is necessary, and what it means to be a hope dealer when everything’s falling apart.
The acorn has to break open in the dark before the oak can grow.
Listen now, and let me know what’s breaking and rebuilding in your world.
Shawna Kearsley // The Daily Acorn // Your hope dealer on the Delmarva Peninsula