Dear Sir,

It just confuses me when I hear Bermudians using the word “national” as though it truly applies to Bermuda. Honestly, it really makes me laugh. We as a people need to just stop kidding ourselves and find out what is the true meaning and definition of the word “national”.

You just keep on hearing it: national hero, the national team, the National Stadium, the national flag, the national this and that. When will we stop this out-of-control foolishness and get a life of our own?

I just refuse to get on this silly nationalistic wagon as it goes rolling out of control towards a cliff. The reason why I mention this is maybe somebody needs to remind me about what day it was that Bermuda had gone independent. For some reason or the other, I just can’t remember that day. Why have I forgotten it?

And then again, did I hear that there were some grumblings going on up Somerset about having the Governor present the cup at Cup Match? By the way, were they talking about a colonial governor?

Maybe I had just woken up from a coma; the last I knew, we were all still Overseas Territory Citizens. Has that changed?

Let’s see if I can help us poor Bermudians to snap out of this illusion, in which for some reason we have got ourselves trapped.

Since we are still a colony, the word “national” definitely does not apply, period. Remember, I did say, period.

And, yes, there is something else you did not know: in order to have a true national system of democratic rule, we must first become a sovereign independent state. Otherwise, please let’s drop this false sense of nationalism nonsense if we are not prepared to get up off our backsides and do something about being a nation for real.

E. MCNEIL STOVELL