It's rare these days to find Government and Opposition politicians agreeing on what time it is, let alone anything of substance.

So it was welcome news on Monday to see Community Affairs Minister Dale Butler and his Opposition counterpart Louise Jackson throw their weight behind the Imagine Bermuda 2009 initiative.

The initiative aims to encourage people to come up with solutions to the Island's problems as it enters its fifth century of continuous settlement and should be lauded for not only looking back, but looking forward as well.

Mrs. Jackson rightly said: "Encouraging all of our people, regardless of race, religious or political beliefs to honour our shared history and building towards a better future is a necessary step in uniting our people and healing the divisions that continue to plague our country."

That process should also lead to innovative ways and community-wide ways of celebrating the Island's 400th anniversary and the 50th anniversary of the Theatre Boycott.

Both dates are important. The settlement of the Island in 1609 speaks for itself. The Theatre Boycott marked the beginning of the end of formal segregation in Bermuda.

The combination of the two dates gives the whole community the chance to celebrate.

That would not be the case if 1609 alone was being marked because black Bermudians understandably have mixed feelings about the settlement of Bermuda, since it later led to the enslavement of Indians and Africans who were forcibly brought to the Island and then kept in bondage.

If 1609 arguably marked the beginning of that process, the 1959 boycott helped to bring that tragic chapter was brought to a close.

In that sense, Bermuda's history is the history of emancipation and the liberation from the shackles of racism and bigotry that entrapped both black and white Bermudians.

That has to be a part of any celebration, which should celebrate the accomplishments of all Bermudians, regardless of race, colour or creed.

Both events also show how Bermudians can overcome challenges. Settling an 21-square-mile island (with no fresh water) in the early 17th Century was an extraordinary accomplishment. So too was turning over decades of racist practices in 1959.

If Bermudians can overcome those challenges, we should be able to tackle those that confront us today.

It is a sign of the strength of the Bermuda community that this initiative is coming from private citizens. That should keep it from becoming a political football, or part of an attempt by politicians to try and get bragging rights.

Inevitably, Government will have to be involved, but if the impetus for the Imagine 2009 comes from the "bottom up" and not from the "top down", then it should make this anniversary all the more meaningful.

Some of the celebrations in 2009 will emanate from this committee, but it is also important that other organisations start planning this anniversary together now.

Only then will this be a truly memorable celebration of which all Bermudians can feel part.

It should tell us where we came from, warts and all.

But it should also give all Bermudians the chance to celebrate the splendid diversity of the Island ? and to celebrate the many common threads that unite us, regardless of our ethnic or national backgrounds.