LET'S park the subject of Independence for now and maintain Bermuda's flexibility is the position advocated by Nicolette Reiss, who writes the column in this newspaper. In discussing the handful of rational as opposed to emotional arguments made in favour of sovereignty since the current debate got underway, she cited another, unnamed contributor.

It's quite clear my fellow columnist was referring to me as one of the supposedly few reasonable voices raised in favour of Independence.

Yes, I have never hidden the fact that I am a champion of Bermudian Independence. And I am not afraid to admit that a large part of my desire to see this country become Independent is emotional. I submit that I consider that any connection to a country must mean more than any supposed economic advantage. In the Bermuda context, if we were to depend on economic factors alone to maintain a sense of national unity, then I would say that as a country we would be in a great deal of trouble.

Why do I say this?

Because many times in the past Bermudians have fought over how the benefits of a buoyant Bermudian economy are to be dispersed. I have no doubt that we shall do so again in the future. So we must have a common focus when it comes to our national identity, a shared identity that I am afraid economic factors will never supplant.

From my perspective, I was born in this country and I demand that it officially recognises me as a citizen by giving me a passport that unequivocally states I am a citizen of Bermuda. I am not British. I have no wish to be British. I expect privileges in this country, not in another man's country. I have no problems if I travel in another man's country and have to stand in the other line, that is the way it should be.

Let me pose a couple of questions to my fellow Bermudians. What makes us think that we as a country have a right to any sort of special cushion against failure, so-called? With respect to the problems we face in this country, I ask the question, who will save us from ourselves? Certainly we can depend on no one else to bring forth solutions to problems that we have created in our own country. I also ask this: If a citizen of Britain says to you, a Bermudian: "What right do you have to privileges in my country when you do not pay taxes in my country, nor are you obligated to join this country's armed forces to defend it?" What would be your answers to those questions?

I do not know what makes us think that if Bermuda's economy were to collapse, then as a British Overseas Territory the UK would be obligated to restore that economy to the standard to which we have become accustomed.

Last year when the Cayman Islands were devastated by the hurricanes that struck the Caribbean, it was thought that, being a British Overseas Territory, they would be in a good position to receive British disaster recovery aid to restore their shattered infrastructure. But such was not the case.

The British stated they would have to assess the Cayman Islands' needs and were not about to hand over a blank cheque. Which meant the Caymans were obligated to help themselves and not even the threat of the Caymans going to Independence loosened the British purse strings.

There is a strange myth believed by Bermudians and their political leaders, a myth that Bermuda has a benevolent big brother country in the form of the UK that will never act against Bermudian interests.

But Bermuda has in many ways always been a disappointment to Britain, producing none of the benefits that its other colonies brought it. There was only one area in which Bermuda proved to be of use to the British and that was in terms of military strategy. Bermuda became a strategic asset to the UK when Britain lost its 13 North American colonies. Bermuda would become a major base when the War of 1812 broke out between Britain and the infant United States.

But let me ask this question. If America was already Bermuda's major trading partner, as it was in 1812, was it in Bermuda's interests as a country to be used by the British as a base from which to attack America? Bermuda throughout its history has been used as a dumping ground for wartime prisoners, from the American Indians to the South African Boer Prisoners of War who were transported here.

taxpayers' money built Dockyard for the use of the Royal Navy and Bermuda benefited economically from this major naval operating base. But after World War Two the British decided they no longer needed to maintain a major Dockyard here and closed it. This was hardly in Bermuda's interests given that Dockyard was so important to Bermuda's economy and society at that time.

Miss Reiss considers that we can maintain our so-called flexibility if we do not go Independent. But had we taken that stance in our past over the issue of racial segregation, or over the question of a woman's right to vote or other social and political reforms, would we have the Bermuda we see today? A look at Bermuda will see that before reforms were made the prevailing sentiment was always to oppose any changes in the then existing Bermuda status quo.

Flexibility ? what flexibility does Bermuda really have given its current status as someone else's overseas territory? In the future we may have to make a choice between Europe and the United States and in that context I seriously doubt that we would have much flexibility if we remain a British Overseas Territory.

But in our current situation, I have never argued that an Independent Bermuda should break ties with the British judicial system, a major drawing point when it comes to international companies incorporating here.

I advocate sovereign Independence for Bermuda but I am also fully aware that we live in an interdependent world.In the spirit of pragmatism, an Independent Bermuda will need to strengthen its international links ? but as an Independent country we will be able to do so on our own terms, not Britain's. Sometimes British interests run in parallel with Bermuda's; sometimes they do not. Independence will mean that we will always put our own interests first.

I have made the argument that an Independent Bermuda will not mean that Bermudians overnight will understand the roles they are expected to play in their country or that national pride and self-esteem will become the order of the day instantly. But our young people, taught to respect their own country from their first day in school, will grow up with such concepts.

A future Bermuda is another country, but the seeds of that country are being planted today and in that respect I do not consider that the question of Bermudian Independence is being forced down our throats by a handful of self-serving politicians. You can either accept or reject that point of view. But as far as those of us who believe that Independence is the destiny of our country are concerned; we will never cease to put the case forward.