THE abbreviated heading to this letter, in contrast with Mr. Alvin Williams' rather lengthier headline in your edition of Friday, November 28, is intentional. I am responding to that article because I believe that Mr. Williams' beliefs about Independence are almost as naive as his ramblings about World War Two and the Cold War. Let me take the "wars" first.

The whole world was shocked at the rise of Nazism though, with the exception of Neville Chamberlain and his supporters, scarcely surprised. What was neither shocking nor surprising was the way in which the United Kingdom, with the help of the United States, created a buffer in Bermuda which helped in the protection of, importantly, Bermuda and the Western World (perhaps the world) from authoritarian rule by Germany and the Axis powers.

From Mr. Williams' writings, one has to think that he would rather have been Independent and accepted Nazi rule on what he, presumably, would have regarded as being on our (Bermuda's) terms! Some hope!

But then Mr. Williams turns to the Cold War and seems to object to the fact that the UK and US kept us out of the clutches of communism. If Mr. Williams is in any doubt on the effects of communism, he needs look no further than Cuba and much of Africa and, if he has not already done so, to read the by Ian Smith, the last Prime Minister of Rhodesia.

Of one thing I am sure, neither the UK nor the US would have allowed Bermuda to be taken over by the Nazis or the communists ? unless, of course, they (the Nazi communists) managed that with the rest of the world. Whether or not there was a written plan is immaterial ? perhaps if he asked, Mr. Williams might be pleasantly surprised!

But what, you may ask (as do I), does all this have to do with Independence. As it is history, not much unless Mr. Williams feels that we would have done better on our own. By the same token he seems to think that, as an Independent nation, we would have reacted differently to the liberalisation of homosexually and the abolition of corporal/capital punishments.

With much of the rest of the civilised world in sync with the UK I cannot see that we have had any option.

So what of Independence? The country spoke pretty plainly in the 1995 referendum and since then what has happened:

l Increased regulation and supervision of financial institutions and the insurance world. Incidentally, as we have no "Lender of last resort" maybe HSBC could be helpful!

l Increased complexity of international relations ? and the cost of running them.

l Decrease in the importance of an island of 20-odd square miles and a population of around 62,000 people ? without the support of a major power.

l Increased problems with money-laundering and international drug-related crime and the control thereof.

It seems to me that the views expressed by the Governor, the Deputy Governor and the Premier are all prefectly valid. Bermuda should appreciate the complexities of the big wide world and the huge onus that is on our so-called "colonial power" in both looking after us and ensuring that we are behaving in an internationally acceptable way.

In this day and age we should be looking at that relationship in a positive ? not negative ? way and working out how we can use that relationship to our best advantage ? not throwing it away. Mr. Williams' half measure is going in the wrong direction.