June 3, 2011Dear Sir,May I express my wholehearted support for columnist Walton Brown's contention (RG June 4) that “sober reflection is needed” for any political change, and also that political “change needs to be assessed within the context of our own political structures” (and I would add “our own historical and social experience”) “and not simply parachuted in from a fundamentally different paradigm”. Our heavy dependence on foreign ideas and examples is really evidence of our collective low self-esteem and a lack of value being placed on our own ideas or personalities.Certainly voting for individual independent members, without the intervention of political parties, would be both more democratic and less frustrating. At the moment a vote for one individual's principle may be a wasted vote since his/her political party may have a very different agenda, as Mr Butler recently reminded us. Many people, even today, will say that they vote for the individual and not for the party. But the individual currently transfers all of his/her responsibility to the party.Recent events have shown how nonsensical the whole concept of political parties can be. Black people are supposed to believe that moving the MPs with their mindset and all of their structure from the UBP to the OBA is going to make a dramatic difference in terms of race relations. There was no difference made under the Premiership of either Sir John Swan or Sir David Gibbons, both of whom have now given their blessing to the OBA. “Sober reflection” by the black community on the whole issue of party politics is certainly necessary!!Actually, now that all of the “racial Conservatives” have moved from the UBP to the OBA, the two Swans may have a real opportunity to bring about genuine change to the UBP!! What if there are a few of the UBP loyalist who are themselves ready to support genuine “change” in terms of race relations???EVA N HODGSONHamilton Parish