There is a reason people set aside days to remember and commemorate important events in the human story.

Through remembrance and celebration we give ourselves the chance to remain true to the lessons and meanings of selected events, whether they be cultural, historical or religious.

These special days have been set aside for the most part by forefathers who deemed them important enough to fix them on the calendar so succeeding generations could tap into whatever received wisdom they represent.

Emancipation Day on Saturday is one such day.

It is a day we celebrate the emancipation of slaves in the Americas. In my view, there is no more important date for Bermuda because it marks the first irrevocable step, the first formal commitment toward a better society; a society of equality, justice and dignity.

Emancipation Day was the start of a long journey and the history that followed reveals how difficult it is to achieve something good.

The disappointments, the frustrations, the conflicts and triumphs that followed in the 175 years since the abolition of slavery in the British Empire shows there are no guarantees, that forward progress depends absolutely on people from one generation to the next stepping forward to move society forward, to fighting the good fight.

World history is replete with the names of these good people – John Newton who penned "Amazing Grace", William Wilberforce, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela … and the numbers who stood with them are beyond count. Bermuda's history is equally impressive.

I think of Dr. E.F. Gordon, Sir Henry Tucker, Lois Brown Evans, the Progressive Group ... I could go on but the point is that so much of what can be achieved comes down to individuals and the examples they set.

Governments too can help, or they can hurt.

They must first and foremost be about bringing people together. They must provide leadership that puts freedom, equality and dignity – the highest aims of emancipation – ahead of any other consideration, particularly political gain.

If you as a citizen do not believe your government represents and practices the highest ideals then you must demand that it do so.

If you sense your government is exploiting age-old resentments, fears and prejudices, then demand that it stop and get focused on building Bermuda with bricks of unity.

If you see your government fighting battles that have already been fought and won, if you see it taking people backwards instead of forward, then demand that it stop.

Demand that it promote a more unified, more inclusive society that brings us together as Bermudians.

Each of us must also demand more of ourselves. We must start reaching out to each other.

We must stop being afraid about embracing our neighbours because of their religion, their race, their creed, their sexual orientation, their income or background. It is too easy to pick at our differences. It is not so easy to build on the things we share – like our common humanity.

Emancipation Day, for me, is about the building of a new world, good action by good action, person by person, where the sum total is a bounteous, beautiful and fair life for all.

Here in Bermuda we have a wonderful opportunity to build an island that works for all its citizens. I can think of no other place where the opportunity to build that better society is closer at hand.

All we need to do is understand the meaning of Emancipation Day and live it.

Kim Swan, JP, MP, is the leader of the –Opposition, the United Bermuda Party