April 8, 2002

Dear Sir,

True leaders

Are hardly known to their followers,

Next after them are the leaders

The people know and admire;

After them, those they fear;

After them, those they despise.

To give no trust

Is to get no trust.

When the work's done right,

With no fuss or boasting,

ordinary people say,

“Oh, we did it”.

This short piece from the sixth century B.C. was written by Lao-tzu, an eminent Chinese philosopher. It offers a backdrop for some reflections on today. In a most revealing half hour interview on BBC Radio, Desmond Tutu offered some profound related insights. When asked about the lessons learned from his experiences in fighting apartheid, leading the Truth & Reconciliation process in South Africa and meeting the challenge of cancer; Tutu offered that he has learned that we are all capable of evil and on the other hand we each have great capacity for good, in spite of the circumstances. In other words, Bishop Tutu was pointing out that there are times when we use the various styles of leadership cited by Lao-tzu. There are those times when we slip into the approach to leadership that we see exhibited by Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe these days. On the other hand, there are those times when we offer leadership as modelled by Nelson Mandela; who has clearly demonstrated that real power resides ‘within' rather than ‘without'. Bermuda is now witnessing something of a first, a movie telling an important story of its growth during a critical part of its history, called When Voices Rise . I know it was difficult to get many of the people involved in this island-biography to tell their story. There are some who may think it was because of fear; however I think that at the end of the day we will find that it is because this is an example a group of our fellow humans mainly concerned that:

… the work's done right with no fuss or boasting. This is yet another example of what Tutu refers to as the incredible capacity of us humans to do good. Look for this movie at your local cinema.

GLENN FUBLER

Smith's Parish