Don’t give up hopeMay 23, 2011Dear Sir,Regarding the new formation of the One Bermuda Alliance:It was inevitable that the United Bermuda Party would capitulate given that its purpose and culture was one that could only survive for a time. Truthfully, the Progressive Labour Party as a labour ideology also faces a similar fate. The problem with the UBP was that they couldn’t see their own dilemma in time to reform in spite of innumerable warnings and advice. The PLP also was formed during a time of protest and for a reason which has long since expired. The issues for a progressive and pluralist society in 2011 and beyond are far more complex than those of the 1960s.For the PLP to survive as a relevant entity it will need to become more applicable to were the people of Bermuda needs are today. If it is believed that as a party its current legitimacy is based on a previous era, then all we need to do is look around the world and see the ends of regimes based on former legitimacy. Muama Khadafy had a long period of absolute legitimacy. He helped numerous persons and movements in countries around the world to fight against oppression. Fidel Castro similar, the list is long but the irony the same. Yesterday’s heroes are seen as today’s tyrants.Unlike the old motto “Keep the end in view”, somewhere they lost sight of the real purpose which is for freedom, liberty and human dignity for your people. Another maxim “The price of freedom is eternal vigilance” is another principle which movements and political organisations must remember. You must always be on the forefront of people’s needs. Preoccupation with ruling can be a sleeping pill.The OBA has formed out of a sheer understanding that the UBP was unviable and the BDA too weak to replace them. In my view they will be a bit more attractive than the UBP but not attractive enough to eclipse the PLP. They at present are largely a regrouping of former UBP members of parliament. Their challenge is not a small one to convince an electorate that indeed they are new. Nevertheless it is a new beginning, having potential if crafted towards the right direction.The Bible says a child will lead them. The philosophy of that statement is that the new leadership for OBA needs to be seen as innocent. The UBP and BDA failures are not enough of a rational for a successful OBA. Nor is the strategy of highlighting PLP failures a recipe for a new entity to gain popularity. A new political entity is not just about filling a void either, rather they need to be fulfilling a purpose or needed national vision. It would be better if a new organisation had rode the wave and quest of a popular sentiment then to be seen as coming together to starve off eminent defeat.Both parties are very similar as far as direction is concerned both enjoy the idea of "My turn". I agree with Phil Perincheif about who can craft a true exodus from our current malaise where he uses the term marginalised for those persons who sit on the periphery of party politics, whom I refer to as change agents. It’s up to whether the PLP embraces change agents, which can help them to find the new era. If the PLP do not, they will continue to rule but slowly plunge like the UBP and become included as a hated relic of a bygone era. With the UBP gone, they need to realise there is more pressure for them to be seen as irrelevant also. I suspect that the OBA, without change agents at the head, may become impregnated with the old culture of the UBP and continue to churn out replicas. In the meantime Bermuda will continue much as it has but in a world that is rapidly changing.Trying to inspire people who have been misplaced and maladjusted by 30-plus years of economic boom but now in a protracted downturn will be difficult. It will be very difficult without having money to pour into a socio/economic agenda. More greed on the top end and fewer jobs on the bottom is a recipe for chaos. For those who circle around the “money box” their eyes become too green to see anything but their own fortune. We seemed to have suffered this scenario forever. Our prayers have always been for an enlightened leadership. We must not give up hope.KHALID A WASICity of Hamilton