August 3, 2012Dear Sir,Al Seymour’s “political addiction” article made a great deal of sense to me. If the article was applied to Government, the addiction would be the “Feel Good Factor”. When the Progressive Labour Party first took power in 1998, the ‘Feel Good Factor’ was probably the reason urgent issues such as Education were put on the back burner. The “Feel Good Factor” reset the moral compass — it took precedence. It “felt good” to be in power — whites were “down” and blacks were “up”. It felt good to have IB, bankers and lawyers wanting audiences — forced to lobby for their particular needs with caps in hand. There were many inappropriate displays of power gone amok — inappropriate statements were made by Government Ministers indicating unhealthy and immature emotions. The stage was being set.The first really loud warning came with Dr Ewart Brown’s “We had to mislead you” — then, later, when Dr Brown managed to coerce the delegates to remove Alex Scott as Leader and Premier, and elect him in Mr Scott’s stead. Many of those delegates had to have been seriously conflicted when they voted for him, but the anticipated “Feel Good Factor” dominated. They voted for the person who they knew would really and truly “stick it to Whitey”. The “old heads” in the PLP had always counselled against too much power being given to Dr Brown, but caution was thrown to the wind. Did any of those Delegates ask themselves why the elders thought the way they did? The moral compass lurched in the wrong direction once again and it did not bode well for standards in good governance.Just recently, we have seen speeches and articles by Kevin Comeau describing in detail his views regarding various social and economic issues in Bermuda. I am grateful to Kevin for his time and the validity in much of what he said, however, in the past, we have had numerous erudite intellectuals of our own who have given us valid blueprints for an equitable, just society — who have explained just how we got to where we were and what we needed to do to get ourselves sorted out. Dr Eva Hodgson comes immediately to mind — along with Julian Hall, Dr EF Gordon and Sir John Plowman. There are others. Why haven’t we used them?Candidly, I don’t think many Government Ministers, backbenchers and candidates really understand our complex issues from various standpoints. Also, how many of them are capable emotionally of being objective? The Ministers and back benchers who do understand are clearly being kept in the background. The non-intellectuals in the PLP and Government are calling the shots. PLP members and supporters should ask themselves why. The black Bermudian population has the intellectual capital — culturally and intellectually the resources are there — why were they not consulted? Why are they not being used? These are important questions and I believe they are at the root of Government’s failure to get the job done.What I find particularly worrying is the Government’s refusal to admit to its mistakes. Premier Cox introduced legislation very quickly once Dr Brown had stepped down but those actions are not good enough if there isn’t any genuine willingness from the rest of her Cabinet colleagues to, a) admit to the blatant moral lapses; or b) Amend their behaviour and rhetoric to indicate an understanding of what Government’s role really is — in short, to reset the moral compass in the direction of honesty and fairness. Premier Cox’s speedy actions also demonstrated her awareness of what had been going on and her willingness to allow it to happen. What does that say about the Government’s moral compass, or, for that matter, about Premier Cox’s courage and strength of character?Perhaps it’s asking too much of our current Government to set aside the past — to recognise that the various ceilings, glass or otherwise are no longer in place? That now it is Government itself that is responsible for the formidable, intellectual ceiling that undoubtedly exists for our younger generation? Government has actually caused and/or exacerbated the very things it should have set out to eliminate and/or solve. Probably, if PLP supporters and Government members were put to the test — if they were asked the question: “Do you believe that you have a solid sense of right and wrong?” They would all answer, “Yes”. Well, I say to them that the proof is in the pudding, and if they all affirm that they do indeed know right from wrong, why haven’t they spoken up? Why haven’t they insisted their leaders and colleagues follow the rules and behave honestly and above board? Why haven’t they acted? Why don’t they insist on the highest of standards in their elected representatives? Or, does it all come down to that fleeting, heady sensation of ‘Feeling Good’?KATH BELLPaget