May 2, 2014

Dear Sir,

In regard to the article and photographs on the front page of today’s Royal Gazette (May 2nd) of the marchers parading from Victoria Park to Parliament. They were expressing their opinions, which they have every right to do … and now I would like to express my opinion, as I have every right to do.

How pathetic and how sad. I suspect the energy behind this march originated from Progressive Labour Party supporters; just another way of attacking the government who is desperately trying to save Bermuda from the devastation the PLP government left us in. “Government cannot continue implementing policies that do not have the people’s interest at heart”; a quote by the Rev Nicholas Tweed.

What kind of stupid statement is that? This Government does have the people’s interests at heart — especially our children’s interests — but there is literally no way Bermuda can dig its way out of the huge hole the PLP put us in without measures that are bound to be unpopular and we will have to pay for things we were told we had a ‘right’ to and were for free. Nothing is or free. Nothing.

The holes seem to have been plugged through which millions disappeared under the last regime but we cannot continue in spending more money than we “make”; we must pay our way out of debt.

We have to … unless we want to saddle our children and their children with debts that will make their lives a crushing misery. We pay the price now for our children’s sake — or we pass the burden on to them. That is what we are choosing; now or later but our debt will have to be faced.

Every demand you make for free this or that is just another nail in the coffin of our children’s future. How selfish is that? This Government does not want our children to be burdened with a crushing debt and therefore this Government is asking us to tighten our belts.

And after all, we were the one’s who created this debt, not our children. So, our children or us; you choose. Tighten our belts and help each other through this time of struggle or pass it on to our children. It is as simple as that.

MARK EMMERSON