It's been said that there is nothing wrong with politicians being a little paranoid. It can be a rough game, after all, and any politician will face opponents, and even colleagues, who won't mind if a prominent leader gets slightly damaged.

But there's a point when the paranoia becomes destructive and dangerous, not only to a particular politician, but to the community at large.

Tourism Minister Ewart Brown's reaction to some schools' reaction to the Ministry's "Pop By" programme suggests he may be reading more into the reaction than it warrants.

As Bermuda Sun columnist Tom Vesey wrote on Friday, the Pop By programme was a little "daft" and it was also a little sad that Bermudians were having to be bribed with ginger beer to produce the friendliness to visitors for which the Island was once legendary.

But that did not mean the idea was wrong, and at least the Ministry is trying to inject a little enthusiasm, and dare we say it, sizzle, into an industry which too many Bermudians have already written off.

But that does not mean that it was wrong for schools ? all of them, admittedly, private ? to say that they weren't convinced that it was a great idea to encourage their students to invite unknown visitors to talk to them when the schools spend a lot of time convincing their pupils to talk to strangers.

It's fair to say that the vast majority of visitors ? like the vast majority of Bermuda residents ? are perfectly nice people who wouldn't harm a fly, there is always be the risk that someone will take advantage of young people and a tragedy will result. So there's nothing wrong with principals being a bit wary about the whole programme.

Similarly, it would be right, as sad as it may be, to be concerned that some of the Bermudian residents who take flags may not have the purest of intentions towards our visitors and that tragedy, again, may result. So it would have been sensible to screen the people taking the flags, at least to some extent.

At the very least, there was an opportunity for the public and the Ministry to debate these questions and, possibly, to come up with a reasoned solution that would benefit everyone. Making sure an adult was present when the children took their flags to the beach would be a start.

Instead, Dr. Brown responded by accusing the schools that had reservations about the scheme of engaging in a "deliberate campaign of destruction".

Earlier this year, another tourism scheme to erect a stage at Horseshoe Bay ran into controversy when construction began before planning approval had been granted. Dr. Brown's reaction? "We are not going to be stopped by the nay-sayers and unprogressive elements (from revitalising tourism)," he said. Never mind that the "nay-sayers" include Government's own Parks Department that actually administers the beach, or that planning laws were broken, this kind of reactions inevitably heightens confrontation when it is not necessary, and creates a "if you're not with me, you're against me" atmosphere that surely is not in the best interests of tourism.

Dr. Brown's energy and enthusiasm are undeniable and he has a proven track record of getting results. But there are times when discretion is the better part of valour and creating unnecessary fights when there are more important battles to be won cannot help anyone.