Bermudians have experienced some six months of intensive discussion of independence led by the Bermuda Independence Commission (BIC) under the skilful direction of Bishop Vernon Lambe. The numerous debates, newspaper articles, forums and pleas for a referendum have been aggregated into a huge ? 700 page plus ? report known as the BIC Report. Yet, less than two months after the release of the report, if you ask many Bermudians what they think of the BIC report you may very well be met with a querulous look and a sheepish question: "Is it about the cigarette lighter?"

While the foregoing statement is an admitted exaggeration, there continues to be widespread ignorance on the subject of Independence and this is not surprising. For years while the PLP government did nothing, the anti-independence lobby was leaving no stone unturned in its quest to weaken existing support of a principle that the citizens of most nations consider worth dying for to maintain or achieve.

The thought of England losing its independence to Germany led the former Prime Minister, Sir Winston Churchill, to deliver this famous quote in the House of Commons in 1940: "We shall fight on the beaches. We shall fight on the landing grounds. We shall fight in the fields, and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills. We shall never surrender!" Given this glorious history, I am at a loss to understand why so many of our citizens of English descent seem to regard the concept of Independence for Bermuda with nothing short of "supreme contempt".

This strange behaviour is not restricted to the English. The Americans among us, particularly the leaders of the international businesses, also are concerned that Bermuda might take "the perilous step of Independence". Apparently they believe, erroneously I insist, that with independence Bermuda will lose access to the excellence of the British court of appeal, The Privy Council, even though England has not denied the use of the Privy Council to any other former British colony.

What on earth is it about the concept of Independence for Bermuda that makes otherwise intelligent people become very irrational? To me and many other Bermudians, Independence is the ultimate goal of democracy. And by democracy, I refer to a political system whereby each citizen of a state has the same right as all other citizens to select the government of his/her choice. Clearly, without independence, that right is compromised.

However, no matter how much I choose to argue the case for Independence, a recent poll found that 66 percent of all Bermudians do not want independence. This percentage included 52 percent of black voters ? the PLP support base ? and 85 percent of Bermuda's white voters. But what is most curious, from my point of view, is that these same Bermudians stated that if an election were to be held at the time the poll was taken, they would re-elect the PLP, the party that proposed Independence in the first place.

Frankly, I do not know the answers to these contradictions. However, I do know that the fact that so many people are against independence but would vote for a PLP government should certainly be cause for alarm and certainly not solace, for the hard working men and women who form the PLP government. Why? Because this conflicting result shows what an ongoing propaganda campaign can do to a righteous cause, if the people supporting the cause are reluctant to do all that is within their power to promote their viewpoint. Have we forgotten so soon that similar campaigns were waged with considerable success to combat other sound principles such as extension of the franchise to women; the ending of segregation in schools and public places; and more recently, the attempt to derail the principle of one man, one vote of equal value.

The behaviour of the PLP with respect to their refusal to fight to support a view point which they have held ever since they formed their party reflects a willingness to appease the dissenters to an extent that would bring tears to the eyes of Onwura Chiazor, a dear friend from Nigeria. Onwura often had this to say about appeasement; "Those who would appease believe that you can make lions vegetarians by feeding them steaks". Certainly, the PLP has spent too many years feeding steaks to the anti-independence lions.

This leads to the question, what do we gain from remaining a dependent territory? The immediate response to that question usually is: "Who will protect us from external attacks should we become independent?" For me, the answer is that we would be protected by the same mighty force that really protects us now. That is the United States under authority provided by the Monroe Doctrine.

Which leads to a secondary question: "Who would quell internal strife should it arise after we become an independent state?" Currently, Britain protects Bermuda from internal strife, at a price. At least that was the case following their intervention after the civil disturbances of 1977. But let's face it, if under independence, Bermuda was to experience civil disturbances that got beyond the ability of our police and local armed forces to control, there is little doubt that America would intervene to protect the 80 percent of the tourists and perhaps a similar percentage of the leadership of reinsurance companies who happen to be American citizens.

I would argue that a large reason that some Bermudians want to remain a dependent territory is due to reasons that can that can only be attributed to the almost total absence of instruction in Bermuda's political and economic history in the public education system. I was struck by this reality when a young, obviously intelligent, black salesman told me that he was against independence because Bermuda has no resources.

"How would we feed ourselves, if we become independent?" he asked with real concern. I replied: "How do we feed ourselves now?" He tossed the question back with "how do we feed ourselves now?" I explained that we purchase food from the United States, Canada and the Caribbean with dollars that have been earned by the tourist and international finance industries. I went on to point out that precious little of the money we earn and the food we buy with it comes from dear old England.

Unperturbed, my young friend said: "But if we become independent, I would lose my British Passport and I won't be able to travel to Europe." I tried to reassure him by stating that my friends in the Caribbean tell me that they have experienced no more difficulty travelling to Europe now than they did before independence. Further, I assured him: "My friends in the Caribbean all would much sooner have more freedom in visiting the United States than Europe or England for that matter. The ability to visit the United States without a visa is a privilege all Bermudians now enjoy and no doubt will continue to enjoy after Independence."

This encounter left me in no doubt as to the reality of the fear that Bermudians have of giving up their Dependent Territory status, even though our association with England brings us very little of substance. Such being the case, I am at a loss to understand why those Bermudians who are comfortable with their status of being a dependent territory do not seek to improve that situation by striving to become a dependency of the United States. After all, we acquire much, much more from that country than we ever have as a colony of England.

I put this proposition to my wife who responded: "But Calvin, Bermuda would have to become independent in order to negotiate such a new dependency relationship to their best advantage".