December 18, 2001 — Returning to Bermuda last night, it was inevitable that, today, I heard the various comments on the talk shows concerning Mr. Rolfe Commissiong, which, of course, then meant that I sought out both Mark Selley’s letter and Mr. Commissiong’s political commentary.

While I agree with those who commented on the irrelevant nastiness and meanness of Mark Selley’s personal comments, I would like to place the discussion in a broader context.

Thirty odd years ago I contented that racism, which existed and which was the one consistent and predominant social and political reality, made political parties premature and therefore socially and politically destructive, particularly for the black community. However, some black Bermudians were so thoroughly Anglicised or Europeanised that it was believed that our only solution had to come out of Europe, and so we introduced political parties.

Subsequent events have proven me correct. The racial divide has been justified under the heading of party politics. The expression of racial bitterness, which is sometimes virulent, is now justified as loyalty to party politics.

Mr. Commissiong’s article was, in the final analysis, or at least in the final paragraphs, a plea for two black parties. Unfortunately, the continuing “internalised racism” within the black community makes such a prospect equally, or more, destructive for the black community. In fact I believe that those black Bermudians who are so Anglicised that they cannot conceive of any other form of Government than the two party system reflect our problems of self devaluation and even racial self hate. Some seem to believe that we cannot possibly think of any political solution other than that which comes out of Europe, no matter how different our circumstances. Why is it not possible for us to conceive of some other more democratic form of Government?

Of course there is the approach of some African countries and their one party approach which, too often, became dictatorships. We cannot afford to be smug since that is a possibility which cannot be ignored as we watch our own Government attempting to reduce our representation, and being very punitive towards anyone that disagrees with the hierarchy, without anyone in the black community having a serious reaction other than to rubber stamp what ever this Government decides to do.

But there are other possibilities once we rid ourselves of political parties and implement a no party system. In the first place the Premier would indeed be the result of an election with all of the elected Members of Parliament being involved rather than the result of an unelected number of close friends and acquaintances of a limited hierarchy.

At the moment, issues are decided by the same 13 Cabinet members, (or worse by the Premier and one of two of her closest Cabinet members) and then rubber stamped by the backbenchers.

In another kind of system, each issue would be discussed by different Committee members, with or without, public input, and then presented in Parliament for real discussion and open votes. This, of course, would reduce the power of Members of Parliament of a particular party, all of whom hope to be in the limited number of Cabinet members who are making the real decisions. This is undoubtedly the reason that some with political ambitions take so quickly to the European approach, despite its obvious flaws, rather then attempting to design a more democratic approach. The current system is really quite absurd, treating the general public like children who cannot be permitted to hear any real discussion or debate on the issues. In a country the size of Bermuda it is ridiculous.

Mr. Larry Burchall recently asked, ‘In our Bermuda who’s out? Who’s in?’ In a more democratically designed political structure, without political parties, and their exclusivity, many more could be included and thus there would be fewer “outers” whom Mr. Burchall pointed out are “the angry ones who cause problems for the comfortable inners”.

It is fairly certain that Mr. Commissiong’s invitation to the white numerical minority, which still controls most of the wealth, to disappear is not likely to be well received by them. Certainly not while racism continues to be so deeply entrenched within both communities. It is significant that Mr. Commissiong takes note of the “inherent impediments of a Westminster system” but rather than using his considerable intelligence to conceive of another badly needed approach, he simply attempts to impose those impediments on the black community alone, rather than on the black and white communities. He suggests that the UBP might fold its tent and imagines “the good doctor walking from an empty campaign headquarters pausing at the door and then with an audible sign gently turning off the lights”.

How much better for all of Bermuda if that scenario were also to be repeated at Alaska Hall. A politician recently commented that, “there were a lot of strong ego people thinking about themselves instead of the party”. How much better for Bermuda it all of those “strong egos”, instead of thinking about their party, were to be thinking about Bermuda.

How much more Bermuda would have benefited if, during the discussion on Mr. Allen’s conduct, the Members of Parliament could have concentrated on his conduct alone rather than having to think about what the other political party had done. Without political parties that would have been possible.

We sometimes hear comments about voting for the best man”. Under the present system, “voting for the best man” might well conflict with voting for the preferred party and so cancel out an individual’s vote altogether. Without party politics we could then not only vote for the best man” but we would be assured of getting the full value of the individual’s intelligence and integrity in open debate, rather than he or she, having to confine, or limit, his or her own opinions to those who may have both less intelligence and less integrity.

How much more worthy and honest the Parliamentary debates would be. We would not then have the incongruous and dishonest situation where an MP expresses certain opinion and then votes against his or her own arguments because of the party whip. We have all seen that happen.

My challenge to our intellectual political commentators such as Mr. Commissiong and others, or at least those without personal political ambitions, is to rid themselves of the notion that the white western world with its history of feudalism, industrialists, peasants and classism has the only political solution of a small island country like Bermuda, with race, racism and slavery as its inheritance and not feudalism, landed aristocracy, class and the overthrowing, or containing of monarchies.

We have a great need for the confidence to believe that we can create a system that will truly unite all of us. We must stop looking over our shoulders at white western, or British societies for their approval when all that they have given us is a system that gives us the continual excuse, or justification, for divisions based on some imported ideology or philosophy, which, as we have seen with the PLP hierarchy, can be easily ignored as soon as they come to power.

We are a small community, with a limited number of serious political thinkers, black or white, but I challenge them to come up with political ideas which will be less divisive and far more democratic. We must come up with an approach that will make it possible for all intelligent people with integrity to make a contribution and to be made useful. We cannot continue to have them and their ideas rejected on the basis of either colour, or totally irrelevant political ideologies that have nothing to do with Bermuda, and which are so easily ignored when it is convenient.

The divisiveness within the black community, and its impact on us as a black community, is often far greater emotionally than the divisiveness between the black and white community, which has been so disastrous for the black community economically and psychologically.

The black community needs a political ideology that will pull us together and not one that will justify our vindictiveness and acrimony. We all know that we need an approach that will pull the black and white communities together. As much as one of us might think that we would like it, Mr. Commissiong’s implied invitation for the white Community to disappear is not very realistic. Moreover, as a black community, we know that being invisible to, and/or ignored by a white minority that has exercised the power, is totally destructive to the entire society.

The white western ideology of the two party system has nothing of value to offer a community such as Bermuda, save for the two or three in the hierarchy, who exercise all of the power and those with a special relationship to them. That is equally true for the UBP or the PLP. The Moniz issue makes that clear. If there were no such thing as party politics and party whips, his ideas could have been discussed without prejudice within the entire Parliament without there being a threat to undermining his party.

There would not be all of this political rhetoric about the involvement of the entire Parliament in the Caricom issue if we were not hampered by party politics and the fear of undermining the power of the existing Government. Party politics and the western system, as we have seen them in Bermuda, are both undemocratic and divisive, excluding everyone but the very few.

Two black parties will be equally divisive, as they are in Jamaica, and perhaps they will become as violent as they are there. Inasmuch as politicians are making the decisions and none, in power, are particularly democratic in their thinking when it comes to reducing, or sharing, their power or status, these ideas are not likely to be well received. But those who have no personal political ambitions must begin to consider solutions that will truly make it possible for Bermudians to work together and operate far more democratically than is possible with the political ideologies of white western Europe.

Consider how much more constructive it would have been if Mr. Moniz’s ideas had been discussed, and possibly rejected, by the entire Parliament. The energies which the UBP has spent on discussing him could have been spent on discussing some solutions to our many problems. How much more constructive it would have been if all of the money given to the parties at election time had been spent on propagating some idea such as getting parents involved in their children’s education, rather than getting one or another party elected which then promptly cuts out the involvement of any intelligent suggestion which does not come from their own inner circle.

We are a small community but we have enough intelligence to come up with a more appropriate political solution than the one that an arrogant white Europe has imposed on us and we have accepted so uncritically.

Forty years ago, both universal voting and party politics were completely rejected by those politicians who held the power. But when enough black Bermudians became weary of the overt manifestation of racism they forced change.

The politicians who exercise power today will reject the concept of “no-party” politics. But when black and white Bermudians become weary of our current divisive and undemocratic form of Government we can bring about just as dramatic a change as occurred forty years ago. Today, far too few ideas gain true consideration and far too few exercise real power. Far too much vindictiveness and closed-mindedness are justified on the basis of loyalty to Party politics.

Real change is possible, if enough of us truly wish it, despite the self interest wishes of those who currently exercise power, be they UBP or PLP.