Christmas brings on mixed emotions for many of us in this community.

While Jesus Christ preached tolerance and the angels who heralded his birth declared peace on earth, the world and Bermuda continue to be divided.

Jesus also preached the benefits of charity, sacrifice, humility and the benefits of giving to others when the modern Christmas season is an orgy of commercialism, stress and self-indulgence.

Around the world, we see countries riven by war, nations struck with famine and vast contrasts. Wall Street bankers are taking home multi-million dollar bonuses while people in developing countries are barely subsisting on a dollar or less a day.

In Bermuda too, we are the beneficiaries of great wealth and opportunity, and yet there are many who fear they will lose the roofs over their head, must decide between groceries or medications, or fear to go out on our once peaceful streets.

We also see a community which is as divided as ever, despite the enormous progress that has been made here. Although race is the most obvious source of discord, it is no the only one. We seem to be suffering from growing divisions between fundamentalist Christians who are less than tolerant of those who do share their absolute beliefs.

More broadly, Bermuda suffers from the perception, if not the reality of a growing gap between rich and poor. There is, undoubtedly, a feeling that not all Bermudians are benefiting from the extraordinary success the Island has enjoyed in the last half century, and the gap gives every impression that it is widening at an ever accelerating pace. It would be easy, and too many people take this route, to blame this on the success of international companies, and there is no doubt that they have contributed. But it would be facile to ignore the contributions and generosity of the international sector, or to ignore the fact that thousands of Bermudians benefit directly and indirectly from their success.

But the Island’s success brings stresses and “problems of prosperity” with it as well. Governor Sir John Vereker in his Christmas Message rightly brings out these points and also notes the importance of Bermuda’s institutions in navigating these problems and seeing to it that all Bermudians — and non-Bermudians — feel a part of the community. In an earlier speech this year, he also examined how we measure success and how we not only enjoy material wealth but spiritual wealth, or happiness, as well.

Bermuda is too small an Island to risk tearing itself apart, but too often, through confrontational politics, race-baiting, a tendency to make mountains out of molehills and efforts to turn what are often questions of good management into massive debates, we do just that.

As 2007 looms, we all need to look at how we can work together and not against one another in order to create a just and good society. We need to emphasise tolerance and the value of openly discussing issues of importance without the necessity of point scoring as we tackle issues like housing, health, the plight of senior citizens, and racial divisions.

Only by doing so can we hope to move the Country forward.

In the meantime, we wish all our readers a happy and safe Christmas.