For me, one of the most satisfying aspects of writing is the removal of words.

Once having spewed forth upon the page, I relish irradicating redundancies, improbable metaphors and failed ideas.

But editing oneself can be difficult if, to use a saying from my youth, one is "intoxicated by the flamboyancy of their own verbosity''. Of late, we have experienced a lot of "verbosity'' in Bermuda, plenty of unrestrained ego, divisive rhetoric and venting of anachronistic baggage. (Oops...where's that delete button?) Some of the "passion'' out there, by some individuals, seems more motivated by a desire to be the sole author of a solution to the Island's racial problems, than to be an equal partner and ally in the pursuit of comprehensive human rights. And this passion is frequently conveyed with venom, not heart.

Upon its election to Government, the PLP was handed a silver platter of goodwill by the people of Bermuda -- including, horror of horrors, all the Editors of the newspapers, two of whom were new to their posts. Much of that goodwill has been squandered. This New Bermuda is ruled by the same old enemies: Fear, Paternalism and Confidentiality.

The people are viewed by this Government as a nation of categories, to be either appeased, controlled or castigated. Instead of propelling the inherent goodness in the Island's residents toward loftier goals, the PLP leadership has diminished the hard-fought-for dialogue by many in our midst.

Can the Progressive Labour Party come to terms with the frothing anger, and seeming lust for payback, within its ranks? Will they be able to reinvent themselves and their flippant, but deadly rant? Perhaps many of the PLP's more vocal adherents are too damaged by past injustices to see the world in today's reality. Would they even be able to recognise when the dragon of racial injustice has been slain? When the devils in the present day details threaten to overwhelm us, perhaps we should take the longer view of history to see just what we are dealing with here. We can do that, because for the first time in history most of us in the West at least, have the education, leisure time and enough food upon the table to ponder, if we choose, the tangible changes in the human condition.

Something amazing happened in the Twentieth Century. In a remarkably brief period of time, much of the world has persistently moved towards true democratic principles. Citizens have been behind most of the great social milestones of the last few decades, with governments generally playing catch-up. One by one, the people have struck down ancient pillars of inequity -- though for good or ill, we continue to pick through the rubble.