Bermudians that they are a society of victims. They do that because victims can be easily manipulated, swayed and made into pawns in the game of politics.

The truth is that too often those people who cry victimisation in Bermuda have set themselves up to be victims because it is the easy way to notoriety.

In truth there are far fewer real victims in Bermuda than there are in most other countries. The problem arises from a public which has been encouraged by politicians to feel entitled to just about everything from easy education to free meals. If people are not coddled, then they are victims.

We are not, of course, talking about the aged, the challenged or the sick.

They are entitled and by and large they are quite well taken care of in this society, spiritually, materially and medically.

People who are often not up to meeting their own expectations have been encouraged to look at "the system'' from the schools to the work place and to assume that their own failures are a failure of the system. When they fail they are victims. Since they are so willing to be victims, people believe that when they are unequal to a task that the standards should be lowered until they can look good. If the standards are not lowered, and they continue to look bad, that certifies them as victims. At the same time, people have been encouraged to reject authority in the home, in the schools, in the work place and on the streets. When they are held responsible for their actions, they claim they are victims. If they are disciplined, they are victims.

What is the result? People who are resentful and hostile because they have been set up to be unhappy. If people are encouraged to think of themselves as victims, then they are being set up not to compete and to excuse failure as victimisation. That is a formula for disaster.

The truth is that it is not easy in the real world. It is tough out there, probably tougher than it used to be. But still it is much easier in Bermuda than in most other places. This is a responsive Country. It is a Country which tries to meet the needs of its people. Contrary to what we are sometimes told, this is a Country where Bermudians come first. The best indication of that is the fact that we are reorganising the entire education system to prevent a relatively few people from "falling through the cracks''.

In Bermuda there are far more opportunities to succeed than in most other places. For whatever complaints Bermudians might have about the education system, we have a high percentage of young people in colleges abroad. We also have an excellent young college at home.

There are jobs for just about everyone, good jobs and jobs for those people who are college educated, unlike North America where college graduates are scrambling for jobs. We take for granted such things as a good health care system and a stable legal system, institutions which many countries do not have. We are working hard, very hard, on crime and drugs. We are building a huge new school and a lavish sports complex.

Are there problems? Of course. But on examination they are nothing like the problems in other countries.

The opportunities to succeed are here. If people do not make the most they can of their circumstances, then no amount of help will improve their lot. There is an expectation on every individual capable of self improvement to do better and not to be a victim of anyone. Life is very much what you make it.