Dear Sir,

There are two issues in which Bermudians are effectively uninterested: they are race and education.

If you ask them about race, they will tell you they like their race very much and don’t see a point in changing it. And there is little need to talk to the other side. They are strange.

Ask them about education and they will tell you stories about their education. Not much thought goes into education in future.

We have been told for decades that we must pay attention to these issues. But we prefer not to engage and so our leaders don’t, either.

Every leader of any party have had ample and exquisite opportunity to become the national heroes of Bermuda by engaging these two very serious issues and leading Bermudians.

These issues are serious because they relate directly to the empowerment of lower-class Bermudians who are absolutely crucial to the survival of what we call Bermuda.

We have a history that we must mend, but we don’t bother. The vision of a new Bermudian culture was never sought by Bermudians or provided by its leaders. A culture of unity that can deftly negotiate and prepare for the future is the only way Bermuda will prevail over its problems.

Bermuda must easily take up foreign talent and also provide excellent local talent. The creation of those things is repeatedly hampered by political division. The political leverage of race and privilege is simply too tempting to politicians. Not one leader has been able to avoid using them destructively. And Bermudians, with full awareness of what was happening, have let it happen.

Now the issue of immigration has come to a head and we respond in our usual fashion, depending on our class, and of course, nothing gets done. Our only comfort is that we still have the other side to blame.

After decades, we have failed to develop the means to understand and to negotiate with each other. This will never be the practice of a successful economy. We had the money and the time to fix these problems. We didn’t bother. We blew it.

JOHN ZUILL, Victoria, Australia