simple no to Independence is the personal choice of all voting Bermudians but it would be tragic if they voted for Independence because they were misled.

The Government should be working to solve the social problems such as the multiple inequalities of opportunity because of race, the now famous glass ceiling, the tragic education mess, the uncertain economy, slipping tourism, the problems of disenfranchised young black men, the drug menace, crime and violence, the unequal distribution of wealth, but it is very slow in doing so.

Instead some politicians, who have very little on which to base their campaign for Independence, are taking the easy way and implying that these ills will disappear with Independence. That is simply not true.

After Independence Bermuda would be independent with a song and a flag, that's all. The same problems would still be in place and still in need of solutions.

If we lead people to believe that Bermuda will automatically be a better place then we are creating an expectation which cannot be met and which will be dashed. It should have been possible to have a discussion of Independence prior to a referendum which was open and openly informed. That was not to be.

As soon as Government began the debate with a Green Paper which was clearly biased toward Independence, people lost confidence in the integrity of the debate. That problem was almost immediately compounded by some politicians insulting and attempting to demean and even frighten anyone who dared disagree with them and by trying to hold the Country to ransom. As soon as politicians began to threaten and to mislead the public, there was little hope of open discussion.

There is nothing so desperate as a politician who is about to lose a strongly held cause. In this instance a few have decided to stop at nothing. They have realised they might well lose the vote on Independence and they are looking for people to blame. They are frustrated and angered by the Progressive Labour Party's distinctly odd decision not to take part in the referendum and are now lashing out in all directions. These few politicians are willing to alienate their friends, divide the Country, lay blame on anyone available, and even to claim that if you oppose Independence you must be racist. As always, the messengers of bad news are in the front ranks of the scapegoats.

The politicians claim that those who oppose Independence, apparently a healthy majority of the population, are damaging the Country. Heaven forbid that the politicians who forced the Independence debate on Bermudians, against the wishes of their own political party and a majority of the Country, should admit they made a blunder in raising an issue which no one asked to be raised.

They try to shift blame by claiming their opponents are doing exactly what they themselves have already done, unnecessarily divide and disrupt the Country.

It's very sad for Bermuda.