June 6, 2012Dear Sir,This letter is addressed to you but it’s really addressed to every person out there who supports the One Bermuda Alliance or, at the very least, cannot stomach another five years of the Progressive Labour Party regime. I represent many individuals who are directly involved with the work that the OBA is doing and that includes canvassing with candidates, advising candidates, speaking to voters from all walks of life and doing anything and everything that is part of the electoral process. I enjoy what I do but I know that most of you are part of the silent majority who choose to get involved with other areas of life — but not this one. I know that you have opinions on politics and governance but those opinions are often based on the political norms of the past ... often, the not so near past. I am writing this letter not because Craig Cannonier or Michael Dunkley asked me to but because you need to be very aware that the political landscape is very different today and the One Bermuda Alliance is very likely going to win the next election.Virtually everything that happens in our community happens because of a political decision, non-decision or a poor decision. It’s fine to be involved in other things and not in politics but it is in your best interest, if not your responsibility, to talk to your friends and colleagues who are involved in, lets call it ‘governance’ or people who want to be involved, to make sure you have the very best information from people who are more aware of what other people are thinking and saying. I am addressing this to the supporters of the One Bermuda Alliance but it’s the same idea for the PLP supporters. There are massive differences in the country today. In no particular order, the economy is in the tank and the tank seems to be bottomless; the PLP cannot attract the people who can solve a problem and when they do, they stick them in seats that are unlikely to get them in the House; people are hungry and they are losing their jobs and their hopes for the future; and I wonder sometimes if this not the most significant change — the One Bermuda Alliance is not the UBP.To that last point, the PLP are doing whatever they can to convince somebody that the OBA is the UBP but really the only people they are reaching are the Lavernes, Betty Trumps and those RG letter writers who are so trying to convince themselves that their beloved PLP should be hired out as consultants to Third World Nations in difficulty! Absolutely, the OBA has many members who were a part of the UBP but look at the young people (both black and white) who are standing up and ready to get involved; look at the hope these people offer with their enthusiasm, desire to learn and willingness to be guided by the people with experience. And whether the PLP can ever believe anything good about the OBA ... if YOU were involved, you’d see a level of diversity that crosses all genders, races, income levels, ages and knowledge.We need you to believe in what we are doing. We need you to know that we can — and probably will — win. We need you to stop thinking it’s 1998 and start talking to the people who are involved today. I know that you say that you will vote for us but we need more votes than the PLP and we need you to encourage your friends, colleagues, family and anyone else to, first, talk to us and, second, spread the word that this is the best chance Bermuda has for survival. I also know that you know that another 5 years of this mess is going to mean a really difficult struggle for this country.REBECCASouthampton