April 7, 2014

Dear Sir,

The two party system has been destructively divisive to this country, a third party would simply be more divisive. It certainly would not solve our problem of self-absorbed politicians with more egos than solutions.

John Barritt is admirably consistent in his proposals to minimise the destructive adversarial nature of the Westminster two-party system. It is sad that his efforts are so futile. The most destructive aspect of our society is the continuing racial divide with all of its evil implications that was imposed on us from our inception. The introduction of party politics further institutionalised, justified and rationalised that racial divide with all of its evils.

It ensured that moderate whites who often would have done the “right thing” felt forced to follow the party line, no matter how evil and destructive and too many blacks felt justified in turning their backs on the struggle of the black community and those most disadvantaged by our history of racism and black exploitation so that they personally could escape the most destructive aspects of our society

While black representatives in the Progressive Labour Party became obsessed with “the Party” and with too little concern about “the people”, and if any of their supporters questioned their actions, even in private, they were accused of being “brain washed” or “white washed” by the white United Bermuda Party.

It is little wonder that they were not re-elected by even their most ardent supporters. But, worst of all, the progress that was beginning to be made by a united black community when they desegregated public places and gained universal franchise, was halted by party politics. We have made no further progress as a community since which.

Our powerlessness is seen in our failure, under the PLP, to address, even symbolically, our economic disparity, for example, the failure of the Workplace Equity Act. Unfortunately, for reasons that many of us cannot understand, politicians of both parties, whether they win or lose, seem to find it in their personal political interest to maintain this destructive two-party system despite the unfortunate impact that it has on the country generally and the black community in particular.

There are various proposals put forward from time to time by various individuals to find ways to govern this country in a way that is far more democratic and far less inherently destructively adversarial than the two-party system as we practice it. But as long as politicians need the two-party system for their egos none of them are likely to be even considered.

EVA N HODGSON

Crawl