It was something the Pope said, Mr Editor, that got me to thinking. In fact, he said a lot of interesting and challenging things on his recent visits to Cuba and the United States, and one of them was, yes, the need to make politics a creative calling.

The Pope has a point: we here in Bermuda do need to start thinking (and acting) outside the proverbial Westminster box in which we find ourselves.

But that wasn’t the comment that really caught my attention. There was also this: “A good political leader is one who, with the interest of all in mind, seizes the moment in a spirit of openness and pragmatism.”

What caused me to pause were three very important and key concepts in one comment:

• Pragmatism: presumably this rather than continually getting stuck on competing, doctrinaire ideologies

• Openness: by design, and by action, voluntarily and routinely, and not necessarily because we had to have resort to Pati

• The interests of all: and all means including those with whom you disagree, I think, even those with who disagree with you, disagreeably

It was the cornerstone of the Pope’s call for a spirit of collaboration, common purpose and unity — all of which seems to be lacking in politics today; Bermuda being no exception. It is a cause many seem to espouse, politicians included, from time to time, but rarely seen in action.

The US Speaker resigns, right on the heels of the Pope’s visit to Washington, and folks there fear the worst. The new Republican choice will be even more uncompromising.

Barack Obama commented: “[But] you have got to work with people who you disagree with, sometimes strongly, in order to do the people’s business.”

We certainly do — and to make it happen we have to create (yes, I use that word deliberately) the means by which this can happen. It is not, I submit, rocket science.

Problem identified, problem solved? Well, not quite. Here in Bermuda, we need to acknowledge some of those things which keep us separate and apart; not just figuratively, but yes, also literally in 20 square miles — and sometimes it means reminding ourselves of the obvious.

We have a history. It is more than just one of racial segregation. We inherited a colonial style of government that was built on one group thinking and believing and acting on the premise that they were inherently superior to another on the basis of skin colour.

It is a legacy we still live with today. We can quarrel with the numbers, but the statistics on which we rely clearly show that, generally, black Bermudians still do not fare as well as their fellow white Bermudians in the Bermuda economy.

There needs to be some changes. But if they are to be effective, they need to be accepted by the broader community, and those who are elected to represent the community are going to have to lead the way by demonstrating how we can work together. That means both Government and Opposition legislators. Together.

Easier said than done, huh? Maybe not.

Let’s examine a real live case — and I am always being asked to provide examples of how I think change can be effected.

So let me go out on a limb. Here’s one: we have got to get real around here when it comes to equality of opportunity. It amounts to little in the minds of many without the education and training, and retraining in some instances, and programmes in others, if our people are going to be prepared to seize the opportunities that come to our shores.

An Opposition MP has shown more than just an interest. His industry and initiative prompted him to bring a take note motion to the House on the Hill in June, which in turn recently led to a thoughtful series of opinion pieces on the challenges we face as a people — black and white.

Not everyone will have worked their way through what he has had to say and not everyone will agree on the proffered solutions. No matter.

What he highlights are problems that are not going to go away, regardless of who is in power. It’s about jobs and adapting to the 21st century if we are going to stand any chance of prospering.

Speaking out and writing are the only tools he has to bring his brief and that of his party to the attention of voters and the Government. That’s fine, I suppose, as far as it goes. It is part of Rolfe Commissiong’s job as the Shadow Minister for Human Affairs.

But what we really need to do is to give him a greater opportunity to roll up his sleeves to work for us on another important front, and here’s where parliamentary committees can be most useful.

He can, through this means of parliamentary oversight, hold decision and policymakers to account whether in the Ministry of Education, workforce development or immigration, by asking the tough questions and putting to the test what’s being done or not — and in the public eye.

It is to my mind a very useful way to shadow a minister and the Government. It will not all be peaches and cream (nor should it be) but a meaningful opportunity will have been provided for discussion, dialogue and debate on the issues, which is a whole lot better and more productive than being relegated to shouting across the aisle.

It might also make collaboration and co-operation that much more easier. Mind you, that’s my view, Mr Editor, and not necessarily that of the Pope.

NEXT WEEK: A Rae of Hope