I think most people have heard the term “floating a balloon” — and I need to float one now. Politics is about people, and gaining political thrust requires a healthy percentage of a population’s support. Having great ideas is good, but great ideas alone without people will remain on the shelf and will be buried over time.

Trying to get others to deliver upon one’s own expectations is unrealistic and possibly counterproductive. It is like leading from behind when ideal leadership requires modelling.

The Progressive Labour Party has clearly decided where it stands and must be taken seriously for what and who it says it represents. The structural dynamics are such that nothing will change because the party is committed to what it believes as the founding fathers’ platform. And, even though times and conditions have changed, the membership — like the old friendly societies — is small.

What began as a protest movement that engaged the masses of the Black population, and survived as a labour movement, in modern times has effectively lost much of its relevance. The progressive element of that movement that might have led to a greater democracy died in the womb as a “stillborn”.

Unfortunately, that loss of a progressive movement meant that while civil and human rights were achieved, and labour laws adopted, the understanding of political liberties that fosters true equality was never instilled in the population. This is most evident within the government party, which absolutely tolerates and maintains a system of delegates rather than the direct participation of all its members and supporters.

That delegates vote in blocks along with their MPs means there can be a concentration of power around certain districts, particularly the central districts where some MPs have districts yielding six and seven delegates when other districts have only two. The delegate system favours a power imbalance that has existed since at least 1965 and is virtually unbeatable.

The progressive mission is dead and there is nothing to pass on to the younger generation in the form of a progressive ideology. The only vehicle of exchange for the youth is inherited family connections, and with the narrowness of the base, the party is more a dynasty than an egalitarian movement. The concomitant cofactor adding to the national problem is that the One Bermuda Alliance never provided an alternative progressive movement, instead competing for a turn to be the manager of the economy as its paramount purpose.

All of this brings us to today, manifesting a paralysis in our political system that is stuck with a party and leadership out of step with time and a defunct opposition.

So here is the balloon I need to float: Bermuda needs a “progressive movement”. No individual can organise such an effort and succeed without thousands of people, including some existing MPs. If a name of a political party or organisation can capture the political needs of our time, it would be called a “Progressive Conservative Party” or “Progressive Conservative Congress".

“Progressive” to identify the political objective and democratisation; “Conservative” to indicate a market-driven ideology and fiscal responsibility.

If I were to be religious about this, I would quote a verse that says “Let there arise from among you a band of people inviting good and forbidding evil”. If this is not done now, the window of opportunity will be lost and we will have to wait for another generation who may be worthy of that status of bringing liberty to our human family and politics.

I have written many op-eds over the years and this one is not a read-only text. It is a call to “act”, to take a stand and save our country. It is a militant call because your inalienable right is not an option, nor a privilege for only some. One can understand the limitations of parliamentarians, but there is always room for innovation because our humanity and dignity as equals comes first.