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National pride - everyone should have it, as it instills certain values and respect in an individual. If you have not pride of where you come from, it is unlikely you will be proud of who you are.

I notice that no matter where one comes from on the globe, whenever they are away from home they speak about it with such love, honour and respect. That should tell us something, that there is no pride like national pride.

On Monday, October 13th we in Bermuda will celebrate National Heroes Day, and the first honoree is Dame Lois Browne Evans, of whom I am immensely proud. I am proud of all the things she stood for and for all the things she did not stand for. A grand lady indeed, and it is most befitting that the Dame should be honoured in this way.

As we celebrate her life and her sacrifice for us, let us remember to always keep her ideals close to us. Remembering to not let her efforts have been in vain. Let us make her dreams of a better, a just, and a prosperous Bermuda for all, a living reality.

Let's live national pride everyday in our behaviour and attitude towards one another, and let us always remember we stand on great shoulders.

The Noble Quran says of national pride and honour: "You who believe, do not let one (set of) people make fun of another set. Do not defame one another. Do not insult by using nicknames. And do not backbite or speak ill of one another" (49:11-12).

So let us all honour and respect our national heroes this Monday with pride to a most deserving daughter of our soil.

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