Social reform is at the top of my political agenda

FRIDAY, DEC. 7: One year ago I decided to do something that most artists avoid – I moved from the center field and joined a political side, the One Bermuda Alliance.

As many of you know, I have been outspoken on Bermuda’s social and political issues through letters to the editor, calls and interviews on radio and television, and in newspaper interviews, for many years.

As a poet, I have written, recorded and performed four albums’ worth of material but my goal as an artist has never been to be a star or to sell millions of records – money and fame are not my driving force.

I just put my feelings and thoughts to music and hoped that what I had to say made a difference in someone’s life – and that maybe we could all find a way to get along.

For the most part, my poetry and writing fits into one of three categories – personal, social and/or political.

Stepping forward to enter the political arena as a candidate was a bold step for me. Many of us love to talk, and particularly to criticise, but I have gone a step further and decided to put my mouth where my feet stand.

Now, I cannot speak to economic issues like Bob Richards, or environmental issues like Stuart Hayward, but I do have some ideas when it comes to social affairs.

I want to work toward changing policies so that Bermuda can build an infrastructure to support excellence in the areas of family values, life skills, race relations, education and alternative industry.

I don’t believe that more police, tougher laws and bigger prisons are the answers to the social problems that Bermuda faces. Instead, we need to provide Bermudians with opportunities so that they steer away from being involved in negative lifestyles. There are a lot of talented people in prison who didn’t have the opportunity to pursue their own dreams — and drifted into a destructive lifestyle. 

Opportunities

I want to help lay the groundwork for developing career opportunities for our young people, not just jobs. We need to recognise their talent as early as pre-school and build an infrastructure and development programmes in arts, sports and music at the primary school level – and support and develop them through high school.

Those plans include a fully-integrated, modern technical curriculum beginning in middle school.

We have long recognised that Bermuda has talented young people, but we must begin to seriously invest in their development. We must help our young people to develop their strengths as individuals instead of continuing to try to force round people into square holes.

For example, as a people we simply don’t have the respect for people who are talented in the areas of sports, the arts, music, or vocational abilities, that we should have.

We must support our people with development programmes that “feed their passions”.

We must also give greater value to our own history-makers, taking time to honour the leaders who have gone before us. I am talking about people like musician Hubert Smith, sportsmen Ed Matthews and Michael Preece, personalities like Webster Tucker, and others who can inspire our young people.

We would be hard-pressed to find a photograph of some of those people, not to mention an audio or video recording. If we are going to inspire our young people, we need to make sure that the contributions that those people made to Bermuda are not forgotten. If not, where is our sense of value?

My feelings are summed up well in this quote by Albert Einstein, who said: “The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honours the servant, and has forgotten the gift.”

Changing Bermuda so that this gift sees the light of day is my political agenda.

• Ras Mykkal is One Bermuda Alliance Candidate in Constituency 26, Warwick South Central. He is also a freelance sports photographer for the Bermuda Sun.