January 30, 2013 at 5:54 p.m.
We have a unique connection with the monarchy
We have a unique connection with the monarchy
Though a small but vocal coterie of Bermudians profess a disdain for the monarchy and its Bermuda connection, the majority of Bermudians have a stronger real connection with things British than with things American.
Baseball, American football, basketball, are not major sports in Bermuda. Conversely, Rap music, Hip-hop styles, and fables from the American 'hood' - imported and translated into Bermuda - are highly visible in this island community. Bermuda is in something of a cultural no-mans-land, but lying culturally closer to the U.K. and the monarchy than to the USA and its Presidency.
Our Premier may be the most American Premier that we've ever had - and may ever have again.
But he, like me and thousands of other Bermudians, swore an oath of allegiance to Her Majesty (and Her Heirs and Successors...).
That oath was taken under the Union Jack and despite howls from rabid pro-independents, a majority of Bermudians did vote against independence in 1995 and - according to most recent polls - would do so again. If offered a referendum or election.
The monarchy and the Queen are 3,000 miles away from us. But the clear separation between the elected political head of government and the non-elected top representative of the country as a whole is what we Bermudians understand and know. For us Bermudians, the difference is most easily seen in the emotional Bermudian response to the Bermuda Regiment and to the Bermuda Police Service. One is taken to heart as being the representation of Bermuda and all things Bermudian; the other as a working group with whom one has a difficult or easy or neutral relationship.
For most Bermudians, the Governor appears as the connector to our national whole, our British past, and to the monarchy.
The Premier is a connector to something that is local, parochial, and partisan.
The Governor may engender almost universal respect. The Premier - and this applies to all past, present, and future Premiers - engenders a strong like or dislike, support or disapproval. Bermudians choose sides over Premiers, but generally not over Governors.
Over 57 years
Her Majesty and the Royal Family sits above it all. The Queen is now a grandmother whose life we have shared. Over 57 years, we've watched her give birth to two sons; bury her mother and her sister and live through the trauma of Princess Diana's death. We've seen her four children get through three divorces and two re-marriages. Through all of that we've seen her steadily doing her Head-of-State duties.
There is an element of constancy and continuity that goes with and comes from the monarchy. That long constancy is a clear reminder that the life of a nation is long and that the politics of the day are short. All this helps create a unique personal connection that is different from the connection that develops with our here today, gone tomorrow, politicians.
Consider this, if you can remember the Queen's 1953 Coronation, you will not so easily recall the names of Bermuda's two Government Leaders and eight Premiers. You will certainly have difficulty naming the ten U.S. Presidents between then and Obama. And you will not be able to name the 11 British Prime Ministers who came and went. But from 1953 to this day, only one Queen.
There was a Daily Mail story - referring to some previously unheard of Bermuda 'socialite' - which purported that Bermudians were unexcited about the royal visit.
My experience, and it grew as the time for the visit got closer, was that there was an excitement about the visit - but it was a typically Bermudian emotion. Bermudians don't go rah-rah and get publicly excited in the way that people in many other countries do. Bermudians tend to be quietly and politely responsive.
Judging by the excitement from my cub scouts [22nd Bermuda Cub Scout Pack] and the scouts who were invited to St George's; judging by the response to the Thanksgiving service at the Cathedral; and judging by the response of the schools who will be on the royal routes; I reckon that there is a buzz and bubble of typically understated Bermudian excitement that will last the duration of the visit.[[In-content Ad]]
Comments:
You must login to comment.