If a man who can not count finds a four leaf clover, is he lucky? (Speech made Nov 21st 2012)

There are important questions that must be asked from time to time, such as, "If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?" - Stanislaw J. Lec

 Stanislaw J. Lec is often mentioned among the greatest writers of post-WW2 Poland.  He was one of the most influential aphorists of the 20th century, known for lyrical poetry and skeptical philosophical-moral aphorisms, often with a political subtext[1]. Another question that he asked was, "If a book about failures doesn't sell, is it a success?" But the question that I feel is most fitting for not just tonight but for this election is: "If a man who cannot count finds a four-leaf clover, is he lucky?”

The "luck" described around a four leaf clover has to do with its rarity based upon three leaf clovers -  it's a probability issue. There is a very low probability of a clover growing with four leafs, and that makes it "lucky" if you find it. I don’t know if your saw the news the night Kim and Charlie Swan announced they were running as Independent candidates... on that broadcast I noticed that when they showed the file picture of the UBP it had Kim Swan, flanked by Louis Jackson, Bob Richards, Trevor Monis and Grant Gibbons … and then when the news posted the file footage of the OBA what I saw was Craig Cannoniare flanked by Louis Jackson, Bob Richards, Trevor Moniz and Grant Gibbons. This brings me back to my main question "If a man who cannot count finds a four-leaf clover, is he lucky?”

At first glance, one could say all clovers look alike but just like the man in my question, it's not based on the counting of the leafs, it's based on the comparison of one clover to the other - he would not need to be able to count, only be able to differentiate between a clover with three leaves and one with four via some perception.

The man in this question is Bermuda … and the clovers in which he has to differentiate between are the two parties. One “clover” has leaves that sprout from a stalk that is rooted; they claim of championing the youth and boast how they have more youth running as candidates then the other party but how many of their younger candidates are in winnable seats?  Another leaf represents their original claim advocating austerity measures and once it turned out to be unpopular they backtracked, another leaf was their original stance against Futurecare and once that turned out to be unpopular, backpedaled and claimed that it was a miss understanding. The final leaf on this clover represents their broad , generalized and vague statements on “hot button topics” such as CRIME, the ECONOMY and UNEMPLOYMENT and recently absentee voting via the internet and “youth” unemployment. Their “solutions” were either not fully thought through or just reworded descriptions of ideas polices and legislation in which the Government has already enacted.

On the other hand we have a clover whose leaves sprouted from a stalked that is rooted in The 1979 Constitutional Conference which through their efforts resulted in “One Man One Vote of equal value” because the preceding system of having one vote for each piece of land you owned only benefited a select few. Another leaf represents the championing of the reduction of the voting age from 25 – 21 and then again from 21 to 18. The fact that currently we have college students that are pushing for the right to vote via the internet is just a continuation on of the trail which they had already blazed.

Another leaf represents the introduction of political parties which took the power away from the merchant elite, allowing and giving the majority a voice in regards to the running and direction in which they as a country moved forward. Yet another leaf on this clover represents present day canvassing prior to the growth of this “clover” when it came time for the country to go to the polls. Sitting MP’s and candidates sent a letter out stating they were running for office and looked forward to your support. Keep in mind this was before 1979 so they ran virtually unopposed… until Dame Louis Brown Evens said… I’m not writing a letter I’m going to go out and meet each and every one of the residents in my area … and with that canvassing was born. The final leaf represents Investment into the country $1.3 billion in capital expenditures which put and has kept the Bermuda construction industry working, $1.1 billion in health care benefits which has provided more Bermudians with access to better quality health care, $250 million in assistance to the Bank of Butterfield which resulting in saving approximately 800 Bermudian jobs, last year’s payroll tax exemption and job creation plan which has examined additions to any employer in any job sector, any industry in the island which take on apprentice are also exempt.

Imitation is the greatest form of flattery - often imitated never duplicated - (Bible verse on you can tell a tree by the fruit it produces) At a glance the OBA seem to be a new party, but I have seen it before. The OBA gives new meaning to the term Party Politics as their Party was formed for Political prosperity for its members and not out of social necessity for the country. As for the PLP, I feel lucky to have them. Whether or not "luck" exists is the true question, it really is just a term to describe low probability, like the word miracle. Some of you might be asking how does that relate to the election, quite simple because your average Bermudian doesn’t follow politics as closely as they should -  most of us read the newspaper and watch the news and feel as though we know are sufficiently informed on what’s going on. Some of these same persons will quickly tell you that there’s no place in Bermuda for Party Politics or that all politicians are alike.