BERMUDA
I recently visited Bermuda with friends. The visit was partly business, with a short period of golf and relaxation. It was my third visit to Bermuda and I know a few Bermudians, business acquaintances and their spouses. I've played golf at two of the best courses in Bermuda, Mid Ocean and Port Royal, and in that way I've met a few strangers. Bermuda has no rental cars so I've met and talked to many cab drivers about their lives and families and friends. I always carefully read the local newspaper over breakfast and I've read books about Bermuda. I've toured the country from one end to the other. I've shopped, I've walked, I've tried to learn as much as I could about this small island country. However, I recognize that these few brief visits don't qualify me as an expert, that my impressions of Bermuda may be superficial, that the natural desire of a country to encourage tourism may have misled me. If someone tells me that my understanding is completely wrong, I won't be offended, but I must write about the wondrous good feeling I've had on all my visits.
Everyone I meet in Bermuda is smiling and happy, apparently glad to see me, to help me, to make me feel welcome. Bermuda is a country of great beauty, beauty which is appreciated by visitors and residents alike. Bermuda appears prosperous, with no visible signs of poverty. Bermuda enjoys a high rate of literacy, signaling good schools. Bermuda has great restaurants, with a surprising amount of good local ingredients. The building standards are high, able to withstand the occasional hurricane. Bermuda has the highest percentage rate of internet use in the world and fiber optic cables run the entire length of the country. Bermuda is multi-racial, with no visible signs of racial tension. Bermuda has a number of wealthy people but I see no signs of class envy. Although the local newspaper tells me that Bermuda is not entirely free of problems, that drugs are an issue, that there are occasional violent crimes, the very surprised tone to the reports tells me that the problems are rare.
Why is Bermuda so successful, such a happy place? How has Bermuda avoided the magnitude of problems most communities face? Is it something in the water? Is it that prosperity solves problems? Are Bermudians fundamentally better than others? I've concluded that Bermuda is a happier place because it is small, because people know one another personally. It's hard to be perpetually angry with someone you know personally, it's unnatural to resent a neighbor, a schoolmate, a face we actually see everyday. The anonymity of larger, more urbanized communities leads to a lack of consideration, hostility, discourtesy, while a small-town atmosphere, in contrast, leads to greater care for the feelings of others, politeness in dealing with others, more concern for the feelings of others.
What can we learn from observing Bermuda? We can learn that knowing others personally leads to better understanding, that courtesy and consideration of others' feelings help avoid frictions, that reciprocal respect for others reduces fear and hostility and that reducing the stresses of fear and hostility leads to a happier community. Simple things so why is it so hard to put them into practice?
Try to live the lesson of Bermuda: Look into the faces of those around you. Without abandoning appropriate caution, learn to live without fear of others, without a wall of hostility and disrespect. You'll feel better and, with the passage of time, others will feel better about you.
4-10-00
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