Well, well, the Chairman off the governing party (PLP), all of a sudden sees a problem with a political party encouraging law breaking over private property rights and the rule of law.

Of course this time he’s correct in my view, but he should really be ashamed to take this public position in spite of the his parties record in matters such as this.

After all, on page 21 of the PLP’s “Agenda for Action” from 2007 said:

“…We will ensure that there remains adequate access to land and beaches for Bahamians and future generations of Bahamians. We will continue our efforts to identify land and beaches that are privately owned and that have been underdeveloped for years, and will purchase them at an agreed rate with the owner…” Read more (pdf)…

The shoe is on the other foot now that the roles are reversed and the PLP form the government.

Successive government’s have allowed the sale of beachfront property to private owners, including the right to disallow beach access by the general public – Bahamian or foreign and now both sides have protested this practice, inciting fellow Bahamians, yet neither side has attempted to do anything about it.

And Bradley Roberts seems to exemplify what Dr. Robert Higgs called the “Systematic Organisation of Hatreds.”

He wrote:

"In politics and government, however, the institutional makeup fosters hatred at every turn. Parties recruit followers by exploiting hatreds. Bureaucracies bulk up their power and budgets by artfully weaving hatreds into their mission statements and day-to-day procedures. Regulators take advantage of artificially heightened hatreds. Group identity is emphasized at every turn, and such tribal distinctions are tailor-made for the maintenance and increase of hatred among individual persons who might otherwise disregard the kinds of groupings that the politicians and their supporters emphasize ceaselessly."

"With a sigh, many people accept that politics and government are, at best, necessary evils. I have great doubt that they are necessary, at least in their present form, but I am certain that in this form they are evil."

Will our political class ever decide to find a reasonable way to solve this beach access dilemma or will they continue using them as tools for their access to political power? That's a rhetorical question of course as Bradley Roberts is one of the masters of the systematic organisation of hatreds. However, you would think our so called "leaders" would at least be consistent with their rhetoric whether in opposition or while holding the seat of power where this issue is concerned.