It was hot that morning—over 90 degrees—and humid. I was just five years old, and excited. The heat did not bother me because that day I was cho- sen to lead the school pledge and national anthem. There we all stood, over three hundred of us, in our uniforms—short brown pants, long knee socks, stiff, starched white shirts, our little neck ties—holding the Union Jack. As we pledged to honor and submit to the Queen of our kingdom, we sang the two songs that were the first ones we were required to learn from birth. Every one of us knew every word, and we sang with gusto and pride:
“God save our gracious queen, long live our noble queen, God save the queen. Send her victorious, happy and glorious, born to rule over us, God save the queen.”
Next came the waving of the flag of the United Kingdom of Great Britain as our voices filled the air with the second song:
“Rule Britannia, Britannia rules the waves, Britons never, never, never shall be slaves.”
It has taken me almost a lifetime to understand, appreciate, and in some ways overcome the impact of those history-making experi- ences of my childhood. Today I understand that what we went through in those school days illustrates the nature of kingdoms. We were in the process of being fully colonized—taught to become true subjects of a kingdom and obedient worshipers of sovereignty. We were part of a global kingdom whose culture was different than our heritage. Every day we felt the impact of a foreign kingdom.
Even today, 50 years later, the impact of that kingdom is still seen, felt, heard, and experienced in every part of our independent nation of the Bahamas. I still wear a tie in 90-degree heat; I still drink tea every day; and I still drive on the left-hand side of the street. In some ways, I suppose, I am still under the influence of that kingdom mentally. When the kingdom became our priority, its impact became a reality. This book is about another Kingdom whose flag we all should hold and another King to whom we should sing praises.
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