Dear Editor,
Peter Nygard, according to the October 30 edition of The Nassau Guardian, said that he wants to live forever or to die trying. The Canadian fashion designer is obviously familiar with the music of American rapper 50 Cent. Seems as if Nygard is on a quest to be like Peter Pan, Scottish playwright J.M. Barrie's childhood character who possesses immortality and never ages and lives in the magical world of Neverland.
Nygard's quest for immortality is a futile attempt to duck the Grim Reaper. His odd desire is very similar to that of the late king of pop, Michael Jackson's, who was known to be a Peter Pan junkie and who, coincidentally, lived on a ranch named Neverland between 1988 and 2005. The property is located in Santa Barbara County, California. In his obsession with the concept of obtaining immortality, Jacko, as he was affectionately called by millions of his adoring fans, underwent hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of plastic surgeries in order to stave off old age.
Despite the breathtaking advance in medical science in the past 100 years, the Grim Reaper still has a batting average of 1,000. While wealthy people such as Nygard are at times able to delay death due to their ability to access the best healthcare available, there is still no getting around Hebrew 9:27, which says that it is appointed unto men once to die. If he owns a Bible, Nygard should know this.
But then again, he doesn't strike me as one who is devoutly religious. Nygard's attempt to evade the inevitable can explain why he vigorously pushed for the passing of stem cell legislation in The Bahamas. The Nassau Guardian noted that the Canadian fashion designer initiated and co-wrote the stem cell legislation, despite saying that he had no personal interest in the government passing it into law some months back, and despite denials by Prime Minister Perry Christie. If Nygard is telling the truth, I find it incredible that a foreigner, notwithstanding his immigration status, can exert so much influence on Bahamian domestic policy that he can influence a government to adopt into law a legislation that he co-wrote. This begs the question: How much clout does Nygard have in this country and in this Progressive Liberal Party government? By Nygard's own admission, he spoke to Christie about stem cells while the latter was in the opposition. We have yet to reach the two-year mark of the current administration, yet the Stem Cell Therapy Bill has already been passed into law. Whether or not cell stem research is an ethical issue, Nygard's admission is deeply troubling, to say the least. But nothing surprises me anymore in this country. At the rate we are on, it wouldn't surprise me if he obtains Bahamian citizenship and runs for the Progressive Liberal Party. Nygard is the most politically outspoken foreigner I have ever seen in this country. In the October 31 edition of The Nassau Guardian, he took a swipe at the Free National Movement for its stance against stem cell research. This issue is obviously near and dear to Nygard's heart. After all, it is his quest for immortality; it is his quest, I believe, to be like Peter Pan.
- Kevin Evans
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