Revenge of the Soapbox

It pains me to admit this, my postulant yeomen, but the last couple of weeks have convinced me that I am not capable of changing the world for the better.

While this is probably not the most earth shattering revelation known to mankind, the method and nature of its discovery has shaken me to the core, for it has challenged my philosophical belief in the inherent goodness of mankind (See Note 1).

I know I should be old enough and ugly enough to withstand such a challenge. That I should pick myself up, dust myself, wade back into life’s brawl and land a telling philosophical punch. Yet, somehow, it all seems pointless.  My mojo has been lost.

The idea behind this post is to see if I can vent enough to get my mojo working again. Be warned! This could get messy (See Note 2).

The catalyst that brought me to my current state is the UK Government’s websites designed to utilise crowd sourcing to highlight where the government can improve freedoms and save money (See Note 3).

The journey to these sites started innocently enough, a soapbox rant over the messages being given out by the US and UK Governments over their commitment to safety, particularly with regard to GM foods. This grew into a discussion over corporate ethics, during which, my soapbox mysteriously appeared – and like a fool, up I climbed.

With one of those cruel co-incidences contrived by Fate (See Note 4), at the very moment I climbed up, Nick Clegg launched his Your Freedom initiative. It caused me to rush headlong onto the site and post my thoughts on ethical corporate taxation.

The website was so poorly implemented and thought through that I ended up writing a blog entry that suggested that there could be some grand conspiracy behind it being so bad.

Yet, for reasons I cannot explain, when George Osborne (See Note 5) opened up his crowd sourcing site looking for options to save money (See Note 6), I jumped in on that one too. In order to publicise my involvement and drum up a bit of extra support, I wrote a couple of blogs about the idea, visited a couple of forums that might be interested and generally tried to whip up a bit of thought and discussion on the idea.

Unfortunately, this meant actually using the site. You would have thought that George would have looked at what was going on over in Nick’s corner of the interweb and learnt a few lessons. Well, he didn’t. George’s site performs even worse than Nick’s (See Note 7). A situation made all the more frustrating by the continual self-congratulation and shameless self-promotion contained in the blog of Delib, the developers of the product. If they actually tried to use their offering and see what is happening on the site, one of the first changes they would make would be to remove their name from it!

Yet what really divested me of all hope were the entries that appeared on the site. As I read them, I found all my confidence that this could make a difference slowly evaporated. The views that are posted are frightening. If these posters are genuine, then it would seem that the British people want to see an extreme right wing agenda. The lack of any moderator on the site has meant that some of the views expressed are not only abhorrent, but probably illegal (although consistent, a fair number of the posters want to see the repeal of all anti-discrimination laws). Not only did the views expressed depress me, it was the semi-literate way they were presented and the lack of any thought as to the consequences and repercussions should they be implemented.

The good ideas were swamped by repeat postings of people seemingly intent on isolationism, creation of an underclass without rights or hope and opening up divisions within society. Debate seems to consist of heaping insults and scorn upon anyone who disagrees or points out flaws in the argument. I would imagine that many like myself have withdrawn from the debacle leaving the site to slowly putrify in their bile.

Frighteningly, I became increasingly worried that our current Government might start using the views expressed as a mandate for carrying them out! Yet despite this, I couldn’t bring myself to continue on the site.

In short, I could feel my faith in my fellow man seeping away. As a result, any confidence that I could bring about positive change also vanished. All hope was crushed.

As Samuel Smiles (See Note 8) reportedly said “Hope is the companion of power, and mother of success; for whom so hopes strongly has within him the gift of miracles.”

So, Mr Cameron, Mr Clegg. Mr Osborne et al, you and your initiatives are slowly wringing out the last vestiges of hope from so many at the moment, where can we draw some confidence of future success?

Now, I am off to bury that soapbox of mine nice and deep in the garden. When I get back, I will give up trying to be a catalyst for positive change. It really does make me feel too ill.

As for my mojo? Well, let’s hope some honest soul hands it in.

Note 1: For those of you who are interested, I have covered this before in my blog. Sadly, I cannot seem to locate the blog entry that discusses the differing views on human nature put forward by Thomas Hobbes and John Locke. In that entry, I stated that I believed that mankind was naturally a social animal and that human nature is characterized by reason and tolerance. The Hobbes view that mankind was naturally a solitary beast with lives that were destined to be "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short" just seemed too depressing to contemplate. For you Merkins out there, you might be interested to know that Locke’s belief that man had the right of “Life, health, Liberty, or Possessions", is believed to be the basis for the phrase in America "Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness".

Note 2: I am talking metaphorically about the likely writing style here - not literally as in the last line reading “Farewell cruel world...........” and some poor soul having to clean the soft furnishings. Besides, I’m not sure the world is cruel. It could just have an inappropriate sense of humour and no access to dried frog pills.

Note 3: Yes, seriously I have been to the very brink of hopelessness by a couple of websites! It sounds absolutely ridiculous, but sadly true.

Note 4: It seems that on this particular day, Fate had awoken with a hangover to discover in the most unfortunate manner that her cat had been sick in her slippers. The toaster went on the frizz the moment she decided on breakfast, the postman delivered a summons for a speeding offence and she discovered that a pigeon had pooped all over her washing. If all that wasn’t bad enough, she also discovered that the Prince of Darkness had somehow wangled a book deal and managed to sell the serial rights to the Evil Empire.

Note 5: Regular readers here will know that I am no fan of Mr Osborne. What makes me more uncomfortable about this man having such a position of power is the Locke theory that that the character of a man is shaped by circumstance, experience, sensation and reflections. If correct, then this would make this story regarding George Osborne’s brother an omen for things to come.

Note 6: I like to imagine that George Osborne stormed into David Cameron’s office in a fit of pique exclaiming that David is ‘Sooooo unfair’ and that David ‘likes Nick more than me’ because of Nick Clegg having the Your Freedom site. After much stamping of feet, tears and tantrums, David patted George on the head and caved in to grant him a website too. I wonder if George and Nick stick their tongues out at each other in Cabinet Meetings when David isn’t looking?

Note 7: Which does give rise to a whole new conspiracy theory that David Cameron is trying to discredit both his squabbling schoolboys. Perhaps he wants Boris Johnson, another of his Bullingdon drinking buddies, to move in next door.

Note 8: Yes, Samuel Smiles is a real person. Who apart from being an author and social reformer is also the great-great-grandfather of popular explorer Bear Grylls.

Looking for Hope at the Ballot Box

 

The last week or so has seen a rise in my synaptic meanderings. Over the last couple of days, I have found myself thinking about such diverse subjects as efficiency savings for the 2012 Olympics, alternative uses for novelty pastry cutters and the upcoming general election here in the UK.

Unfortunately, it means that I have sat down several times to spout forth on the joys of representation, only to find myself distracted.

I fear the problem is that for the first time in my life, I am not at all sure which of the Political Parties deserves the honour of my support (See Note 1). The menu set before me for the upcoming frenzied media electoral banquet doesn’t make me salivate with expectation. It simply lacks any hint of hope. At the moment, what I really want to have is a feeling that I can deploy my ‘X’ into a box that will inject a feeling of confidence and hope, not only in me, but also in the country as a whole.

Instead I am faced with three main parties who are seemingly competing to see how much money they can save if they come to power – and by that I mean how many people they can put out of work in the name of ‘efficiency savings’.

With the lack of any defining policy to sway my vote, I find myself with the rather disturbing idea that I may need to choose based upon the three party leaders. The mere thought makes me shudder as not one floats my boat.

The current incumbent is our Gordon. I’m sure that behind closed doors, Gordon Brown is vivacious, charming and generous. Sadly, our Prime Minister as soon as the public gaze falls upon him, turns into a dour sourpuss who through sheer force of his Presbyterian roots, transforms optimism into the feel of an impending tax audit. However, that isn’t his greatest flaw. No matter what happens over the coming weeks, it will shake my belief that he is fundamentally unlucky. Having eventually manoeuvred Tony Blair out of office, almost as soon as he took the helm the world banking fraud took a grip. I’m sure that he would like to point out the work he has put in to mitigate the effects, but it happened on his watch. Not only that, but it seems so many of his attempts at being personable and ‘nice’ have a terrible habit of boomeranging back (see Note 2).

The main opposition party, the Conservatives are led by ‘Call me Dave’ Cameron.  Keen to promote himself as a man of the people, David Cameron has utilised his extensive experience in Public Relations within the media to good effect. The party machine working hard to convince everyone that an education at Eton and Oxford, plus membership of the infamous Bullingdon drinking club means he is able to easily connect to the voter in the street.  Unfortunately, the way the Conservatives seem to jump on any bandwagon with three wheels and David Cameron’s appearances in the media only serve to convince me that he has insincerity oozing from every pore (see Note 3). The Conservatives also have the added handicap of George Osbourne (a mate of David Cameron from his Oxford and Bullingdon Club days) as their treasury spokesman. If George told me that the sun was out, I would still look out the window to check.

Bringing up the rear we have the Liberal Democrats, the smallest of the three parties. While I have to admit that of the three party leaders, I have the greatest respect for Nick Clegg, I know the least about him. Nick Clegg doesn’t get a lot of media coverage, so there is always going to be this nagging feeling that I am basing any opinion of him on the scantiest of evidence (see Note 4). The Lib-Dems have the benefit of having Vincent Cable as their Shadow Chancellor, but all of this counts not a jot if they are unable to reach the voters with their message.

So my vote remains up for grabs.

Depressingly, I fear that the current situation will mean that we will continue to go over and over the same old ground and watch as any optimism and hope is slowly throttled by the election campaigning.

Nobody in this election is daring to mention that while politicians can promise all kinds of tinkering with the public sector, big business is able to carry on in its own sweet way and dictate terms to politicians whenever they see fit. When the banks screwed up, they went to the Government for bail outs – and got them. Over the last 18 months, other businesses have had the same help – but none give anything back. The Government is so powerless in the face of big business that it wasn’t even able to control the level of bonuses paid to bankers when the Government is the biggest shareholder in those banks!

In the 1960s and 70s, the Trade Unions held too much power and the UK economy suffered. Now big business holds too much sway.

With the election looming, now is the time for real leadership from one of the political parties to look at revolutionary ways to make sure that big business is serving all of their stakeholders – not just their shareholders. In the past, I have suggested that this could be done by letting various groups run ethical stakeholder schemes. The Trade Unions could run one for the treatment of employees; Greenpeace for environmental considerations; the CBI for treatment of suppliers; Local Government bodies for community schemes etc. Companies would then be exempted a portion of their corporate taxes for each certification they hold – therefore making a difference to the bottom line.  As we all know, it is that dreaded bottom line that matters above all things to big business and it is the pursuit of a bigger bottom line that has in the past has sometimes meant that ethics are overlooked.

It could well be that I am being idealistic in hoping for change, but at the moment I’m beginning to feel disenfranchised by the whole system. This is an even greater worry. For if people like me start to feel that it is not worth voting, there are some very nasty parties out there who will exploit low voter turnout to get their own narrow-minded bigoted agenda foisted on the country.

 

Note 1: Not that in the past any of the party leaders felt the inclination to neither reciprocate the honour bestowed upon them, nor have their election strategy teams felt that my support was worthy of wider publicity.

Note 2: An example of this would be his writing of sympathy notes to our servicemen killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Fate engineered it in such a way as to get vast amounts of negative press over errors in the notes and his handwriting.

Note 3: There is also the rather unfortunate poster advertising campaign being run by the Tories where David Cameron’s face peers out at you alongside a one-liner hook thought to persuade you that he has the right policies. The trouble is that whenever I see these posters, I think of George Orwell’s novel 1984 and Newspeak. In my mind, I automatically classify David Cameron as Big Brother and read the text as some inane double-talk.

Note 4:  I always feel that the Liberal democrats are spending all their time running around the country looking for a TV crew willing to give them a few seconds of air time. In my minds-eye, I picture teams of activists running through London seeking out journalists doing voxpop interviews only to arrive sweating and breathless just as the crew are packing up.

 

Trying not to Snigger

Maybe there is a glimmer of hope.

Hello again my watertight yeomen. It seems I’m managing to shoe-horn in the time to write a few blog entries. So I suppose I should put them to good use. I can almost hear the sound of numerous loins being girded as I tell you I’m going to give you an update on Vulture Funds. For those of you who have no idea what I am talking about here, you can catch up on a little of the history by reading the blog entries here and here.

So, the more perceptive yeomen amongst you should now know, I have been writing to my various elected representatives in attempt to see if I can nibble at the toes of government and encourage a little justice.

As you can see from the picture at the top of this entry, I have had a response from Phil Hope. (Note 1) I’ve also had a response from Mr Rehn on behalf of the European Commission, but that was rather evasive suggesting that there was little they could do.

The letter does give me cause for optimism. The Department for international development has part-funded a scheme that allows countries to buy back their debt with an average saving of 90% on the debt – allowing over $8bn worth of debt to be eliminated. All good news – but really just a start and more needs to be done.

Perhaps most importantly, we as individuals need to make sure that our Governments don’t forget about the pledges they made after Live8 at the G8 summit. In a report issued in April the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said aid to poor countries from 22 of its members - wealthy industrialised nations - fell 5.1% last year and was likely to decline further in 2007. Of the G8 Nations, only the UK and Japan have fully kept their pledges.

So, if you haven’t already, write to your elected representative. If you live in the UK, like me, you can write to your elected representatives using the Write to Them website. If you live in the US, concerned Merkins can contact your Senators and Representatives.

There are also petitions open you can sign electronically – these can be found on the original posts, so I’ll not bore you with them again.

However, I will include the links to the Jubilee Debt Campaign website, so you can find out more information and get involved with their campaign.

Despite this being a very serious and complex topic, my brain still went off on a synaptic tangent. All through this post I have been thinking of John Cleese and the Monty Python classic Ministry of Silly Walks. (Note 2)

From 14th June 2006, the industry standard Crozzy Standard has been applied to footnotes.

NOTE 1: Phil Hope was recently been diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Disease. This is a cancer of the lymph system and requires four months of chemotherapy followed by four weeks of radiotherapy. As a result I wasn’t sure that I would hear anything from him. So credit where credit’s due.

Because I am patron of Campaign to Release Alternate Sorry to the Internet (CRASI), I will say sorry to hear you’ve been ill. I hope that you make a full recovery and are back to normal soon. Click to return

NOTE 2: It is just the way that my brain likes to work. The synaptic tangents went into overdrive when I saw that the letter from HM treasury was signed by Ed Balls. My inner fourteen year-old schoolboy sniggered and snorted. Pity the Fool. Click to return

Today I throw another cryptic clue in your direction to see if your synapses spark and produce the answer. If I have confused you, well, I’m sorry.

TECHNORATI TAGS : Vulture Funds ; Phil Hope ; Ed Balls ; Monty Python ; John Cleese.