On the face of it yes, we are in the midst of a national crisis. For more reasons than the obvious.
If you are inclined to believe that the UK’s democracy, economic and social strengths are unconquerable, then I think you need to review your position. I looked with despair at the news last night and of the film of crowds of people in East Africa, following the disastrous consequences on human life of the ‘Idai‘ monsoon. Desperate for shelter, medical care and, above all, food, we saw in broad daylight people of that region fighting each other, tooth and nail, over a bag of flour. It is awful to see how desperate they are.
Who was it said that we are only ever two meals from a breakdown of law and order? In the United Kingdom of Great Britain, despite the words used in its title - notably ‘united’ and ‘great’, we are never as far from that situation as we’d like to think we are. In truth, no-one in the Western World is. It is because we are human animals. There’s nothing wrong with being an animal, only, as animals, we require certain things to maintain our lives, our livelihoods, our ego (in the true psychiatric meaning of that entity), in other words, our instinct for survival. We are never far from rioting, irrational behaviours, anti social activities brought on primarily by the threat of insecurity. And right now I believe this nation is feeling more insecure than at any time since the last World War or at the height of the Cold War.
The schism that currently exists inside both major political parties and, therefore, in parliament seems to represent the division in the country as a whole, but it has become a crisis, driven by opposing ideologies. If the Prime Minister continues her totally unnecessary vilification of MPs, notably those that stand against her ‘deal’, then it can only get worse. Nothing so far was more publicly humiliating, more unnecessary, more quite frankly offensive, than the Prime Minister’s statement yesterday at the podium inside No.10 Downing Street, Her divisive, aggressive, coercive language aimed at parliamentarians, who stand between her and her deal, is seriously damaging. She seems to be on a kamikaze mission, attempting to destroy this country’s faith in parliamentary democracy and her own career. But why?
This may sound very controversial, but I suggest that she is either a dictator in waiting, or the puppet of dictators waiting in the wings. Someone else seems to be pulling her strings and she hasn’t got the mettle to face her conscience in the face of a potentially very sinister scenario. either that or she and her Cabinet believes that they are the light that is necessary to lead the ignorant proletariat to pastures new. She’s acting like monarchs of old, who didn’t want parliament to intervene in their agenda, but who required the financial support of the richest and most influential individuals in society (now commonly referred to as oligarchs). We should not forget that, after the referendum, she didn’t want to include parliament in negotiations in the first place. Rather, she wanted to make the government’s Brexit decisions behind the closed doors of Cabinet, until she was forced by parliament to do the right thing; to give the vote on the final deal to MPs.
She maintains her defensive rhetoric like a broken record ... remember “strong and stable”, a meme that became a comedic cliche allegedly designed for her campaign by a certain media magnate, in the 2017 general election, which, let’s not forget, took her government from a slim majority to a minority! Now we have “determined to deliver what the people want” ... I personally think those “people” are primarily members of the ‘ERG’ and on the extreme right wing of her party, who believe we should go back to that 'romantic' notion of life 150-200 years ago, when Britain ruled the Waves and much of the World; they still believe that Britain is a great World power, who can stand alone in a World overcrowded with far greater ‘powers’. Delusion personified. They may also have vested interests in that section of the country’s economy, that holds a majority of the financial cards or their own party’s financial support. It is a view that may also be supported by sections of the electorate, who felt, or were made to feel threatened by the racist rhetoric and undeliverable promises of certain factions in the referendum campaign.
Party leaders need to stop playing party politics. This is not the time. We all need to wake up and smell the coffee. Address some common sense. Start thinking objectively and be thankful that parliamentary democracy is still holding strong .. just. Take action. Write to your local MP to let them know you are involved. Let them know what you feel and what you want. It’s your entitlement to be informed and to participate in democratic processes. It has never been more important to exercise your democratic rights, but between those distant occasions when we are required to put an X in a box on an electoral form. We need to be better informed between votes, so that our votes can be better informed and more meaningful.
Reading through this again makes it sound like a preachy diatribe, but it is one of the few ways that I can vent my feelings and views; by which I can try to form a rational perspective and validate those views.
Feel free to comment, especially if you disagree with anything, but keep it polite.
Thank you.
