Yesterday watching the recall of Parliament I had a distinct feeling of unease.....its taken me a day to unravel what I was feeling but briefly, part of it was of hypocrisy . These people elected to govern us have in many ways muddied the ethical waters by their bogus claims on their allowances and watching so much righteous indignation left me with a bad feeling which has not gone away today.
It is so easy to condemn without any understanding and let me make my position clear. Violence can never be justified...but neither can getting tax payers money by false pretences ...
I have spoken before about the line between tax avoidance and tax evading but tax is still the way of a civilised society to care for those who are unable to care for themselves. I pay tax. I don't bleat about it....it means I can afford it ..but it sticks in the gullet when those who can afford it even better than me prefer to pay for the services of an accountant to look for ways of avoiding tax on their behalf.
The riots were dreadful. The violence was appalling. Stories shine out like the man who had lost his own son...and the Seiks protecting the mosques of the Muslims...Good can be found in all situations even if only random acts of kindness.
None of us is perfect. We all make mistakes . I've made plenty to repent of at leisure.
We all deeply regret what has happened in Britain this week but we are all complicit in it...these situations can only grow if we let them... All it takes for evil to flourish is for good men to do nothing.
If we are good people then its time to take responsibility for what has happened to cause these deep divisions in our society. Ask ourselves what we can do?
People who say they are just one person , what can they do make me a bit cross because its an assumption of failure. If enough people tried to do something small it could build into something massive...
Wanting to change the culture in schools to accept that some measures of discipline are necessary and to bring back some elements of competition would go a long way to improving moral.
Intolerance of greed, of deceit, of mendacity...this would be a start.
2 comments:
Jean, I wonder if one person can't make a difference? Surely if each person did one small act of kindness each day, it would change our culture overnight.
But you've demonstrated quite clearly, as I did on my blog, that our inaction and selfishness is a major cause of the problems facing our society today.
We've become complacent, cushioned by our lives of security, and have learned to ignore the inconvenient facts of the lives of deprivation lived by so many in our society.
I agree with you that it sticks in the throat to hear politicians pontificating about the ills of the country, when in fact, they bear a large measure of responsibility for how we are today. Their behaviour, along with that of greedy bankers, and others, who avoid tax, some of the large companies are deeply involved here, just set the example for those who think "if they can get away with it, why can't I".
My only consolation is that I've not voted for either of the main stream parties for several elections. I vote Green, who at least seem to have some social justice policies which resonate with me.
I try through my work in my parish, to make a difference. Not sure that I succeed, but being part of the community, even though I live 50 miles away is important to me. And I do also participate where I live. I work on local forums trying to improve things for the whole community and with the council where necessary.
Not sure that there's much more I can do, given the limitations of time and family life.
But I'm looking to see where else I might make a difference. Time will tell with that.
Thanks for that. It's true I think that one person can make difference on local levels. But to change the mindset of those who govern us may not be so easy! Green is I think how I may vote next time too.
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