Confusing the Soul

If I were asked quite specifically to describe in detail, music; perhaps Mozart, perhaps Mario Del Monaco firing out Nessun Dorma, perhaps Sinatra singing My Way, to a community of people who had never heard any form of music ever before, I would find it close to impossible. It isn’t something that can be extracted, it isn’t an entity, it has no physical presence. It is simply derived from beauty. When Michaelangelo created the Statue of David, Vasari commented that Michaelangelo’s gift for sculptor came from the sole, that he “carved forms from stone, as if he were pulling figures from water“. The only possible way to describe Michaelangelo’s work, is through wondrous metaphors, as Vasari did to emphasise beauty. There is no logical definition, much as there is no logical definition of the colour yellow. Asked to describe yellow to someone who has never seen yellow, is simply impossible. Similarly, within the realms of Philosophy, it is close to impossible to describe the soul. The distinction of soul from body has no words to describe, because the body and it’s perception of reality, is all we know. We do not know the nature of immortality, because everything we recognise either decays or dies.

I believe in science. I believe organised religion can be a force of dangerous dogma as well as a source of hope. But what both science and religion struggle quite effortlessly with, is the nature of the soul. I find it distinctly ridiculous (and quite coincidentally, Plato-esque) that Religion can take the concept of an unworldly force within each of us, and jump to the conclusion that it must come from a Heavenly World, which therefore proves the existence of God, who then must have created the World and Humanity, whilst listening to prayer and endorsing the Pope as his representative and successor to St Peter, on Earth therefore rendering the entire Bible legitimate. The idea that my body is simply a shell, which is injected with this life force we call a soul by a heavenly force, tends to make me a little uneasy about the nature of religious dogma, as if i’m a slave to the divine force that supposedly created me. Which, I refuse to be. Free Will and Organised Religion are not compatible. As this article from Jewishmag.com shows. They jump to irrational conclusions without question. They suggest that the soul must be intricately linked to the nature of God. And so they appear to be manipulating the idea of a soul, to fit their own system of beliefs. I do not accept that for a second. What makes that Jewish dogmatic principle of the distinction between body and soul, any more realistic than the Buddhist tradition of the reincarnation of the soul in the pursuit of Nirvana?

Nor can I accept Kant’s explanation, that the Soul is a force, striving for perfection, held back by our bodily, materialistic desires. Whilst the idea is certainly logical, Kant goes on to say “The pure practical reason must also postulate the existence of God“, and that is the part I cannot accept. I see a huge hole between the notion of an inner force striving for perfection (which is a perfectly logical argument, given the nature of humanity), and that particular force proving the existance of God. It isn’t quite that simple.

Similarly, I cannot succumb to the scientific notion, that we’re all just a mix of easily explained chemical processes. That such deep emotional sensitivity; dreaming, the tranquil sense of spirituality, friendship, affection, ambition, love, devotion, compassion and every other level of consciousness we experience throughout our short lives, are simply neurotransmitters playing games. It’s difficult for me to accept that everything I am, everything that makes me, me, everything that I try to be and try not to be, my hopes, my thoughts, my memories, my loves, my flaws, are all just chemical reactions. I feel entirely at conflict much of the time, between the materialistic nature of the World, the need for more, the thriving for physical wealth by any means necessary, the ruthless disaster of Capitalism and all it’s hostility toward fellow man; whilst at the same time there is a constant voice in side me, that tells me just how wrong it is to become too involved in selfish pursuits whilst condemning those less fortunate. How wrong it is to cause pain to someone else. I constantly have the quite intense feeling that there is much much more beauty to life rather than just simple existence, rather than the dogmatic notion that we are our job, our house, our car, waking up every morning at the same time for work, a holiday once a year, retirement, death. Whether that voice is the work of God, or of chemical processes, I do not know, nor does a Christian, or a Scientist. What I do know, is how I feel. I do not feel that the essence of me was divinely created, nor do I feel that I’m merely a mixture of chemical processes. Neither can tell me where the feeling of loneliness, hurt, sensitivity, and love are derived. Perhaps it is simply a case of millions upon millions of years of Darwinism both within nature and within society that has shaped the minds of generations who have thus become so convinced that the power of the mind is so great that it must come from a higher power. Perhaps that is true. The simple fact is that on a personal level, I can’t accept that my thoughts and my emotional mind set, is simple science. On a rational level, I can’t accept that it is all the work of a supreme, timeless, God.

The nature of confusion.

The World has gone mad

The World is seriously losing the plot. Firstly, The E.U Parliament gains it’s first two Nazi BNP members. Said day for British Democracy indeed. Secondly, the news reported by the Sunday Telegraph, that Alliance Boots have taken on Andy Hornby as their new Chief Executive.

When I went 4p overdrawn late last year, Lloyds charged me £15 for the privilege. Plus, £6 a day, until I paid it back. I got the letter informing me I’d gone overdrawn, two days later, and so with the daily charge, another £12 on top of the £15. I went into Lloyds to speak to the manager. I had 4p with me, plus I was nice enough to bring an extra 2p, a whole half of what i’d gone over, as a penalty that I thought was adequate. The manager told me that I should look after my account better, and that £27, for going 4p over, was perfectly acceptable, and given that I didn’t have £27 that day, i’d have to come back the next day, with the charge then at £33. Why he thought i’d have £33 tomorrow, when I didn’t have £27 today, is beyond me. Greed, i’d imagine. This, was two days after Lloyds had just received a bail out from tax payers. It was a couple of months before the Government side-stepped monopoly rules, to allow Lloyds to pretty much take over half the banking sector, including HBOS which was acquired in a rush, with an expected loss of £8bn, when in fact, it was £10.8bn, which of course had massive implications for it’s workforce. Not so much for it’s rich executives. And they have the nerve to lecture me, for going 4p over drawn, despite themselves going £2.8bn overdrawn? Can I charge them for that? I don’t have the taxpayer to bail me out.

Former CEO of HBOS Andy Hornby played his part in the dodgy dealings worth a pre-tax loss of £10.8bn to HBOS in 2008. Hornby was thus forced to step down when Lloyds Group took over the toxic debts of HBOS in January 2009, but was rehired by Lloyds Group as a consultant, for £60,000 a month. Which is bad enough. Especially considering HM Treasury were forced to prop up Lloyds Group in 2009, by taking a 43% stake in the Company. I’m pretty sure I could take on a role as a banking CEO, and make such extreme loses, leading to a financial disaster, huge job losses, huge loan scale backs leading to the deaths of many businesses, and huge home repossessions, if it means I take home a lovely big bonus and a new £60,000 a month job.

Lloyds haven’t faired much better since taking over the mess left by Hornby. In December 2008, they systematically cut off funding to Interpal, one of the few remaining humanitarian charities in Gaza, dedicated to helping Orphaned children and those who cannot help themselves. Then of course, there was the news in February, from the Treasury and reported in The Guardian, that Lloyds had been disguising tax avoidance schemes as American Financial institution investments. Followed most recently, two days ago in fact, by the news that Lloyds paid back £4bn worth of preference shares to HM Treasury in order to avoid £480m of annual interest, whilst simultaneously cutting 1660 jobs across 164 Cheltenham and Gloucester branches. The UK Government propped up the failing Lloyds Group, after it took on such toxic assets, not simply so the Lloyds executives could pay Andy Hornby £60,000 a month, whilst laying off 1,660 people. Is this “trickle down economics“? The closing of 164 C&G branches, will have an adverse affect on local businesses and projects. Lloyds should be ashamed. The UK Government should be ashamed. As a Lloyds customer myself, I’m wondering what the incentive is to remain loyal to these people. It simply exists to benefit those like Hornby. To make sure those people, those rich few, remain so. Not only that, but the moment the job cuts were announced, the share price shot up. Seriously, the World has lost the plot. It woudlseem that their thinking revolves around the idea that the sooner they can get to the stage where they’re able to pay out ridiculously huge bonuses to those who do not deserve it, the better.? No, fuck right off! If I were part of the Treasury, with a 43% stake in Lloyds Group, the first thing I do when they announce they want to cut 1660 jobs, and cut 164 branches of a much loved high street bank, whilst paying consultants £60,000 a year and paying the treasure back, is to tell them to keep the £4bn, until they are able to pay it back, without such huge cutbacks. If that’s ten years down the line, so be it.

Alliance Boots, of all the people they could have chosen as their next Chief Executive, they go for a man who lost his last company, £10.8bn. A monkey would have been a more reliable option.

The exciting New World Order

THE NEW WORLD ORDER IS COMING!
I swear they were a wrestling group in WCW about fifteen years ago? So it’s not surprising that conspiracy theorists aren’t happy with Gordon Brown describing a “New World Order” emerging yesterday at the close of the G20. Quite what Eric Bischoff and Hulk Hogan can do to solve this economic crises, is beyond me. But hey, i’m not the expert here.

Gordon Brown used the phrase “New World Order” in the context of the economic crises. He was referring to the new powers and funds of the IMF and the way it’s going to be run. He was referring to the entire economic package with it’s rules and regulations. He was referring to leaving the old order of irresponsibility into an era of sustainable growth. An era of less Nuclear weapons in nations like America and Russia. A new era of energy efficiency and responsibility. A New World Order. That’s it. That’s the meaning of the phrase in the context of the summit. And to people like me, the phrase New World Order is exciting, because it means the old days of Right Winged economic and environmental nonsense, is over.

Politicians unfortunately, do not seem to be aware the a few American college kids refer to a bunch of shadowy rich people like the Rothschild’s, Kissinger, the Bush’s, and the Rockefellers as The New World Order, or Illuminati, or any other fictitious name they can come up with. This “New World Order” they refer to, are all trying to create a new world order in which they control the World by orchastrating events like 9/11. Now, i’m not aware that the Rothchild family and the Rockefeller’s were lacking power in the first place. But apparently so. And given that this “New World Order” or “Illuminati” has supposedly been around for centuries trying to create a one World Government (which i’m in full support of given that I despise Nationalism), they haven’t done a very good job. And if they are behind the E.U, they could have created a better constitution and framework. It would seem that they’re pretty incompetent. We need a New new World Order to replace the New World order that tried and failed to replace the old New World Order. Or, we can just accept that this concept of the New World Order, doesn’t exist!!!

The genius’s over at Infowars don’t appear to take the line i’m taking on this, which isn’t surprising. A few examples of the quotes from infowars about this “New World Order” Brown quotation, include the rather frightening, yet completely unfounded and masterfully funny:
“The NWO Illuminati have darker goals in mind, eugenics,genocide and Third World War violence” – Quite why Hulk Hogan is wanting to commit Genocide, I don’t know. But hey, it’s infowars, these kids know their FACTS! They’re also very loving. One poster on infowars, named “Bob” echoes my thoughts quite eerily (even if he is being a sarcastic Conservative):
“I think brown is right. We need change, we need to evolve past this patriotism and national identity nonesense.”
It’s funny that whenever Conservatives are trying to take the piss out of Liberals like me, I actually end up agreeing with them. Sarcastic Conservatives speak sense…. they become Liberals.
His fellow Conservative Nationalists did not see the sarcasm, even after he suggested singing kum bi yah and signed off the post with “NWO“, they still failed to see that he’s actually attacking people like me (hippies) for our left wing beliefs. This is evident with one guy replying quite comically with:
“Your friend satan don’t tell you that he want to microchipping you?
You master satan have soo much love for you and your friends!!!”
You know what are preparing the Mighty God Savaot for you, your friends and your master satan and his demons?”
Clearly coherent sentences is beyond the capabilities of “Mighty God Savaot” and his followers.
Another wondrous reply comes from “Kim“. I’ve always liked the name Kimberley, it’s got a melliflous quality to it. Sophistication. Intelligence. So imagine my surprise when “Kim” writes:
“The Hebrew Money Changers LOVE the NWO since they are the synagogue of Satan.”
Of course, no where is safe from crazed Christians with warped readings of the Bible, and useless opinions seeped in prejudice. An internet opinion based forum just wouldn’t be the same without them. And so the poster “FED UP”…. i’m assuming that’s a fake name, otherwise that person has really harsh parents… is quoted as saying:
“The NWO freaks control the governments. What do the governments control if they have them? THE NUKES AND BIOWEAPONS. When they’re ready to go…. they’re not worried. They’re going to kill all of us. They make it no secret they want to decrease the world’s population by 80%. There won’t be much of anyone left to fight back when they really implement it. Haven’t you heard of the mass graves being completed all over the U.S? If you’ve not read Revelation in the Bible… it’s a good time to start.” – Where are these mass graves, and given that the global population is set to shoot past the 9 billion mark within the next fifty years, where is the source that says there’s a chance that 80% are about to be systematically wiped out? I must have missed the news that day.

Brown is quoted as saying:
“Today’s decisions, of course, will not immediately solve the crisis. But we have begun the process by which it will be solved, I think a new world order is emerging with the foundation of a new progressive era of international co-operation” – I’m not a big Gordon Brown fan, but in this short paragraph of transcript, in comparison to Infowars, he’s speaking sense, and infowars failed. Miserably.

I’m pretty certain that when Gordon Brown used the phrase “New World Order” he wasn’t using it to either describe a WCW Eric Bishoff creation, nor was he using it in the same way that infowars use it, nor was he advocating the deaths of 80% of the World’s population, but then that’s just my thought, i’m no David Icke!

If anyone comments on this, and tells me about the pyramid with the eye, i’m going to cry.

The pride in luck

My indescribably curious mind is unable to fully comprehend the statement “i’m proud to be British“. I stay clear of saying it, because it provokes a deep thoughtfulness that just exists to annoy me. I always finding myself questioning the sentiment, and then questioning my conclusion; the conclusion I always come to is that you cannot be proud to be a Nationality. And so by definition, I musn’t be proud to be English. Which begs the question, how can I be proud of our troops, the guys dying in far away lands so I can live free and in luxury? And here lies the paradox; I feel a deep sense of pride toward those guys. They are performing a task that I could never perform, and they do a damn good job. They are the lifeline of this country. And so, with that in mind, I must be proud to be English afterall, right?

So the next few paragraphs, is simply my mind trying to work this whole thing through. I apologise in advance if it doesn’t make much sense.

I always wonder what it is people mean when they say “I’m proud to be British” or “I’m proud to be American” or suggesting pride in any Nationality at all. It is much like those who insist that they are incredibly “proud to be White” or “proud to be Black“. To me, it’s never made sense. I’ve never been able to bring myself around to saying that i’m proud to be white, or proud to be British. To say “i’m proud to be British” would be like saying “i’m proud to have a nose“. It isn’t about being proud to be White, or black, or British. It’s about feeling relieved at how lucky you got to be where you are.

I think that language plays a strong role in this debate. There appears to be no middle ground. You either declare that you’re proud to be British, or you declare that you’re not proud to be British. There is no compromise. It’s language rather than intelligence. If I say i’m proud to be British, I go against my principles as a Humanist. If I say i’m not proud to be British, it suggests I dislike this country, which I don’t. So what other option do I have at my disposal?

I figure I was born in England, through luck through chance. I did not have a say in the matter. Similarly, I was born white. It was pure luck. I could have just as easily been born into a third World country and dead before my fifth birthday. I didn’t choose to be born here. I did not achieve anything to have significant pride in.

I love this country. I love the liberal values. I love that anybody is welcome. I love that we’re understanding. I love that we’re tolerant. I love that we live in relative luxury. I love the opportunities we are presented with on a daily basis. I love our foods. I love our sense of decency and friendliness. I love our TV. I love our willingness to contribute to social projects like the NHS and the education system because we’re happy to help those less fortunate. But I did not achieve any of that. I was lucky to be born here. I cannot show pride in something I haven’t achieved. I cannot show pride in luck.

I am proud of my ancestors for their struggle during Wars, including my great grandad who died during World War One. He was a kid, younger than I am now. I cannot imagine how scared he must have been. His sacrifice means I can sit here in comfort and write this now in freedom. My grandad fought in the Navy during World War II. I’m proud of him for his strength and courage. But I see this as completely different to being proud of a land mass.

Here’s where language comes into it again. Saying you’re proud TO BE British suggests you assume you’ve achieved something in your quest to be born here. It’s like me saying i’m proud to have two hands. I didn’t have a say in how many hands I have. It’s the same as somebody saying “I’m proud to be black“…. you cannot have pride in something you had no control over. You can however, be proud of the brilliant men and women of the black race (Like Dr King and Rosa Parks) who dedicated their lives so that as a black person, you are now free and equal to the white person. You can be proud of their fight. You can be proud that they stood up for what was right, you can be proud of them. I can quite happily say I’m proud of how far our ancestors have come, how much of a fight they have put up, how much they have sacrificed in order for their children to have more opportunities than they had themselves. I’m proud of our ancestors.

If you were to say “I’m proud TO BE an accountant”, you’ve achieved that level of success that has granted you the feeling of pride that you aim inwards at yourself. So by that very same logic, saying “I’m proud TO BE English” suggests you’ve achieved Englishness, which you haven’t.

I realise the statement “I’m proud of our ancestors” is somewhat contradictory to my original statement that you cannot take pride in something you did not achieve. Given that I had no say in the achievements of my ancestors, how can I be proud? Well, i’m not suggesting pride in myself, in the same way that people are when they say “i’m proud to be british“. I’m showing pride in others. You can show pride of your fellow countrymen during certain times. War perhaps. Or the fight for certain rights. The colonies were right to be proud of their fighters. They were right to be proud of people like Franklin and Jefferson, Hamilton and Washington. These people along with the other founders, freed them.

England is a mixed land. All that is actually truly ‘English‘ (in the man made sense) is the land itself. The people, are a mixture of Roman, Celt, Saxon, and Norse. Our technology owes itself to Japan, America, China, Europe and every other land of the World. Our clothes, our food, our medicines, our literature, our ideas, are all intermixed. Our history and culture, is intertwined with the history of the rest of the World. We are not a static entity free from outside influence. So by suggesting pride in being English, you must also suggest pride in the mixture of heritage that got us to where we are today. So by that logic, you cannot (as the BNP does) suggest pride in England, whilst wishing to close our borders to international trade of goods and a labour force. By doing that, you are not proud of England. You are the opposite.

People may ask “Can I be proud of my brother or sister then, given that I had no choice in them being my brother or sister?” This is much more difficult to answer. Love and pride are two different things entirely. When they’re born, you love them an incredible amount. The feeling of pride comes later on, when they achieve something. You may feel a strong sense of pride in their eagerness to learn to walk. Or their love of learning. Or their new University degree. Or how mature they have become, settling down to raise a family. Similarly, if your sibling were to murder someone, you might say “i’m not proud that he’s my brother“. This lack of pride is due to their actions rather than their relation to you. So why shouldn’t a sense of strong pride be down to their actions rather than their relation to you?

And so this brings me on to our troops. These guys, as I stated previously, I consider to be our lifeline. The reason we’re a strong nation. They are the pride of the people. And as we’ve seen, it is possible to be proud of those who fight for you, who give their lives to fight for you, without suggesting pride in your by-chance birth. You can be proud of English men without suggesting pride in being born here.

To conclude:
Is it possible to be proud to be English? No.
Is it possible to be proud of the achievements of those who have fought and shaped the privileged times we live in today? Yes.
Is it possible to be proud of little achievements of our friends and family? Yes.

One of my friends has summed this up perfectly, by suggesting that the word “pride” is the wrong word to use. We should say that we feel “privileged to be English“. I’d agree with that. Pride and privilege are getting confused more and more recently. I do not feel proud to be British. Similarly, I do not feel any animosity toward being British. I simply feel privileged to be British.

My head hurts. Too much thinking. Too much debating with myself.

The Right to hysteria

I’m sure we as a Western society need to take responsibility of our thoughts before we make such outlandish suggestions filled with unfounded propaganda. It needs to come from both sides of the Political divide. There are those Liberals among us who will argue until they cannot argue any more, that the Bush Administration were actively involved and had funded 9/11. They will work tirelessly to find any unimportant discrepency and tie it to a mass conspiracy. It is ultimately a fatuous argument on their part.

Similarly, there are those on the Conservative side of the fence, who see a scratch on the flesh and call it a canon ball wound of great proportions. I’m talking about ‘Freedom of speech’. Conservative writers, much like Liberal writers, will not deviate from their ideology. They will insist that the opposing ideology is wrong, not just on certain issues, but on everything they stand for. A GOP Blogger Gopwire writes recently that us Liberals have a deep underlying plan to “to “hush” conservative’s so Obama and his cronnies can be free to destroy our nation as we know it.” I take great offence at this, because there is no plan to silence anyone. And it isn’t just liberals that have attacked what people consider to be their rights, throughout history. Conservatives are just as guilty. You cannot argue that one side is destroying your liberty whilst blindly supporting the same on the other side. Rhetoric as powerful as “free to destroy our nation as we know it” engages not the thoughtful brain, but the easily lead. There are those, like that particular blogger who will insist that Obama has a plan to destroy the Nation purely because his policies disagree with those of the Ideology he blindly and obediently follows. There are those who consider George Bush to have been the devil, even though those in their own Democratic camp have been failing to pay taxes, screwing the system, and generally acting rather corrupt whilst preaching ‘change’. The term “destroy our nation as we know it” is ridiculous hysteria of the worst variety.

There are those Liberals who insist that Nuclear weapons do not serve the purpose they claim to serve, and are in fact inherently evil. There are those Conservatives on the other side of the fence who believe that Nuclear Weapons are a key to National security. I agree with both. They are inherently evil, but one cannot expect to disable your Nuclear capability in the hopes that your enemy will do the same thing out of good will. It just isn’t realistic. The Liberals in this case, refuse to acknowledge that they may be wrong.

There are those Liberal bloggers who insist that Israel is disastrously evil. And whilst the actions of Israel recently, is nothing short of genocide, I cannot help but wonder why those Liberals will not step out of their ideological bearing and condemn Hamas for their wickedness and hatred since coming to power; and in fact before gaining power.

Similarly, there are those who refuse to acknowledge that Western Policy may have something to do with the rise of Extremism. They don’t “hate our freedoms” they don’t want to “destroy our way of life“, they simply hate us for how we’ve treated their Nations in the past. They think it gives them a right to fight fire with fire. We’re all in agreement that terrorism is by definition, evil. But why are we quick to label our enemies terrorists, whilst we are apparently fine with the atrocities our own Governments cause? Why are we surprised that we’re hated?

On the other hand, Conservatives are refusing to take even slight blame for the collapse of the Global economy. They will not for a second hear of the notion that a free deregulated market concept is anything but perfect. They instead, find the most obscure reasons to blame Liberals for the disaster. The Free Market ideal much like the Socialist ideal, is just that; an ideal. It doesn’t work in reality. But even when it fails, the Conservative branch will refuse to accept it.

There are those who insist that Socialism can work, regardless of the fact that where ever it’s been tried, it’s ended in a nightmare of genocide and dictatorship. There are also those who live by the wonders of the Free Market, regardless of that fact that it has left so many nations behind, drenched in indescribable poverty. Neither side will admit it’s notion is flawed. Massively flawed.

Others will live by what the media says, unquestionable in their acquiescence. In ‘Audacity of Hope’ by Barack Obama, along with other sources, speak of an article not too long ago suggested that Guards at Guantanamo Bay had flushed Koran’s down the toilet to the dismay of Muslim inmates. The Pentagon then released a report outlining that although the Koran’s had not been flushed, the female U.S Guards had pretended to smear menstrual blood on the faces of inmates during questioning, and pissed all over the Koran and an inmate. Fox News went that day with the headline: “Pentagon finds no evidence of Koran being flushed“. I often feel anger toward Fox News reports, there bias is shameful. And yet, many people will sit and quote them on their blogs, insisting that they are right… because Bill O’Reilly said so. They do not think for themselves. They do not investigate for themselves. The presume that their bias choice of media, is entirely without fault in it’s assessments. The media has a love affair with partisanship. The people have a love affair with partisanship. That, will never change.

There are those who sport tshirts and logos with “Communism killed 30,000,000 and all I got was this lousy tshirt”, whilst failing to acknowledge the deaths of thousands under Capitalist Regimes like Pinochet’s Chile. Just because one ideology kills less innocents than another, doesn’t make it relatively moral. It just means one dictator with no ideology was much more committed to murder and genocide than the other evil dictator with no ideology. Why are we arguing that it is the fault of the ideology, rather than the tyrants who profess to be apart of that ideology?

Similarly, Obama is savaged by Republicans and conservatives for saying “You can’t just listen to Rush Limbaugh and get things done“. One forum dedicates a topic of conversation to this, with the Topic title being “Obama against free speech for Conservatives/Republicans/Private citizens“. No he isn’t. He’s merely stating an opinion. Which is surely, his freedom of speech right? Freedom of speech does not mean the freedom to say whatever you want to say without consequence. Limbaugh has called Obama “The magic Negro“; he’s said “I hope Obama fails“; Of African Americans, he said “They’re 12 percent of the population. Who the hell cares?“; and he once referred to Obama as “Osama Obama“. The Republicans and Conservatives did not express anger at the utter lack of respect and tact that Limbaugh has shown, they waited until Obama responded and then stood to support Limbaugh. It’s slightly unnerving when that happens. It is not supporting free speech, it is out right support for the freedom to insult and cause trouble without having to stand up to the consequences. You cannot throw such deep hate filled attacks at people and then hide behind “I’m just exercising freedom of speech!!” when you’re called up on it.

Over here in the UK recently, Dutch Freedom Party MP Geert Wilders has been denied entry to the U.K, based on the fact that he is trying to show his film linking Terrorism to the Koran, and Islam in general. It is a film filled with one side of a very complex argument. Wilders does not talk to any Muslims who strictly oppose and denounce all Terrorism in the name of their holy book. He merely sticks to the notion that the Koran and therefore Islam is evil. He fails to point out that actually, there are those who practice Islam, who are strongly opposed to Extemism. Instead, he applies his twisted logic to include all Islam. By that same logic, we could apply the Phelp’s family’s reading of Christianity, to the entire Christian nation.
There will always be excuses by those intending to defend their beliefs, which is there right to do. However, to ignore punctilious evidence that contradicts their beliefs, is disturbingly wrong.

Whilst Wilder has a right to say exactly what he believes, and it was a mistake for the British Government to ban him from the Country, it has sparked a multitude of Conservative Bloggers, who suggest that the British are now pandering to Islam because we’re afraid to offend Muslims. That whilst we allow home grown muslims to call for the slaughter of those who insult Mohammad, we don’t allow the opposite argument to take shape. They go further to claim that it is an out right attack on freedom of speech. This, in my opinion, is utterly misleading.

The suggestion that the UK Government is afraid of offending muslims is a weak one at best, given that the main issue Extemists have with the UK is that we support Israel and the war in Iraq. The fact that a Fascist MP was banned from our shores will only prove to ignite misguided Nationalists like the BNP who insist that we’re becoming a Nation pandering to Muslims. The Government cannot expect to beat the rise of the Nationalists, by banning those who may support the Nationalist cause. Nationalists can only be beaten through debate which serves to ridicule their pathetic cause. Geert Wilders himself, said of Britain “Be brave. Be a defender of free speech. If you don’t you are weak. You are cowards. Your country has already taken a big step in the direction of Islamification.” What he, the Nationalists and all those who insist that banning Wilders from British shores is a step toward the abolition of freedom of speech do not talk about, or report on their Nationalist websites filled with hate and propaganda, is that Wilders is not the only person to be banned from British shores..

Muslim cleric Dr Yusuf al-Qaradawi was refused entry. He has described suicide bombers as “martyrs” and homosexuality as “a disease”.

Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan barred on the grounds that his racist and anti-Semitic views could threaten public order

Now forgive me if i’m wrong, but those people are Muslims right? In fact 80 Islamic Hate Preaches are among the 230 people banned from the UK. You cannot, as the Nationalists would like to do, suggest that freedom of speech is dying purely because those who support your flawed ideology are banned from the Country, yet not make a sound the moment that those who disagree with you are banned. To truely possess freedom of speech, we must allow the hate fill muslims to be beaten by logic and reason, whilst at the same time we defeat those Fascists and Nationalists with the same logic and reason. They may be entirely wrong and flawed in their arguments, but they both have the right to say it, providing they can in fact deal with the consequences of those words.

However, it certainly doesn’t help the Islamic cause, when the protest Wilder’s film about Muslims being violent, by calling for his death.
The problem with Islam is that it cannot claim to take the moral high ground against those who attack the faith, by burning and threatening to kill those responsible for insulting it. Much like the problem with the West, in that anyone who threatens us we call “Terrorists” and yet, we fight terrorism, with terrorism. It’s one big bag of hypocrisy from every side you look. No one side has the moral high ground.

In any event, i’m derailing from the point of this blog. To suggest such a small provision is an attempt to destroy all freedom of speech; like suggesting that the Obama Stimulus is somehow equal to turning the United States of America into Soviet America is misleading and shows a lack of forethought. When Bush was doing it, no one suggested Socialism. When Guiliani’s New York debt reached record highs and spending increased by 30%, no Republican called out “SOCIALISM!”. The moment someone who happens to disagree with them does it, it’s suddenly Leninist.

Similarly, Democrats and those of us on The Left cannot legitimately attack those like the Bush Administration for it’s Free Market failure, when people like Rahm Emmanuel, who served on the board of Directors as Freddie Mac lied and cheated it’s way through scandal; is now given pretty much the top job in Washington. It isn’t change. It’s much of the same. It isn’t Socialism. It isn’t an attack on any fundamental rights, it does not require Political Drama Queens on either side of the political fence to act as if they World is falling down around them whenever the ideological tide changes slightly (ever so slightly) against them. It’s getting boring now.

“You’re wrong.“
“Why?“
“Because you’re Liberal.“
“But you’re wrong.“
“Why?“
“Because you’re Conservative.“
That’s how modern politics is. That’s how modern political bloggers write. I must concede that I too am guilty of this. We don’t care what the opposition has to offer, it will be wrong and useless and too much of the same or too Socialist before it’s even been offered. We take a point and we find evidence to back up our point whilst ignoring all evidence to the contrary. Again, I must concede that i’m guilty of this, but i’m certainly not the only one. I’m yet to read a blog or a Newspaper or the website of a Political Party who come to an equally well rounded opinion.

The Labour Party of the 1970s destroyed the lives of millions. The Conservative Parties of the 1980s and 1990s destroyed the lives of millions. The Labour Parties of 1990s and 00s are destroying the lives of millions. And suddenly we’re all taken in by the Conservative opposition. They must be better than what we already have, we all presume. But it will take another decade before that Conservative Party who will inevitably become the next Government, again, destroy the lives of millions, by which time we’ll have a New New Labour, who offer change, and then proceed to destroy the lives of millions. It’s the same shit, over and over. Do we really believe David Cameron to be any different?

I fully accept that differences in opinion and ideology and the crucial need to have all sides allowed to talk, is a gift of Democracy to the developed World. However, when both sides refuse to accept that the other side may have a point; when both sides refuse to accept how tragically wrong they have been in the past; when both sides refuse to work together rather choosing instead to push their own agenda through (Although I support the Obama Stimulus fully, I do feel Pelosi appears to have used it to her own ideological advantage, which is so desperately wrong) whilst at all times attacking limited aspects of the other side rather than accepting certain arguments they may give as valid; when all of that happens, we are not Democratic. We are two teams of political stubborn spin and twisters, hellbent on destroying the opposition regardless of how negatively it affects the Country.

By creating such deep divide based on a ‘get-one-over’ on your opponent system, we are allowing those people who make a small dent in their car sound like a hellish car crash when they relay the story on their blogs and news articles to influence the weak minds of a generation.

I do not believe Obama is either Socialist or evil. I believe he is trying to do what is best for the Country. Similarly, I believe John McCain and Sarah Palin were not evil, they simply wanted to do what was best for the Country. They just differ in how that goal is to be achieved. Suggesting either McCain or Obama have some hidden agenda, without actual evidence (And I don’t mean taking what you consider to be evidence, out of it’s original context) or adequate quotations, is deeply ignorant. And although that may be true, as Freedom of Speech would have it, those who cry SOCIALIST the moment Obama provides support for those who need it most, or the moment they cry OUT OF TOUCH the moment Sarah Palin makes a mistake when interviewed (as if she’s the only one) have the right to their hysteria.

I’m slowly becoming disillusioned with Politicians across the board in general.

Attack of the Republican Bloggers

It would appear that Republican bloggers on WordPress fell asleep in 2001, and woke up on January 20th 2009. It is as if the second President Obama was sworn into Office, the bitter wing of the Republican bloggers started making up as much nonsense as they could to discredit a legacy that had barely even begun. We’re less than three days in and Republican bloggers everywhere are vilifying Obama, questioning his life, his sincerity, with just plain nonsense. The British media has picked up on it too. It’s incredible, the wrath of Right Wing America.

As the inauguration procession moved down Pennsylvania Avenue toward the White House on Tuesday, Fox News reporters kept saying “This is really slow” and “slowest motorcade we’ve ever seen” and “he should be speeding this up“. There is no pleasing Republicans. They are bitter, and they will find any little detail to attack Obama on. Is it because he’s Black? Possibly for a few a black President is a difficult concept to understand, but I think it’s because he’s a Democrat. George W Bush is by far the worst President America has ever been graced with. An entire Planet could not wait to see the back of him. It is merely a few disillusioned Republicans who still cling to the idea that this war hungry, fear mongering, destroyer of the economy was actually quite impressive. These people, are never going to accept that a Republican might not be that good.

Bastardnation for example has run a story in which he states that Barack Obama was sworn in for a second time, without the press there, and so not the full transparency he promised. However, the swearing in photos were released the same day. Bastardnation knew it happened, the day it happened, in fact, about a minute after it happened. It’s hardly the best kept secret since Roswell. It was fully transparent. It clearly had no malice attached too it. If we did not now know about it, then that would qualify as a cover up and not fully transparent. Of course the entire press corps should have been allowed it, merely a rookie mistake. You Republicans have allowed Bush to get away with genocide over the past eight years, a picture of Obama should be the least of your concerns.
Clutching at straws already.

Firstjohnfourfive subtly suggests that Obama is unqualified to be President. Under what circumstances, it’s unclear. Suggesting of course, that simply, the Republicans don’t like him. That’s all. That’s the reason he’s unqualified. No Democrat would be qualified to run for President, under the Republican supporters. If it were true that Obama was somehow unqualified that raises a few bigger questions…
1) Why didn’t the actual Republican Party raise this issue, investigate it fully, and come to a conclusion themselves, rather than hoping that a couple of bitter bloggers might watch a Fox News report and come up with their own insane conclusions.
2) Does America seriously not look into the qualifications of it’s public servants before they take office? Even my local corner shop asks to see my qualifications, and verifies them. If Obama is not qualified, serious questions need to be asked about the background of candidates.

CNN Blogs wasted ten minutes of my life, telling me that Obama didn’t wear his jacket on his first day in the Oval Office. They claim that it was a Bush and Regan policy that out of respect for the office of President, the jacket is to be worn by anyone in the room. Fine. That was Bush and Regan. It’s a shame Bush policy stopped at jacket wearing and didn’t extend as far as lying to the World before entering an unjustifiable war, or destroying the economy. I’m unaware of why not wearing a jacket is disrespectful, yet lying to the public leading to a mass of American soldiers dying miserably in an unjust war, is perfectly respectable? As ever, Republican logic is beyond my understanding.
Comments from Republicans grace the blog, such as…
“That is the most powerful room in the world. It is a place to be respected, not hang out in. Consider it symbolic, but it was a constant reminder of the size of the task it is to lead the greatest nation on earth. Bush and Reagan got it right!!!“
- I just love the idea that Obama is merely ‘hanging out’. If Bush got it right, then i’d hate to see the state of the planet when someone gets it wrong. It’s just a jacket! It might have been hot in there. Who cares? He could be wearing a tshirt with Sarah Palin looking out of her Alaskan home and waving to Putin over in Russia… She can see him, you know!!!…. he could wear a shirt that says… “I just looooove the gays!!” It wouldn’t matter, as long as he gets the job done correctly!! I could not give a shit what my leader choses to wear, as long as he runs the Country better than Bush could ever have done. I cannot imagine Republican nonsense is going to steep lower than this one.

The mass of Republican anti-Obama bloggers will never have a positive thing to say of Obama. They will always shoot him down. They will never admit that he may have made the right move. They will continue to stick up for the deeply flawed legacy of George Bush and they will refuse to accept that Sarah Palin, was a nightmare choice for Vice President. In the eyes of the deeply Republican, Obama can never do anything right.

And then of course there are those who keep complaining that Obama isn’t a fan of torture. As if it’s perfectly feasible for America to stamp it’s moral fist across the World, whilst at the same time, administering electric shocks, burning, forcing prisoners to be naked and pose for sexually explicit photos, covering their eyes and pretending to execute them, lack of food and water, without actually determining whether these detainees have committed any kind of crime or not. British man “Asif Iqbal” was held at Guantanamo, told that he could be killed and no one would know who did it, forcibly injected with drugs, sleep deprived, and subjected to sexual humiliation. A guard, on arrival, told Iqbal … “you killed my family in the Twin Towers, now it’s pay back time…” purely because Iqbal in Muslim. He was found to be completely innocent of all charges. If that’s the attitude of right wing America, isn’t it right, by their logic, that those families of the victims of dead Iraqis have the right to “pay back” America? Flawed logic by a flawed Right Wing ideology, which then wonders why the World absolutely despises them.

It must please the Democrats to know that they’ve managed to annoy Republicans for no good reason other than being Democrats. It must please Democrats even more to know that the entire World, supports them.

Defeat is a bitter pill to swallow clearly.

President Barack Obama

****

“To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.” – President Obama

My grandparents claim to have felt the hope that echoed around the World when John F Kennedy became the President of the USA way back in 1960, from as far away as we are in the United Kingdom. The glimour of hope that change had come, that the World super power was not in the firm control of the Business elite, and the anguish and sorrow they felt when they heard of Kennedy’s assasination. They both say that the feeling of hope rekindled was evident in their minds yesterday at the inauguration of President Barack Obama.

Sky News played a video this morning of an interview with a Black American child. The interviewer asked what the election of President Obama meant to him, the child said…
“It means that when people see a black man on TV, they won’t see only a criminal or an athlete. They’ll see a president, a lawyer or a doctor.” – How beautiful and powerful can one child’s voice be? This voice, this single sentence, encapsulates a new America spectacularly.

In the hearts of those of us who have become disillusioned with America, (which includes Democrats, and the entire World, apart from the Republicans) hateful of the Bush Administration, sick of out dated intolerant Republican policies, it was a monumentous occasion to witness the end of such intolerance, not just with a new administration, but with an African American President who less than a century ago, would have been banned from sitting on the same bus as the white man.

Often i’ll be searching online blogs and come across those of cynical Republicans who have already condemned Obama to political hell, judging his legacy before it’s even begun, purely because he’s a democrat. Ridiculous comments like “He’s socialist“, when Socialism is about as far from Obama as a word could be, “He wont hand over his birth certificate“… as if they don’t adequately vet a potential senator and President before they take the job. “His middle name….. Hussain….. like Sadam….. AARRRGH!!!“…this one speaks for itself. “He refuses to swear on the bible, proving he’s a muslim“…. as if it matters what faith a man is.
All of this before the inauguration, even though he did in fact swear on the Bible. Republican smear tactics, tactics of an extremist party with extremist views, and who put forward an extremist candidate for Vice President. It was hope versus continued fear, and hope presided, thankfully. Why wont those same Republican Bloggers admit that their President over the past eight years has achieved nothing short of criminal, and should be taking the place of those at Guantanamo.

Aside from the policies Obama has which are right, good, and above all, hopeful for a country that has relied too long on the reckless behaviour of the wealthy, it’s the symbol that is enduring and so attractive. The symbol of a new World based not on the colour of somebodies skin. The symbol that you do not have to be somehow affiliated with Oil production to be welcomed into Washington. The symbol that the last eight years is dead, and a new era based not on fear or on hidden corruption and lies is replaced by intergrity, human decency, and kindness. It’s a symbol that becomes increasingly difficult to avoid buying in to. I certainly buy into it fully. I do not expect Obama to be a sort of Jesus-like figure, like some do. I merely welcome the departure of the destructive nature of Republican Conservativism. It has to be fair to say that the Republicans, who have spent eight years killing, silencing, looting Nations for nothing more than individual wealth whilst all the time letting Americans know that if you feel guilty that America is causing so much pain and suffering across the planet, then you’re not a true American, is over. Already, my faith in the most powerful nation on Earth is slowly renewing.

For the past eight years, or four years at least, it’s been difficult to envisage a time when “President Bush” was no more. The moment Obama was sworn in, his speech; his passion for what he was saying, inspired a smile from me, knowing it marked the end of the Bush regime so beautifully and eloquently, it rolled back the policies of the past eight years. The speech needed to renew hope and faith in America, it did just that.

BBC News interviewed a Republican voting couple in their home in Kansas. Their home, was a 200 acre land, sixteen room house, who claimed to be “struggling“. The lady they interviewed, was speaking to them from her library. I thought to myself, this is the legacy that has died today, the stupidity of people like this, the absolute nerve of these kinds of people to claim to be “struggling“. The BBC did it beautifully with the voice over man saying “We interviewed the family from their 200 acre property, that they really don’t need.” That alone, embodies the passions of the Left.

As I sat watching the inauguration, I could not emit the image from my mind, of the Black Panthers, Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali dumping his Olympic medals because they wanted to send him to war yet wouldn’t let him sit on the same bus as a white man, Rosa Parks, and all those who suffered the wrath of the Ku Klux Klan, the slaves who built the White House, the thousands of black Americans who have struggled for equality across America over the generations. Yesterday, was the greatest day in the history of black America, and a day that will be remembered forever.

The election of President Obama is not about one man. History alone will judge the substance of his Presidency. The election of President Obama is a symbol. A symbol of how far America has come. How America does not need to be all about slamming an iron fist across the World, that love and hope is not dead, that the Republican Party has not indoctrinated the American public in intolerance, disunity and callous individualism.

When it was all over, Obama was stood with his wife and children, the new occupants of the White house, smiling gleefully at the future, after a speech that should be carved into stone, it pained me to see them walk off without turning to George Bush and say “You do not have to say anything unless you wish to do so, whatever you do say will be used as evidence in court”….. maybe one day.

Still, Did the BBC really need to tell me what roads in Washington were closed today? My car barely gets me to Tesco in Wigston.

The people I like

Every single person I meet, I judge within the first ten minutes of meeting. When I first meet a person, I do not care for their history, or how they live. I have very specific preferences when it comes to “friends” or “relationships”.

Firstly, I have a deep desire to be around people who have indelibly bubbly personalities, who always smile, giggle at times when a giggle isn’t even necessary, bouncy happy people. Loquacious people who believe in every word they say with a passion. People whose very presence makes me smile, even if they’re asleep. Playful people. Childish immature people. People who you cannot help but smile when you think about. People who have “blonde” moments, that make me say “aww”.

Along with the ability to make me smile at any time of day, I cannot surround myself with those who do not have a friendly, sympathetic and compassionate view of humanity. Those who bang on about how much money they make, and how much of a “scum” the man living on the street is, are people who I want nothing to do with. I like people to understand the plight of others, and sympathise. People who see that the World is not simply full of people desperate for profit and that there are those who get left behind, who should be treated not with a apathetic “get a fucking job” attitude, but as human beings, not a broken cog in a money making machine.

I’m drawn to people who have the desire to be different. Who aren’t angry at the World, but who see the World as a playground. Who want to experience the excitement before their time is up. Who do not get hung up on things that do not matter: profit. These people are like a star that I feel obliged to follow, because it’s how I want to be, but do not have the balls to treat life how it should be treated. The fast living people who want to see and experience everything, who want to sleep in their cars and the next day drive to a new place, make a new group of friends, and never stop the chase for an oddly chaotic inner serenity.

Anybody who uses the word “Paki” to describe anyone with a slightly darker skin complexion, and then complains that “it’s political correctness gone mad” when they’re rightfully called ignorant little racists, should be shot. I like people to be accepting, tolerant, and understanding. Who see both sides of the argument, who don’t think Britain is some sort of victim. I like intelligence.

The people for Jamie.

Confusion strikes

ARGH! I’m slowly going crazy!

Around about 2005 I had a horrible feeling of worthlessness. I hated my work, I hated wasting my days doing nothing. I became trapped in a routine I did not want. Luckily for me, I changed it. And again, became supremely happy.

I’m certainly not the sensitive type. I don’t take things to heart. I can deal with being criticised or insulted, it’s nothing that bothers me. I have a pretty loose sense of humour, and so can find the funny side of pretty much anything. It’s a defence mechanism, that shields me from my inner sensitive side.

Over the past few weeks i’ve been falling victim to my own inner madness. It’s not like it was in 2005, I don’t have the “worthless” feeling, because now, I almost want to be worthless when it comes to the rest of the World. I want to be worth something to myself, and i’ve slowly realised that when i’m working 9-5 doing the same shit every day, I’m ignoring myself. The cries of “get out!” from my mind are put to one side for the benefit of a monthly pay slip. I’ve got over that, and so my worthless feeling no longer exists. And in that sense, i’m pretty fucking happy. I certainly don’t dislike myself, in fact, quite the opposite. I love me!

This time though, I have a horrible sense of confusion that’s threatening to engulf every part of my life. And there is no way to shake it. I’m confused about work. I’m confused about my own intelligence. I’m confused about relationships and what I want. I’m confused about what is expected of me. I’m confused about why i’m sticking things out when all it’s doing is making me more unhappy. I’m confused when people say something overly positive about me, whether or not they really mean it. I’m confused as to why I feel both happy, and miserable at the same time. I’m confused about what I want out of life. I’m confused about who’s trustworthy and who’s just playing with me. I’m confused about pretty much everything, and it’s slowly driving me mad.

I can’t shake it. It keeps me awake, I spend my spare time trying to rationalise my confusion. It’s difficult to understand myself and so this is why I blog it, to try to make better sense of my current confusion. I find it impossible to just “talk” to anyone about how I feel. I get uncomfortable. I prefer to blog how I feel. But even then, I get confused and start again.

ARGH!!

The old oak tree

“The only thing that can save the world is the reclaiming of the awareness of the world. “ - Allen Ginsberg

An old, forlorn, hunched over, gigantic oak tree stands in the middle of a field void of any interest from passers by, as they stand glaring in amazement at the speed boats on the adjoining lake twenty yards in front of the tree. It screams “admire me” and nothing but the birds who make it their home took notice.
I always felt sorry for the tree.
I actually feel sorry for the lake. It isn’t the lake that people notice. It’s the man made machinery on that lake. And yet, the beauty lies in the lake itself.

As a child, i’d be taken to this lake for picnics. We’d sit and we’d eat, we’d talk and we’d laugh. We’d play games and we’d run wild for a brief time. We’d be told “cherish this, these are the best days of your life” and we’d ignore it as if the adults just like to use phrases like that for the sake of language.

The only people who tended to take notice of the old oak tree, were the children. They had very little interest in the incredible feats of engineering currently speeding across the Water. Their interest, was in that tree, that naturally made tree, that ragged old tree. The fascination was beautiful in itself. When the childish imagination creates a World out of that single tree, you could offer the child a million Aston Martin’s and he’d ignore you.

The children would run around it, they would use it as a goal post, they’d hide behind it, they’d spend endless hours deciding between them which way would be the easiest to climb it. All the while, completely ignoring the speed boats, or the beautiful new cars driving into the car park that the adults all but masturbated furiously over.
To those children, that tree was a source of the most beautiful and pure entertainment.

The tree always looked different and as a child, I never understood why. The seasons would change it’s beauty but my awe in it’s beauty innocently remained nonetheless. One day it’d be covered in green leaves, like it had a full head of hair, shaking wildly in the breeze. Next time it’d have bright red leaves, as if flames gripped the branches tightly. Next time, the tree would be bare but the ground underneath would be covered in the same red leaves, i’d want to run through it, kicking them. It didn’t matter what time of year it was, the tree provided entertainment to a child that the material World just couldn’t match up to.

My point is, that no matter how advanced human technology gets, no matter how entwined in materialism the human mind becomes, no man made entity could ever match the simplistic beauty found in the freedom of the natural. We all watch if a deer runs across an open field. We all want to sit on a beach, with the powerful rolling of the ocean in front of us. We all want snow to fall on Christmas day. And yet, we take this natural habitat, unowned by any private company, for granted. There is no time to admire nature. We have to get to work. There is no time to admire the beautiful, or use our adult imaginations to create an entire World out of a single old forlorn hunched over gigantic oak tree. The child is more in touch with the Planet. I want to reclaim this amazement at the simplistic, as an adult.

The British Culture War

The bandwagon at the moment seems to be, quite arrogantly and horribly misinformed, a version of…….
“Britishness doesn’t exist any more! It’s been destroyed by the immigrants and New Labour!”
About a year ago, I probably would have agreed, but i’ve got older, smarter, and above all, less cretinous.

Nationalism:
I wonder if all of those who claim our ‘culture’ is dying could name, without searching on google, a great British Artist? A great British musician from the classical era? A great British commander from the War days? The date that India gained independence from the British Empire? The last ten Prime Ministers? The last four Monarchs? A great British war poet? The date that England became Church of England? A great battle in WWII that finally pushed the Germans back? I doubt it. Because “culture” in Britain no longer means any of that, “Culture” means getting pissed every Friday night.

Britishness to me:
To me, now, Britishness is changing every day. Which is a great thing. It moves with the times. We don’t allow religion to mix with our Politics. Belief isn’t “If you’re not Christian, you’re not welcome” in our Country. Although, this gives rise to a new hypocritical sense of Nationalism that is becoming an increasingly dangerous thing.
What you may find Britishness inside, I may see it differently, and so Britishness can never be a static, universal truth. I like it like that.

Places like Iran, stick to outdated religious principles. Unwilling to change with the times. The great thing about Britain is that the majority of us (I accept some remain ignorant) are happy to move with the times, to accept the different cultures that have contributed such a valuable amount to our society, and our economy.
We aren’t the culture of top hats and “how do you do”.
We aren’t the tea drinking nation.
We aren’t any other stereotypical view of Britain. We’re a huge cultural mixture. Who (regardless of how the media like to hype the situation) understanding of others beliefs and we’re willing to talk, relate to and befriend people regardless of their beliefs and opinions.
We’re White, we’re Black, we’re Asian, we’re straight, we’re gay, we’re men, we’re women and it has absolutely no affect on our every day life.
Britishness is not static, it isn’t like a religious belief that cannot be changed. Britishness updates every single second. It’s a constantly working mechanism that, if embraced, can cope with all the pressures of multiculturalist England today.

It would appear that the top hat wearing, tea drinking, small corner shop family run business owning,”cheery-o chap” speaking British ways have long since died. It isn’t because of immigration and it has very little, if nothing to do with New Labour. It has to do with the changing nature of humanity.
- You and I both don’t wear tradition British Clothing, because American jeans like Levi, and hoodies sporting “Greenday” logos are the fashion now.
- I don’t want to wear a top hat and say “Good day to you madam”.

New Labour didn’t open the gates. Conservative Open Market policies did that. It doesn’t take a genius to work out that when a rich prosperous country opens it’s gates to foreign investment, people are going to start to move country. If you want a wide variety of choice with regard to the products you buy, expect large numbers of immigrants offering that choice. You can’t have it both ways. PLEASE try and understand this, for the sake of intelligent thought.

The small family run tradition British businesses, the grocers, the small video rental shops, struggle to exist in a place where Tesco and John Lewis rule the waves. You can blame big business for this.

For the people who insist that “Britishness doesn’t exist”, I’d like to know what drastic changes have occured in your every day life, that have made you a little less British and a little more Polish, or Pakistani, or Indian? And then, go back into your ignorant minds and count all the aspects of your life that are actually American influenced.

And then of course, there are those who insist that England has gone “PC mad”.

Political Correctness:
Certain phrases that have found their way into our language in order to appear more “understanding”, for example if I were to suggest that because i’m losing my hair, in order to reduce the risk of offending me, instead of saying i’m balding, i’d prefer you used the term follicle regression, would indeed, take the piss.
If half the dirty old men in on the planet decided that they hate that term, and prefer the term “gender enthusiastic geriatric”, we’d laugh at them, because it’s ridiculous.

To me, that’s what political correctness is. Taking something that wasn’t offensive in the first place, and claiming it was TOO offensive.
Mankind, suddenly becomes Human Kind.
Housewife suddenly becomes homemaker.

When you use the term “paki” to describe anyone who happens to have an Asian complexion, you aren’t exercising a form of anti-policial correctness, you’re exercising ignorance, cuntishness, and above all, you’re starting to prove the case for the rest of the World hating us.
When you try to justify such ignorance as “well, it’s just like calling me a brit!!”, you have delved beyond the realms of ignorance, and infact, deserve to be shot.

When you use any kind of intended abuse, to personally attack someone, you cannot hide behind “omg, this country is so fucking politically correct!!” or “I’m just being honest!!” in a lame attempt to justify your ridiculous point of view…….. You cannot defend yourself.

When one Muslim woman complains that a British Flag offends her. That is one Muslim woman. It isn’t Islam on the whole. It’s like saying Ian Huntley is a white British man, so therefore all white British men must be paedophile child killers. If you then accuse all Muslims of being anti-British, then those same Muslims have a right to come up to you and express the view, through the media, across the World, that all British Women like to kill children and bury them on the Moors, because Myra Hindley did. I very much doubt you’d be banging on about their right to be politically incorrect then, you’d be disgusted.

People seem to think that “free speech” entitles you to be a cunt, and then not have to deal with the consequences. Free speech means you can say what you want, but you must deal with the problems inevitably faced by your ignorance. Don’t back away from it. And don’t hide behind a horrible cliche like “politically correct”. Freedom of Speech has consequences. You do indeed have the freedom to say whatever you want to say, there is nothing stopping you. But have to guts to deal with the subsequent problems you have caused.

Political Correctness hasn’t got “out of hand”, it isn’t worse than it’s ever been. Ignorance is on the rise. This new breed of arrogant Nationalism is on the rise. Too many people think they can be as offensive as they like and they’ll somehow gain support and not have to explain themselves deeper, not have to give it any intelligent thought, if they just use “I hate political correctness!” to justify their own unjustifiable prejudices. I don’t know if it’s a post-Empire thing, but it seems a high number of Brits have decided that Britain is the God of all Countries.

There is an odd thing happening. The British public seem to be paying an unusual amount of time to the Media, and so jumping on the bandwagon portrayed at the time.
The Sun – “Gordon Brown is wonderful”
The public – “YEAH! GO GORDON!!!”
The Sun – “Actually he’s a bit shit”
The public – “Yeah BOOO GORDON!”
It takes away any individual thought. I would like to see more people forming their own opinions, understanding that the media is controlled, they are private enterprises, and so, full of bias. I would like people to, instead of jumping to an illogical conclusion, research both sides of an argument and then come to a well rounded, well thought out opinion. It may agree with your initial jumped-to conclusion, it may change your mind completely, like the whole “Britishness” debate has for me. But it’s the only credible way you will answer a deep question such as the one surrounding the British Culture War.

It is people who think in this regressive, nazi-esque way, who destroy the country, no one else.