A different kind of call to action
To those
saying we should give Trump and May et al a chance, I suggest not only caution
but action.
We should
not give leaders like May or Trump or Merkel, Tusk or Junkers, Putin or Erdogan
"a chance" because they must be held responsible and answerable for
their actions and we must keep them in check. They are their countries' leaders
because, through democratic process rather than necessarily voting them in,
their people put them there: it is our responsibility as
citizens, national and global, to hold them to account as much as their
responsibility as leaders. And when what they say leads to hatred and
violence, fear and death then they must be stopped!
In a
world which champions digitisation and information-overload we succumb to
the simplification of ideas and ideology without considering the greater good.
And it works for those who wish to maintain a hierarchy of corruption in their
view of a status quo.
Greed
begets greed and power begets power because those who want it will do anything
to have it.
Those who
lead us make decisions which affect us all, not just those who agree.
Those who
claim to unite us divide us.
Those who
claim to protect us put us in the most danger.
Those who
claim to fight for us fight for themselves.
Those who
disagree with us now hate us and apparently we are supposed to hate them.
Regardless
of what you think or feel you are ignorant to others because those who don't
feel the same think you don't have the ability to read and research and
understand what they do.
Truth is
in the eye of the beholder, or the mouth of the most vociferous, not in the
dissembling of fact.
Truth is
a lie to those for whom it has no benefit.
Fact is
not truth, yet opinion has become fact and is seen as better than truth.
Fact is
"alternative".
Post
truth is fact.
We have
so much information, processed and presented in so many ways we have simply
created a distillation method that regurgitates fact in the way we want to see
it because it fits our mindset.
No, we
will not all see eye to eye, we will not agree on everything. But that doesn't
mean we should stop trying. Neither does it mean that you must
automatically hate what you don't like. Do that and you accept division and
fear and violence, prejudice and intolerance. That helps absolutely no one.
So contact
your MPs and your local councillors with your concerns, join marches, sign
petitions, join political parties and make your feelings and your voice
heard through the democratic, diplomatic means we have at our disposal; not
just by spouting on social media and getting angry because you don't like what
someone just said. Present your argument, your case, your point of view with
passion, by all means, but do it with a true understanding, supporting
information and a desire for change and collaboration; not a bombardment of
heavy handed insults and abuse.
The
moment you just sit back and let it happen you capitulate and history has
proven time and time again that it is beyond foolish to do so.
But,
please, do not succumb to violence. Do not rise to anarchic fits of rage and
rebellion.
But do
not let up on your leaders. Their mandate is for their people, not just some of
them. It will never please everyone, but their responsibility is not to the
few.
Make your
revolution passionate and heartfelt but peaceful and kind, open and democratic;
a guide to understanding and benefit not a driven path to danger and
destruction. Show your face and be proud of what you believe in. Be prepared to
stand firm and calm in the face of insults and abuse.
MY - 2017
