I wasn't going to write today, thinking the day wasn't going that bad, until my news feed started beeping at me. How I wished I hadn't looked. To be truthful I was trying to stick my head in the sand with today's white paper over the infamous Brexit. But no the bad keeps coming. Apparently not happy with directly upsetting Iran, Australia and Mexico, not to mention all the barred countries, wasn't enough upset for the week. No in America they have just overruled the law to prohibit the mentally unstable from carrying and buying guns.
Now anyone who knows me knows I hate guns with a vengeance. Apart from the odd air rifle at the fair I won't go near them. I am lucky the UK doesn't have the right to bare arms unless you are a farmer or similar, and that's the way it should be. Guns are a weapon of deadly intent and I see little need for them in our society, as you are hardly going to run into a polar bear in the middle of the street, or meet a rogue lion in your living room. It's one of the main reasons I'm often ill at ease in America, the knowledge that some people are always carrying a weapon. Unless you live in the mountains or Alaska there is no need for anyone other than farmers, rangers and police to be carrying.
I'm sorry but are you wanting to get shot, letting everyone and anyone carry a life ending weapon? This is not the 1890s and you are not in the wild west anymore! Why am I bothered you ask? Well a few reasons the first is i have my husbands family and some friends who live out there and their safety is always my concern. Secondly I actually like parts of America and would like to see more even study out there. But the main reason is these weapons become easily obtainable they have a tendency to pop up anywhere, even in other countries.
In all seriousness is this the right path to be following, opening up less stable people's access to guns, when society as a majority would like to see regulations tightened on them. And before anyone says you have never shot a gun you don't know what it feels like. Yes I have , my great uncle had a remote farm in England a bit to near a prison for safety. We were all taught how to fire both a rifle and shotgun, and in my case a pistol. We were all taught the severity of it all and the dangers, like the wrong ammunition in the wrong gun. Most of all we were taught it was the last resort action to fire on another. Even then I practised enough to be able to wound without taking life just causing massive pain. That said I can do the same with a knife and a bow and arrow. But I choose not to have these weapons on me, in my house or anywhere else. I leave it to the people who need to do it. People who are trained to deal with psychology of it all.
Basically what has happened now has challenged the safety of every man woman and child, plus any animals on that continent. Because it only takes one unstable person in a bad mood, with a couple of semi automatic weapons and another school or mall could become a place of the next massacre. Not to mention it puts any dignitaries in further danger, just look at past history, 4 sitting presidents shot dead, 2 further injured, and that's just presidents. Celebrities, senators even popes have either died or been injured by guns. Guns have no place in domestic life of the 21st century and certainly no place in the hands of those less stable than the norm.
I breath a sigh of relief that the UK doesn't seem to want to follow this path, for a change. But this law will have a ripple effect and one I really don't want to read or hear in tomorrow's news. We are meant to have evolved beyond caveman mentality, but I am now convinced of this less and less.
Thursday, 2 February 2017
Did we create this monster
To start let me say the is a big difference between celebrity and say star or artist. Keep this in mind when you read as a star or artist is someone who has studied and refined a talent or skill over many years of hard work and often blood sweat and tears. A celebrity is some one who seeks attention for attentions sake and to make an easy dollar or pound.
With that in mind I have been thinking. Is a lot of the social mess we are all in based purely from our almost social addiction of celebrity. Somewhere in the last twenty years we have moved our appetite from star gossip to celebrity overload. Gone is our desire to aspire to the lofty airs of a Hollywood star, and replaced with the instant gratification of the reality. I personally hate reality TV. I find it demeaning and often too graphically explicit to be called entertainment. I have no desire to watch some ones sex tape or want to torture my body into a caricature of ridiculous proportions. Give me old school glamour and the air of mystery any day.
But how much of this demand of instant wanton greed is what has fuelled our social decisions. Sure artists and politics have over lapped over the last decade, both successfully and sometimes less so. In many cases it's because a person has studied society and how to manipulate speech to varying levels of service to the public. But also they also know how to inspire and lift spirits and that's why they are not so much a danger as a logical progression.
However a celebrity who is more famed for getting caught in sexuality explicit antics, or drunken brawls is nothing to aspire to. Instead it should in common decency be condoned and shunned. However it has become the stable filler of tabloids and glossy magazines alike. What's worse is it has become a job many desire as it is shown as an easy way to accumulate wealth and cultural status. Life has become more instagram and less intelligence.
Sure if it's your desire to pickle your liver and let people see enough of your anatomy that they could become your gynaecologist, so be it, but don't consider it to be a talent worthy of mass wealthy and status. Yet that is how our youth and not so young are viewing it.
Now if that is how you set your moral compass by what standards are you judging others. More importantly how are you choosing who has the conscious to represent yourself in major decisions. Or are you even bothering. The media itself is as much to blame by guiding us down a false path, by putting high ranking officials in the same glossy magazine as some one whose main claim to fame is whose is her babies daddy. It's crazy, it's like the who moral guidelines got shredded and replaced by whose who of fashion and social notoriety.
So I am left asking the question, if will fill our minds with utter rubbish on a daily basis do we leave ourselves enough intelligence to question things that really matter before its too late?
With that in mind I have been thinking. Is a lot of the social mess we are all in based purely from our almost social addiction of celebrity. Somewhere in the last twenty years we have moved our appetite from star gossip to celebrity overload. Gone is our desire to aspire to the lofty airs of a Hollywood star, and replaced with the instant gratification of the reality. I personally hate reality TV. I find it demeaning and often too graphically explicit to be called entertainment. I have no desire to watch some ones sex tape or want to torture my body into a caricature of ridiculous proportions. Give me old school glamour and the air of mystery any day.
But how much of this demand of instant wanton greed is what has fuelled our social decisions. Sure artists and politics have over lapped over the last decade, both successfully and sometimes less so. In many cases it's because a person has studied society and how to manipulate speech to varying levels of service to the public. But also they also know how to inspire and lift spirits and that's why they are not so much a danger as a logical progression.
However a celebrity who is more famed for getting caught in sexuality explicit antics, or drunken brawls is nothing to aspire to. Instead it should in common decency be condoned and shunned. However it has become the stable filler of tabloids and glossy magazines alike. What's worse is it has become a job many desire as it is shown as an easy way to accumulate wealth and cultural status. Life has become more instagram and less intelligence.
Sure if it's your desire to pickle your liver and let people see enough of your anatomy that they could become your gynaecologist, so be it, but don't consider it to be a talent worthy of mass wealthy and status. Yet that is how our youth and not so young are viewing it.
Now if that is how you set your moral compass by what standards are you judging others. More importantly how are you choosing who has the conscious to represent yourself in major decisions. Or are you even bothering. The media itself is as much to blame by guiding us down a false path, by putting high ranking officials in the same glossy magazine as some one whose main claim to fame is whose is her babies daddy. It's crazy, it's like the who moral guidelines got shredded and replaced by whose who of fashion and social notoriety.
So I am left asking the question, if will fill our minds with utter rubbish on a daily basis do we leave ourselves enough intelligence to question things that really matter before its too late?
Wednesday, 1 February 2017
The road less traveled
So Britain starts along the path of Brexit, and for or against it our future now is held in the palm of our so called government. My view of for or against has little meaning at the present as the bigger question is can our leader actually be trusted with such a responsibly. In current light I am not so sure she is the person for the job. Not that I trust the opposition any more. The problem and questions I am left asking are should such a decision even be on the table in such a political climate and what can we do to ensure our rights and needs are protected?
My fear is in current political light and with the rumblings of civil unrest, parliament here in the UK has no place in making such decisions. Especially as they won't clear up the mess from their outing last week, but instead dig their heels in and say tough that's what's going to happen, regardless of the fact nearly two million people so far , would rather put our leaders head on a spike than continue with her constant path.
Now I am not advocating violence, quite the opposite, but I do wish to remind our government of just how fragile our social history is. We have had a civil war that took the head of our monarch, we have had attempts on our parliament that are now a festival in the year, we have forced our monarchy to cut ties with Europe and change their house name in the last 100 years. We the public are quite intolerant of our governing bodies getting drunk on power. In fact in relation to social history we have been quite well behaved in the last 60 years so a social revolt is actually statistically overdue. With all this in mind , our so called leader is continuing on a very blinkered path. She has chosen to ignore her female predecessor came a cropper to her own party after 3 terms for doing just the same thing, and this time this leader hasn't even managed a year.
In fact the only thing holding her onto her fragile leadership is probably the great cracks of opinion in the main opposition. But the moment those fractures are plastered over, then there is a chance of a vote of no confidence.
Personally the best way forward I can think of is one we the public like to avoid. Unlike the duel party rule in the last decade we were subjected to, we need a full collation government like we had in world war two. We had a strong leader in the form of Churchill who apart from hands on war experience, had a tendency to change party as the mood took him, having actively been both liberal and tory. He was called by our monarch to make a government that would best serve the country from across all the parties. That's what we need now, a government that will best serve the whole country, stuff political persuasion. It's not an easy call and it's hard to find a good leader who can do such a job, I will be the first to say we as a country got lucky with Churchill last time. But surely somewhere rattling around the houses of Westminster there has to be someone who can focus less on personal political agenda and more on the actual need for calm and commonsense.
Sure it is a rocky path to ask the country to walk, and the tracks have become muddy from years of non use. But just because it's not the common choice doesn't make it the right choice. It a path I would much rather walk that resort to the violent methods of the past, Its clean and democratic, mature and gives a voice to all. Maybe it's because no one has been brave enough to call the current situation what it is that the world is at war, that no one wants to mention this way, but maybe we the public should start. Remember Vietnam was never classified as a war but a police action, but I'm sure very man who served there would say otherwise. And war times call for doing the unusual for the best of the country so may be it's time to walk this less travelled path.
My fear is in current political light and with the rumblings of civil unrest, parliament here in the UK has no place in making such decisions. Especially as they won't clear up the mess from their outing last week, but instead dig their heels in and say tough that's what's going to happen, regardless of the fact nearly two million people so far , would rather put our leaders head on a spike than continue with her constant path.
Now I am not advocating violence, quite the opposite, but I do wish to remind our government of just how fragile our social history is. We have had a civil war that took the head of our monarch, we have had attempts on our parliament that are now a festival in the year, we have forced our monarchy to cut ties with Europe and change their house name in the last 100 years. We the public are quite intolerant of our governing bodies getting drunk on power. In fact in relation to social history we have been quite well behaved in the last 60 years so a social revolt is actually statistically overdue. With all this in mind , our so called leader is continuing on a very blinkered path. She has chosen to ignore her female predecessor came a cropper to her own party after 3 terms for doing just the same thing, and this time this leader hasn't even managed a year.
In fact the only thing holding her onto her fragile leadership is probably the great cracks of opinion in the main opposition. But the moment those fractures are plastered over, then there is a chance of a vote of no confidence.
Personally the best way forward I can think of is one we the public like to avoid. Unlike the duel party rule in the last decade we were subjected to, we need a full collation government like we had in world war two. We had a strong leader in the form of Churchill who apart from hands on war experience, had a tendency to change party as the mood took him, having actively been both liberal and tory. He was called by our monarch to make a government that would best serve the country from across all the parties. That's what we need now, a government that will best serve the whole country, stuff political persuasion. It's not an easy call and it's hard to find a good leader who can do such a job, I will be the first to say we as a country got lucky with Churchill last time. But surely somewhere rattling around the houses of Westminster there has to be someone who can focus less on personal political agenda and more on the actual need for calm and commonsense.
Sure it is a rocky path to ask the country to walk, and the tracks have become muddy from years of non use. But just because it's not the common choice doesn't make it the right choice. It a path I would much rather walk that resort to the violent methods of the past, Its clean and democratic, mature and gives a voice to all. Maybe it's because no one has been brave enough to call the current situation what it is that the world is at war, that no one wants to mention this way, but maybe we the public should start. Remember Vietnam was never classified as a war but a police action, but I'm sure very man who served there would say otherwise. And war times call for doing the unusual for the best of the country so may be it's time to walk this less travelled path.
Tuesday, 31 January 2017
Are they starting to listen
Well it was a close one, but finally on the 20th of February the uk parliament will discuss the validity of the state visit of the American leader. The petition and protests are working.. slowly.
Granted it's a small victory in the scheme of things, especially considering the said same leader has sacked his own attorney general for disagreeing with him. And now the whole of Europe is concerned that he is using his relationship between uk and American to destroy the European Union, not that it needs much help to self destruct. But it's proof there are people in our government prepared to listen to the people and act on it.
I have to say at this moment in time I am very proud of the British public by the way as a mass they have held themselves. At the moment tempers and emotions are high and to be honest despite our reputation we british can blow up into more riotous behaviour, the poll tax, police shooting and the November March all come to mind. But no since all this kicked off we seem to be curtailing our tempers to bend the law back into serving us.
I know that people are scared, and that's probably the most dangerous of emotions any society needs on a mass scale. But to be honest any person in power worldwide has just as much reason to be scared, because of simple maths. For big as any government or army is there is always more population. Think about it, governments have been reducing their numbers to appease the budgets which means for every MP in the UK there are hundreds of people. The same for every other country. So just by sheer numbers it is possible to overthrow any crazy decision. Especially as there seems to be plenty of legally qualified people offering their help and surprisingly judges and politicians who are all prepared to risk their job security to defend the rights of the public.
I have to be honest, when I started my own campaign of standing up for justice I was expecting it to be a bit more physically aggressive. That's one of the reasons I have not attended the marches in person as I already have one broken leg that's enough. But the strength and decorum that the masses have held their ground is impressive. And it's that action than means we can all rise above the tantrums of those so called leaders. By having the moral high ground we are making them listen, abet slowly.
We are only 11 days into this dictators reign, but if we chip away slowly at the ears of those who can stop this we will be rid of him. I'm beginning to hope it may be before the 100 day mark.
We are the people, we are society every one if us. We know what is right.
Granted it's a small victory in the scheme of things, especially considering the said same leader has sacked his own attorney general for disagreeing with him. And now the whole of Europe is concerned that he is using his relationship between uk and American to destroy the European Union, not that it needs much help to self destruct. But it's proof there are people in our government prepared to listen to the people and act on it.
I have to say at this moment in time I am very proud of the British public by the way as a mass they have held themselves. At the moment tempers and emotions are high and to be honest despite our reputation we british can blow up into more riotous behaviour, the poll tax, police shooting and the November March all come to mind. But no since all this kicked off we seem to be curtailing our tempers to bend the law back into serving us.
I know that people are scared, and that's probably the most dangerous of emotions any society needs on a mass scale. But to be honest any person in power worldwide has just as much reason to be scared, because of simple maths. For big as any government or army is there is always more population. Think about it, governments have been reducing their numbers to appease the budgets which means for every MP in the UK there are hundreds of people. The same for every other country. So just by sheer numbers it is possible to overthrow any crazy decision. Especially as there seems to be plenty of legally qualified people offering their help and surprisingly judges and politicians who are all prepared to risk their job security to defend the rights of the public.
I have to be honest, when I started my own campaign of standing up for justice I was expecting it to be a bit more physically aggressive. That's one of the reasons I have not attended the marches in person as I already have one broken leg that's enough. But the strength and decorum that the masses have held their ground is impressive. And it's that action than means we can all rise above the tantrums of those so called leaders. By having the moral high ground we are making them listen, abet slowly.
We are only 11 days into this dictators reign, but if we chip away slowly at the ears of those who can stop this we will be rid of him. I'm beginning to hope it may be before the 100 day mark.
We are the people, we are society every one if us. We know what is right.
Monday, 30 January 2017
No to the full monty
Ok the title may be misleading, but as anyone who followers my twitter account may have guessed I am absolutely seething at the event in the last few days. Not because they concern my personal well being, at the moment, but they are opening the doors for all other nations to follow. How can a country allow people from seven nations be barred from their country, when there is no evidence of direct terrorism, when other nations have a running total of murders of said nation, yet are allowed to rely move country. Doesn't sound like a scare tactic, its the start of fascism.
So what does my wonderful countries leader do to show that this is unacceptable, trade embargo or cease diplomatic relations? Hell no why not pop over to the country, have coffee and offer a state invitation to said leader, which we the public will pay for. And of course he accepts wanting the "full monty" of pomp and ritual. All at British tax payers expense no less. Now if that was the previous leaders of other nations acting such way they would have found the gates to our queen and parliament well and truly closed, but because it's America, our special friends.
Well I'm sorry but no way, it's not one law for one countries behaviour and another for another. Apart from the fact that the so called Muslim ban may well have broken it's own countries constitution, it's inhumane and breeches UN directives amongst many more. Not to mention that passing this on Holocaustday was just plain stupid as said same nation also turned away hundreds if not more of Jews during world war 2 thus sending them to their deaths, and now guess what, they are doing it again.
Now if the wonderful British prime minister continues down the path of warmly welcoming said leader to the UK on an all expenses paid ego boost, she is not only allowing this behaviour, she is signing the whole UK up for being tarnished with the same morals. Well I'm sorry but I am not going to lay down quietly and get labelled like that. Because history proves it starts with one nation, or one religion, then slowly filters out and anyone of minority such as disability, or wrong religion or politics, ends up physically wearing that label or having it tattooed one their arm, and so it spirals. So as a nation it is our duty to prevent our leadership to continue down this path.
As there are protests on one side of the Atlantic so there should be here. There is a petition currently going round to called for the invitation to be revoked, sign it. Also there is a direct open letter going round that can be signed. Remember this action has already prevented a knight of the realm Sir Mo Farrah from returning to his family and training as they are in Oregon, and an Oscar nominated director from attending the Oscars to see if he has won. But greater than that it has removed the hope of families being reunited after persecution, and they have now lost every penny they saved being rejected at the gates, after already gaining visa and having been vetted. A thirty second signature by comparison is nothing. If you don't mind you hard earned tax money being wasted on security of the man who caused this pain, on feeding him food that most people in the UK would dream of apart from Christmas, and so on, then feel free to ignore. But remember in times of turmoil indifference easily becomes the keystone for other greater evils. If people like that want the full monty, go ahead and pay for it themselves, don't expect the little people to just to boost your misplaced ego and don't expect me to rubber stamp you actions by bully tactics. As far as I am concerned you can take your full monty and stick it.
So what does my wonderful countries leader do to show that this is unacceptable, trade embargo or cease diplomatic relations? Hell no why not pop over to the country, have coffee and offer a state invitation to said leader, which we the public will pay for. And of course he accepts wanting the "full monty" of pomp and ritual. All at British tax payers expense no less. Now if that was the previous leaders of other nations acting such way they would have found the gates to our queen and parliament well and truly closed, but because it's America, our special friends.
Well I'm sorry but no way, it's not one law for one countries behaviour and another for another. Apart from the fact that the so called Muslim ban may well have broken it's own countries constitution, it's inhumane and breeches UN directives amongst many more. Not to mention that passing this on Holocaustday was just plain stupid as said same nation also turned away hundreds if not more of Jews during world war 2 thus sending them to their deaths, and now guess what, they are doing it again.
Now if the wonderful British prime minister continues down the path of warmly welcoming said leader to the UK on an all expenses paid ego boost, she is not only allowing this behaviour, she is signing the whole UK up for being tarnished with the same morals. Well I'm sorry but I am not going to lay down quietly and get labelled like that. Because history proves it starts with one nation, or one religion, then slowly filters out and anyone of minority such as disability, or wrong religion or politics, ends up physically wearing that label or having it tattooed one their arm, and so it spirals. So as a nation it is our duty to prevent our leadership to continue down this path.
As there are protests on one side of the Atlantic so there should be here. There is a petition currently going round to called for the invitation to be revoked, sign it. Also there is a direct open letter going round that can be signed. Remember this action has already prevented a knight of the realm Sir Mo Farrah from returning to his family and training as they are in Oregon, and an Oscar nominated director from attending the Oscars to see if he has won. But greater than that it has removed the hope of families being reunited after persecution, and they have now lost every penny they saved being rejected at the gates, after already gaining visa and having been vetted. A thirty second signature by comparison is nothing. If you don't mind you hard earned tax money being wasted on security of the man who caused this pain, on feeding him food that most people in the UK would dream of apart from Christmas, and so on, then feel free to ignore. But remember in times of turmoil indifference easily becomes the keystone for other greater evils. If people like that want the full monty, go ahead and pay for it themselves, don't expect the little people to just to boost your misplaced ego and don't expect me to rubber stamp you actions by bully tactics. As far as I am concerned you can take your full monty and stick it.
Sunday, 29 January 2017
Have we learnt nothing
The plaque at the base of the Statue of Liberty reads: "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!" These lines are from the poem "The New Colossus," written by Emma Lazarus in 1883
For those that don't know i am not American, yet I am married to one. I was until November last year considering taking duel citizenship, mealy to ease some situations when travelling to and from the USA for family matters. My husband was considering the same. However now I am looking on in horror as the entire free world of the west slowly disintegrates from the actions of one person. Actually it's not one person, it's the one person in each country who has the power and supposedly responsibilityof each nation on their shoulders. Our leader has now shown her colours and they are that of a judas to her nation.
Britain, more than America even should have learnt the lessons of the last two world wars! But instead we are too caught up in everyone else's business to stand up for what is right. So as a human being, I'm going to stand up, alone I may be but so be it. I can not in true counciousness be silent any longer.
I am a churchill by birth, for those who don't know their history in detail, I am going to highlight a few points. Most Churchill's are directly related to the Duke of Marlborough, a key figure in military history, and his wife a shrewd lady at court how had the ear of the Queen and used it. Over the years everyone has learnt the surname thanks to one of his more recent relatives, a man who did more for Britain throughout two wold wars than any other man. Personally I'm not from that branch directly, however the original grit of our founder is still there, along withthe delightful black dog, but hey. My family never actuallymade it onto the battlefields of war, not through want of trying though. Every time they enlisted they were hijacked for other duties, some of which I can't talk about as we couldn't discuss it at home. However my grandmother, another churchill by marriage like the original, was a key player in the original kinder transport of world war two. She, along with the person she worked for, spent a large portion of the war, providing every legal loophole to rescue as many young Jewish people out of occupied countries as possible. I never got to meet this amazing women, but I do know even after the war, and for a long time after even when she became bed ridden with cancer, she was still dealing with the paperwork to give that generation of people a chance.
Now I am facing a repeat of what she went through, as she raised her children. We aren't more than two generations long and the situation is being repeated. Sure the religion has changed, but the loss, the destruction of youth, the general persecution by religious identity is the same. The only reason we aren't at war status is because no one has been brave enough to call it. We are still dropping bombs on entire countries. And like the war before other countries are using it to score it's own agenda. Also like the previous war we are persecuting more than one religious group, but other minorities that frighten certain people. Yet they swear it is in the name of a certain religion. Yet they have convientantly forgot that Judaism gave birth to Christianity which gave birth to Islam, so by that logic the son I
Has turned on his father in the past and now on to his own son. By the same logic the very scriptures they claim to uphold, preach of tolerance and love, not of war and murder.
History claims seventy five percent of all wars have been caused by religion difference, when in reality one hundred percent of all wars have been caused by fear bred intolerance, and most of greed and the need to dominate what frightens us. Rather than educate and embrace difference, to create harmony and choice. Most wars in the last 400 hundred years have been fought by the everyday man and woman on the comand of a few people. A few people who make or break their reputation by basically throwing all their toys out the pram, till one side gives in, and the cost is blood shed on both sides.
War and warlike litigation do not unite a nation to be great, they divide people till they blindly submit to the few dominates will. Yet it's a few of these little people who take these horrendous situations and add some humanity, like the kinder transport, and more famously the famous Schlinder, who sheltered many. It was the little people on Christmas day on the battlefields of world war one, who took the day to share a mural day. It's was the little people who took sandwiches and cigarettesto the POWS as they were releasedfrom those camps, despite being starved themselves.On that not it will be the little people who remind the various governments in the world that we can't go through all this again. It will be the little people who remind us that we should have learnt this lesson the last few times.
So next time you read a piece of news about the next crazy idea, and think have we gone mad, it's that little voice you need to listen to. That little voice is the concious of all those who fell before.
For those that don't know i am not American, yet I am married to one. I was until November last year considering taking duel citizenship, mealy to ease some situations when travelling to and from the USA for family matters. My husband was considering the same. However now I am looking on in horror as the entire free world of the west slowly disintegrates from the actions of one person. Actually it's not one person, it's the one person in each country who has the power and supposedly responsibilityof each nation on their shoulders. Our leader has now shown her colours and they are that of a judas to her nation.
Britain, more than America even should have learnt the lessons of the last two world wars! But instead we are too caught up in everyone else's business to stand up for what is right. So as a human being, I'm going to stand up, alone I may be but so be it. I can not in true counciousness be silent any longer.
I am a churchill by birth, for those who don't know their history in detail, I am going to highlight a few points. Most Churchill's are directly related to the Duke of Marlborough, a key figure in military history, and his wife a shrewd lady at court how had the ear of the Queen and used it. Over the years everyone has learnt the surname thanks to one of his more recent relatives, a man who did more for Britain throughout two wold wars than any other man. Personally I'm not from that branch directly, however the original grit of our founder is still there, along withthe delightful black dog, but hey. My family never actuallymade it onto the battlefields of war, not through want of trying though. Every time they enlisted they were hijacked for other duties, some of which I can't talk about as we couldn't discuss it at home. However my grandmother, another churchill by marriage like the original, was a key player in the original kinder transport of world war two. She, along with the person she worked for, spent a large portion of the war, providing every legal loophole to rescue as many young Jewish people out of occupied countries as possible. I never got to meet this amazing women, but I do know even after the war, and for a long time after even when she became bed ridden with cancer, she was still dealing with the paperwork to give that generation of people a chance.
Now I am facing a repeat of what she went through, as she raised her children. We aren't more than two generations long and the situation is being repeated. Sure the religion has changed, but the loss, the destruction of youth, the general persecution by religious identity is the same. The only reason we aren't at war status is because no one has been brave enough to call it. We are still dropping bombs on entire countries. And like the war before other countries are using it to score it's own agenda. Also like the previous war we are persecuting more than one religious group, but other minorities that frighten certain people. Yet they swear it is in the name of a certain religion. Yet they have convientantly forgot that Judaism gave birth to Christianity which gave birth to Islam, so by that logic the son I
Has turned on his father in the past and now on to his own son. By the same logic the very scriptures they claim to uphold, preach of tolerance and love, not of war and murder.
History claims seventy five percent of all wars have been caused by religion difference, when in reality one hundred percent of all wars have been caused by fear bred intolerance, and most of greed and the need to dominate what frightens us. Rather than educate and embrace difference, to create harmony and choice. Most wars in the last 400 hundred years have been fought by the everyday man and woman on the comand of a few people. A few people who make or break their reputation by basically throwing all their toys out the pram, till one side gives in, and the cost is blood shed on both sides.
War and warlike litigation do not unite a nation to be great, they divide people till they blindly submit to the few dominates will. Yet it's a few of these little people who take these horrendous situations and add some humanity, like the kinder transport, and more famously the famous Schlinder, who sheltered many. It was the little people on Christmas day on the battlefields of world war one, who took the day to share a mural day. It's was the little people who took sandwiches and cigarettesto the POWS as they were releasedfrom those camps, despite being starved themselves.On that not it will be the little people who remind the various governments in the world that we can't go through all this again. It will be the little people who remind us that we should have learnt this lesson the last few times.
So next time you read a piece of news about the next crazy idea, and think have we gone mad, it's that little voice you need to listen to. That little voice is the concious of all those who fell before.
Wednesday, 25 January 2017
Mundane vs Insane
We are all still returning to our daily grind post festive season. Oh does it really takes this long to reach the post Christmas pay day?
All I know is with it brings the dread car mot, a form of car inspection for road worthiness. In my case my poor little car has been in hibernation since October due to the multiple breaks and subsequent cast on my leg since October. Fortunately my cast is now legal to drive an automatic car so it will be me taking it for its health check. Having checked it over I have already concluded a new battery is necessary due to its inactivity, in fact it's going to need a serious jump to get it there, and like it's owner it's leg (wheel) looks like it had a close encounter with a kerb thanks to my husband so I expect that will be another cost. All in all not cheap but like it's owner it's a necessary maintenance to keep it ticking along.
It's one of those mundane jobs every driver faces. Like every adult dreads the tax season, the annual flu jab, the increase in bills and so on. We live with these day to day and we accept them with out question, even if we whine about it. As a rule in the same pattern most of us just allow professionals to act in our best interests without to too many questions. Well most of us do, I have to admit since being chronically I'll to the point work is but a dream, I do check on things more than I'd used to. I now have the time to actually wait at the car service center, and oddly my bills have dropped as unnecessary work isn't even mentioned now. I spent 2 hours on the Internet yesterday only to find out that my mother should have been told to apply for a shortened TV licence as it becomes free on her 75th and now have that corrected. Even going as far as my broken leg I have researched the pros and cons of surgery and questioned by surgeons keeness to operate only to find he has never read my rather extensive medical history, and he agreed then it may make things worse.
In fact what I have found is just because some one has a specialist subject and as a whole knows probably more than most in that field. It doesn't mean they are making the right decision for you. They Base their decisions on general probabilities and often not on individual cases. For that you have to stand up and make you voice heard by asking questions. An hour spent double checking facts can save you money, time or even more like your health. Sure it becomes a mundane to do this but as day to day society is becoming more insane with its power in the minority, best look out for you.
All I know is with it brings the dread car mot, a form of car inspection for road worthiness. In my case my poor little car has been in hibernation since October due to the multiple breaks and subsequent cast on my leg since October. Fortunately my cast is now legal to drive an automatic car so it will be me taking it for its health check. Having checked it over I have already concluded a new battery is necessary due to its inactivity, in fact it's going to need a serious jump to get it there, and like it's owner it's leg (wheel) looks like it had a close encounter with a kerb thanks to my husband so I expect that will be another cost. All in all not cheap but like it's owner it's a necessary maintenance to keep it ticking along.
It's one of those mundane jobs every driver faces. Like every adult dreads the tax season, the annual flu jab, the increase in bills and so on. We live with these day to day and we accept them with out question, even if we whine about it. As a rule in the same pattern most of us just allow professionals to act in our best interests without to too many questions. Well most of us do, I have to admit since being chronically I'll to the point work is but a dream, I do check on things more than I'd used to. I now have the time to actually wait at the car service center, and oddly my bills have dropped as unnecessary work isn't even mentioned now. I spent 2 hours on the Internet yesterday only to find out that my mother should have been told to apply for a shortened TV licence as it becomes free on her 75th and now have that corrected. Even going as far as my broken leg I have researched the pros and cons of surgery and questioned by surgeons keeness to operate only to find he has never read my rather extensive medical history, and he agreed then it may make things worse.
In fact what I have found is just because some one has a specialist subject and as a whole knows probably more than most in that field. It doesn't mean they are making the right decision for you. They Base their decisions on general probabilities and often not on individual cases. For that you have to stand up and make you voice heard by asking questions. An hour spent double checking facts can save you money, time or even more like your health. Sure it becomes a mundane to do this but as day to day society is becoming more insane with its power in the minority, best look out for you.
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