ON EMPOWERMENT

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What’s on today: A post on empowerment, inspired by a Writers’ Island prompt. Have you had a go yet? … PLUS … Links to a few recent posts. Can you resist?
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ON EMPOWERMENT

We all feel the need. You know, to be empowered. As consumers you feel ‘consumer choice’ empowers you, but this may be an illusion. For the more I look at the ‘system’, the more it seems we are serfs, tied to restrictive lifestyles to afford it.
The whole idea of the ‘west’ could hold a similar illusion. For instance, we are ‘empowered’ by freedom. But freedom is a pretty relative kind of thing. You can be who you want to be, as long as you have mortgage, fat pension plan, two cars, designer clothes, two holidays a year and a predilection towards ‘faddish’ purchasing.

Some are empowered by ‘doing’ good causes.

We class such people as ‘selfless’, but it’s kind of nice to be seen as such. Gives a buzz. But isn’t that rather selfish? Indeed, it seems to me that most people who crave empowerment do so because they are under confident in themselves. Empowerment is more a ‘need’ to bolster self-esteem.
Democracy is seen as the route to empowerment, but this is a route that needs warning signs. The ultimate democracy is ‘direct democracy’, with everyone having a vote on every issue.

The problem with this are minorities.

Would we all be fair and allow minorities to exist? Or would the majority destroy the freedom of minorities to exist? And seeing that we all belong to a ‘minority’ of sorts, the end road of democracy could be power for the State, and none for the individual.
For this reason, we enjoy ‘representative democracy’ in the west, where we loan our ‘freedoms’ to politicians. But sometimes we need to remind them that it is only borrowed. Too many see it as ‘empowerment’ for themselves.

© Anthony North, February 2008

FEEL THE POWER

This is the story of McCall,
a man who had no power at all;
He should have been having a ball,
for a lady he did enthrall;
But this wasn’t enough for McCall,
power he wanted, that’s all;
But eventually he was in for a fall,
as his hold on power did stall;
For another challenged him for it all,
and it ended in a brawl;
It was clearly the end for McCall,
as he laid blooded, hurt and small;
It was then, if I recall,
that his lady offered it all;
Following a kiss, McCall stood tall,
and realised that love was real power,
that’s all

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THE MACHINE SOCIETY

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What’s on today: Prepare yourself for the real Terminator … PLUS … Are we going fanatical on Biofuels? What can the gorillas teach us about African politics?
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THE MACHINE SOCIETY

Do you get the feeling that society just isn’t working right any more? I know many do, including me. It almost seems as though we’re just going through the motions, as if we exist in a huge, unfeeling machine.
Well maybe we do. But don’t get me wrong. Some societal ‘machines’ are essential. The armed forces come to mind. I’ve experienced the sense of the ‘machine’ in the forces myself. It is essential for professionalism. But modern society is far more fundamental than this.

Society is supposed to hold a degree of chaos.

And whilst this is quite achieveable in ‘lifestyle’ choices, it has changed in terms of work, travel, education, dealing with authority, and a host more areas.
One easy answer is that society has become much more regulated today. Everything works via the computer, and this little taskmaster is totally unbending. Hence, in order to be as one with the computer, our society becomes machine-like in itself.

But the problem can go deeper than this.

Indeed, it can seep deep into our communal psyche. For instance, society has always been regulated by the view of contemporary intellectuals.
In ancient times of Christendom, society was a reflection of heaven. In the Age of Enlightenment, society became based upon rationality. With the success of science, society became atheist, material and specialized.
Today, we live in the computer age, so it follows that we unconsciously view ourselves as bytes marching to the program’s tune.
Following films such as ‘The Terminator’, we asked ourselves, will the machine take over the world? Well, the reality was maybe far more subtle. I mean, it already has.

© Anthony North, February 2008

COGS

Turning, turning, turning right,
through the day and through the night;
A machine well oiled, it’s purpose true,
task after task, it gets through;
A machine is inanimate, that’s a fact,
from this truth, you can’t detract;
Human beings are of different stock,
they don’t go ‘tick-tock’, like a clock;
So why do we feel like cogs, so rigid,
constantly whirring, making us frigid?
Why do we impose this life so bleak?
Why do we perform, just like a freak?
Why is it we’re afraid to speak?
Big Biz, it seems, has made us meek,
trivia alone, we seem to seek;
Wake up mankind, there’s more to life!
Stop it!
Stop it!
Don’t be so weak.

THE PROBLEM WITH BIOFUELS

A coalition of environmental groups is worried about the growth in the use of biofuels, even suggesting the EU should reject targets of expansion. As biofuels appear to be eco-friendly, is this strange? No, not really …
… read more …

SAVING THE MOUNTAIN GORILLA

Uganda, Rwanda and the Congo have agreed a ten year plan to share information on poachers and mountain gorillas. Hopefully this will be more than simple politics, leading to real co-operation. But a thought …
… read more …

A MODERATE KIND OF GUY

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What’s on today: About time we got rid of fanatics, don’t you think? … PLUS … Is an independent Kosovo a clever idea or not? Oh dear, recession on the way.
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A MODERATE KIND OF GUY

Let’s take feminism. One view on the subject is that women should stay in the home, cook Hubby his dinner, clean the house and leave things in the real world to men. After all, this is how it’s been through most of history.
Alternatively, men have had it good for too long. Women are far superior in many ways, and the world would be a better place if they were in charge. So move aside you men – women rule, OK!

Both arguments are, of course, absolute rubbish. Yet …

In some fields I’d accept women were superior to men. This is because both male and female bring different attributes to a job – basically, equal but different. And similarly, some women prefer to stay in the home.
The world is varied and both my opening views can apply in certain conditions. So what is wrong with my opening statements? The problem is the degree to which the idea is taken – to the point of the absolute; to the region of fanaticism.

This is the problem with many ideas today.

A thinker will get something into his head and decide that is how the world should be. Well, sorry, the world just isn’t like that. Rather, the world is, other than a small percentage of fanatics, a moderate kind of place.
Infact, I’d say over 90% of people just want to get on with life, but are constantly pulled this way or that by a minority of loud mouthed morons who think they know best. Well, fanatics, you don’t. For no matter what sphere you are ranting in, you are wrong.
Fanaticism, you see, is always wrong. To me, there is only one way to a form of knowledge that is acceptable. And that is the way of the moderate.

© Anthony North, February 2008

THE FANATIC

Fanatics come, fanatics go,
bringing man to a terrible low;
Fanatics rave, fanatics shout,
telling us what it’s all about;
Fanatics lie, fanatics cheat,
one day they’ll cause a nuclear heat;
Fanatics, they get in your head,
despite the moderate warnings said;
but don’t worry,
this time, only ten million dead!

THE KOSOVO PROBLEM

So, Kosovo breaks away from Serbia to become an independent state. Now, let me make it clear from the beginning, I supported NATO’s intervention in Kosovo, and it was right to stop the aspirations of the then Serbian government …
… read more …

RECESSION TIME

The governor of the Bank of England has admitted that the economy may grind to a halt this year. At last, a bit of honesty! Maybe he will also apologise for using every device to keep the ‘good times’ going, knowing the longer it did, the worst it will fall …
… read more …

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COMMONSENSE BY DIKTAT

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What’s on today: What has government done to commonsense? … PLUS … the real values of Britain’s Gordon Brown. And a little horror story to chill you.
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COMMONSENSE BY DIKTAT

You’ve all heard about the research. It can come in many forms. Beefburgers can make you fat. That’s a classic. As if we didn’t know already. But to science, we don’t. If it isn’t proved, it may not be right.
We all know it’s right, because we’ve employed commonsense. But we’re not supposed to use that any more. Don’t you realize that? We cannot be trusted to be correct in our commonsense judgements.

This is a problem that is becoming dangerous.

What happens in science usually passes down to society. So hey presto! Welcome to political correctness. The vast majority know it is wrong to discriminate, but we can’t know this through commonsense. We’ve got to be told.
In the UK, health and safety is gathering ground, too. This is the real social stinker. Anything that can be dangerous if commonsense is not used must be banned. Because we’re not allowed to use commonsense.

Commonsense, you see, has been politicized.

It has been taken away from us mere incompetent people, and placed in the hands of authority. And only their pronouncements can be classed as commonsense.
But of course, it isn’t commonsense they impose on us, but diktat. Governments have realised a new way to control – to politicize our value judgements themselves. And here, good reader, is the real irony. In the age of the individual, government is now guaranteeing that individuality is no more.

© Anthony North, January 2008

GONE BRITANNIA

It has been reported that the ‘esteemed leader’ has approved the removal of Britannia from British 50p coins. This symbol represents so much of what is Britain. So how does this stand regarding Brown’s love of British values …
… read more …

Fiction Xtra - BED MATE - a touch of horror; not for those of a nervous nature

Is the world we see about us real or illusion? Is the world a hard, material fact, or does reality bend to how we want the world to be? Philosophers and theologians have grappled with this question since history began and never have they provided a satisfactory answer. But in our day to day lives we need not worry about such things. Or should we …
… read more …

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THE FEMALE SERF

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What’s on today: Feminism was so right, but why was it ‘allowed’ in the first place? … PLUS … What is really at the root of society’s feral youth? The UK’s PM goes to China - to feel right at home.
YOU KNOW IT’S THE WRITE WAY

THE FEMALE SERF

Feminism was a marvelous thing. It was so right to give women equality in law. Okay, they may not have made it in many other respects, but it was one of the most fundamental requirements of democracy and freedom, and I applaud it. But …
There’s always a ‘but’ with me. Not concerning the correctness of feminism, but the motive for its acceptance in the wider social sphere. A hint to the reason comes from a new survey that says 850,000 women in the UK in their 60s are having to continue working.

Nothing happens today without a reason.

And often that reason is subtle. For instance, if women hadn’t demanded their rights by going out to work, could house prices be so high today?
High house prices demanded two wage families, and the beauty is, high house prices also provide fat mortgages which are needed to keep Big Biz afloat. A strange relationship, isn’t it?

Freedom only comes in the wake of ideology.

And today’s ideology is of a mass consumer society powered by empire-building multi-nationals. And the only way they could succeed is by allowing ‘freedoms’ that guaranteed their nest could be fuelled.
So work hard you should-be-retired women. It is the ideological thing to do. And your ‘freedom’ has been turned on its head by the system. Of course, it should never have been like this, and hopefully one day it will change. But for now, I’m afraid, the major success of feminism was to turn women into serfs.

© Anthony North, January 2008

FERAL YOUTH

Expressing anger over the murder of Garry Newlove, Judge Ian Trigger has spoken out about a country ‘bedevilled by feral youth.’ He has blamed a society obsessed with ‘rights’. But does the problem go deeper than this …
… read more …

BEIJING BROWN

So our ‘esteemed leader’ has no doubt seen his ideal society in China. I can see him rubbing his hands as he recognized his favoured ‘capitalist’ model in action. You know, the illusion of economic freedom with a centrist dictatorial bureaucracy behind it …
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FEEL GOOD TELEVISION

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What’s on today: What is the true ideology behind our TV programmes? … PLUS … How long will western troops be in Afghanistan? And how about a little story of conspiracy to chill you.
YOU KNOW IT’S THE WRITE WAY

FEEL GOOD TELEVISION

People watch it by the million. Good old television. What would we do without it? Turn on the TV and you can watch whatever you want …
No, hang on a minute. This is bunkum. Some television is great, but most is pathetic today. It is trivia infested, based more on fun than real entertainment or education. We believe this is because TV producers have dumbed-down. But could there be another reason for it?

Maybe fun has become an ideology in itself.

You see, for most of human history life has been a drudge. It has been a matter of work, work, work, with a little time off in order to have fun.
This is what life was about. And as such, when those moments of fun came, they were to be thoroughly enjoyed and cherished.

Today, life is easier.

Work is not quite so hard – unless we want it to be. And it is quite right that it is like this. Hence, we have more time for fun. But could our fun TV be actually geared to telling us that we can have fun all the time?
Unfortunately, having fun all the time becomes a bore. But maybe modern capitalism realizes this. In telling us life is for fun, boredom is perhaps required for the consumer society we have today.
For if fun is a bore, fun must always be on the change. And what better way to change it is there than getting you to constantly buy the latest fun product to satiate your need for fun?
Our requirement for fun is, I’m afraid, theirs rather than ours.

© Anthony North, January 2008

AFGHANISTAN FOREVER

The length of time British troops can expect to remain in Afghanistan has raised its head again. Apparently, the Afghan government do not think it will last forever. But wait a minute. Afghan government? What’s that then …
… read more …

Fiction Xtra - MASQUERADE - A little tale of conspiracy - or paranoia?

They’re taking over and it’s hard to retain my sanity.
Sometimes I think I’m imagining it all. It’s all one big, horrible dream. But then I pinch myself and I know I’m living on the edge. I know if I make one wrong move they’ll get me. They’re omnipotent, you see - like God. Or the Devil …
… read more …

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FREEDOM AND UNFREEDOM

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See Fiction Page to catch up with Pictures of Life, a novel

The defining point of western society is the idea that the person is free. Each an individual, it is our own choices that decide who we are, assisted by a society that is democratic, with minimum interference in what we do.
This is more a delusion than a reality, because a society can only exist if it balances your duties to others and your rights towards yourself. Go too far one way, and we have totalitarianism. Go the other and we have chaos.

Libertarians would disagree with this argument.

Rather, it is the duty of the individual to be who he wants to be regardless of others. The outcome is not chaos, but fulfilled individuals. But the problem with this is that if everyone does exactly what they want, they impede so much on the wants of others that no one gets what they want at all.
Most people accept this and moderate their behaviour accordingly. Indeed, it seems to be that libertarianism is not about choice, but excess. It is simply about deluded people flying in the face of a norm.

But to most, the idea of freedom is actually a failure.

You see this in so many of our modern youth. They demand their freedom – to do ‘their own thing’ – but when they do, they usually end up standing on street corners wondering what on earth to do.
Those young people who excel still think they are free. But tell me this: what is a great footballer without his team? What is a young concert pianist without his dedication to the culture of music and to the orchestra?
A touch of unfreedom is, it seems, a prerequisite to excelling in life. And an individual can only truly thrive within a culture that allows it. If only we understood this, we may at last produce a society where the balance between freedom and unfreedom is right.

© Anthony North, December 2007

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Fiction Xtra - AUTUMN OF THE SOUL - A tale of love in later years

When Alan Jeffries walked into the nursing home to see his father he saw the most horrific thing he’d ever seen in his life. For there, in the corner, Percival Jeffries rested one hand on his walking stick and held seventy five year old Rita Madden in his other arm. With a slight shake of the body, he struggled to control his deep cough and spittle whilst his and Rita’s lips met in what can only be described as an awkward but definitely passionate kiss …
… read more …

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AS IN ROME

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Begun my novel yet? See Fiction Page for Pictures of Life

There is a saying that, ‘when in Rome, do as the Romans do.’ I think this is an important point, especially in the light of the recent case of British teacher Gilliam Gibbons, a teacher in Sudan recently sentenced to 15 days in prison.
Her crime? She allowed the pupils of her school to name a teddy bear Mohammad. Now, this may not seem a lot to the west, but to Muslims, in a Muslim country, it was a great insult. And even if done out of pure naivety, there were bound to be repercussions.

We think we have an advanced society in the west.

This may, or may not be, true. Such a question is not for this post. But regardless of this, we must ask, is our society such that everyone in the world should share it? I often get the impression that we think so, but this is a serious error.
Western principles of democracy, individuality and human rights were battled out over hundred of years, slowly changing our mind-set, taking each phase a step at a time. Had you tried to place the fullness of our culture a hundred years ago there would have been uproar.

Why do we not accept that others may not be ready for such processes, either?

Why are we convinced that, just because we can do it, others can? It seems, to me, to be an arrogance that can cause trouble in itself.
It does so by making many in other countries feel that the west is trying to ‘take over’ their cultures and beliefs. And the more we try to place such ideas on them, the more, I’m afraid, will they resist.

© Anthony North, December 2007

END OF NATIONS

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Have you read 1st instalments of my novel, Pictures of Life, yet?

It was pointed out to me recently on The Daily Grail that ‘modernisms’ in the English language used in the BBC News are getting ridiculous. I offered this reply.
These ‘modernisms’ are irritating. It is a problem that has always infected the Blair Broadcasting Corporation, and it gets no better with the Brown Broadcasting Corporation.

It is all part of the ‘plan’.

What plan, you may ask? Well, ever since NuLabour came to power they’ve cleverly been infiltrating liberal left commissars into all institutions, intent on indoctrinating us with political correctness.
Don’t get me wrong, I did my bit to end racism, homophobia and sexism, etc, from the early 70s onwards, but political correctness is something else. First of all, it aims at the lowest common denominator - i.e. if some people are bigots, the whole society must be treated as if everyone is.

The purpose of this is to degrade all things traditional.

This includes proper language. The reason why this is undertaken is that, by degrading the traditional at a local level, globalisation is allowed free reign, as it leaves only consumerism to ‘believe’ in - hence the modern global economy and celebrity madness.
NuLabour is at the forefront of this process of destroying nations to produce a global sameness, and as traditions are destroyed, a new machine-like, totalitarian system is emerging. Just as Orwell said (remember NewSpeak?).
Britain is at the forefront of this process, but believe me, Big Brown, or similar, will soon be watching you!

© Anthony North, November 2007

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Fiction Xtra - MATCHBREAKER - A whodunit

Cuthbert King sat in his study contemplating the letter in front of him. Some sixty years of age, his mind was as sharp as ever, and as he pushed his mass of white hair from his eyes, he turned to Mr Sprat.
‘I don’t think I can resist this one,’ he said …
… read more …

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THE PURSUIT OF FREEDOM

The word ‘freedom’ has become a mantra for the west. Everything we do seems to be geared to freedom, and the expression of individuality it allows. But just how important IS freedom, and do we really have it?
There is a saying that nothing takes away freedom more than the idea that we have it. Looking back at most ‘free’ societies, we can see they were not really free. Rather, they were a product of social engineering devised by people who were previously not free.

Take the rise of the middle classes.

We can see this as a definite grasping of freedom, with a new non-conformist kind of religion, politics grasped from aristocracy and made democratic, and a capitalist economy which empowers the individual.
Yet this was all a product of the 18th century Age of Enlightenment, and a single ethic that, seeing science had placed laws on the universe, could philosophy place laws on man’s society, thus usurping God.

As we can see, the idea behind it was not as noble as we think.

And to achieve this success, the middle classes had to have a power base not only in religion and politics, but in economic society itself.
This was achieved by the institutionalization of society, with philanthropists creating hospitals, schools and charities for the betterment of the poor. Yet these poor had been herded into cities to become institutionalized in the factory to raise the wealth to keep the middle classes supreme.
Of course, there was eventually great benefit in this for all. But the idea that it was all done for ‘freedom’ is incorrect. All that had changed was the nest that needed to be feathered.

© Anthony North, September 2007

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