“You are old, Father William,” the young man said,
“And your views have become very blue;
And yet you incessantly stand on my head—
And you think, at my age, I’m still you.”In my youth,” Father William replied to his son,
“‘Twas rare an old age to attain
But now we live on, and vote by the ton –
We relax and just let you take the strain.”
What use to me is an Ism?
When face to face with a Chasm
Your hand, dear friend is a Prism
The angry just cause, a Spasm
(Homage to Stevie Smith
Not Waving But Drowning
“Nobody heard him the dead man,
But still he lay moaning:
I was much further out than you thought
And not waving but drowning.
Poor chap, he always loved larking
And now he’s dead
It must have been too cold for him his heart gave way,
They said.
Oh, no no no, it was too cold always
(Still the dead one lay moaning)
I was much too far out all my life
And not waving but drowning”
Politics? No, don’t be deceived by those who purport to serve us, the people. We, Hoi Poloi. Politicians; unified in narcissism and differentiated each from each only by a different flavour of psychopathy.
Why poloitricks ?
Well, combine the word “politics” with “ork”, and that’s what you get. Poloitricks. The deception of the people by an ugly and inhuman race. Poloitricksters.
Now, that’s closer to the modern mark.
Liberal societies are a healthy stream. Free flowing, oft times turbulent – but with a clarity and purity of involvement and liquid cohesion.
Unfortunately in the (United) Kingdom this is under threat from two directions. Above there is the freezing over of the clear stream by unrestrained Capitalism. Cutting society off from the clear air and creating false inward reflections and strange refracted images from the outer world (where others are walking on the icy outer surface).
And below, Nationalism – the stirring of the rotting sediment of dead fears. Racism, an appeal to the worst archetypes of the other. Muddying and reducing visibility, so that all are trapped in isolation and separation.
How do we keep the liberal stream flowing, with our eye on the common good of shared humanity? We need to see past the manipulation of politicians (all of them – don’t tell me – ah but x or y is different or better). They just want to trigger our base emotions – why? To keep them in power of course. Instead look around at the man and woman next to you. right now. It’s called loving your neighbour, and it’s a 2,000 year old message…
Politicians sell dreams, and they want you to avoid nightmares. (The other side). In any event it’s ALWAYS fantasy and not reality. All any of them want is power. Not ours – theirs. They get that if they can turn our attention away from reality – the people around you – to their web of illusion.
Would it not be wonderful if – instead of dreams we dealt in realities. It wouldn’t be grandiose. It wouldn’t be every five years. It would be real people in communities make a new reality happen. Day. By. Day. Let’s just treat politicians (all of them) with the contempt they deserve and focus on neighbours. Mothers and fathers bringing up children. Individuals helping at charities. Reality is created one smile at a time; hug by hug; sacrifice by sacrifice. As for this election? Well I for one won’t be disappointed in five years time when all of their dreams prove to be empty. I don’t believe any of them in the first place.
