HOW CAN HUMAN BEINGS BE SO UNKIND?

I was walking back from Waitrose festooned with bags of balsamic vinegar, olives, pretzels, hummus and wine - all those essentials in my life when a guy said “can you spare me some money?” I gestured at my hands trapped by the bags and he smiled and said “sure”. He was certainly civilised and on his uppers. At least I gave him eye contact, at least I tried but my failure to slip him a few quid has been  making me feel lousy ever since. Why are so many people down on those who are already down about as far as they can get?

I’ve heard people saying about the Syrian and Libyan refugees  that in their midst are terrorists using the cover of human misery to sneak to our shores and blow us up.  Most of the people fleeing are women and children with no credible other option than to make a risky and expensive sea crossing. Maybe surprisingly it was Jeremy Clarkson who compared the refugees with a neighbour whose house was on fire. Do you shrug and say “not my problem mate” or help put it out and put them up until things are sorted.

Which brings me to Greece.

The last time I took a view on Greece I was heavily criticised for being soft on debt and soft on the causes of debt. They must be punished. It’s the only thing they understand.

If the ”they” are the ordinary population of Greece and not the oligarchy I couldn’t disagree more. The sheer unkindness of the EU, IMF and ECB has made me uneasy about the whole ethos of the EU. Do we really want to remain part of such a beastly cadre? All my strict attitudes about good governance and prudence are blown out of the water by a swift study of the Greek situation. It’s the sort of thing that Dickens would have written brilliantly about. We need that sort of passion now.

The reality is the debt mountain was not built by the average Greek. It was created by the “generosity” of the EU and the banks and the smiling corrupt barons at the top of Greece.

The trouble now is, as some are saying, “we might just as well vote “no” and preserve a bit of dignity; we have nothing left to lose except that now.”

I feel as though I need to fly to a Greek island and throw a party for them. I love the Greeks and I have done since 1964 when I first went there. They are generous, good humoured and mischievous. I love the scenery, climate and the food. I love their swagger and sense of pride. I love their appetite for life.

I loathe what the Troika has done and we as passive spectators are doing in letting this being quenched.
Whatever they vote on Sunday we have a collective responsibility to be a lot kinder to them than we have been so far.

UPDATE:  60% + saying ”no”….amazing. Wish Greece well

LETTER FROM JOHN SCOTT IN JORDAN

It’s now August 2012 and too early to make sense of what started in early 2011 and what has come to be known as the Arab Spring.

Having only lived in the Middle East since early 2012, my observations are initial and tentative:

• For the moment, nobody really knows why it all kicked off and why it spread so quickly or, at the same time, why it has taken so long to kick off
• Nobody knows where it will lead 
• The peculiarities of e.g. culture, history and religion are evident in each country where the Arab Spring has had an impact so drawing general conclusions about the region is unwise
• After 30-40 years of being bottled up, the  jinn is out of the bottle and will never return, in a part of the world where the jinn are influential
• It has been thrilling to watch the events in Tahrir Square and in Libya; deeply worrying as the events in Syria unfold with the international community either unwilling or unable to intercede; and uplifting to see democracy advance, if only in fits and starts and with results which are not always welcome
• People are endlessly optimistic but realise that the apparatus of state control and influence will not disappear overnight and may return at any stage
• The explosion of people power has been felt in the workplace, in schools and universities – it has touched any number of institutions
• Young people are now more willing to express their views and in general people are less deferential
• Technology has played an important part in enabling the Arab Spring but also in controlling it and smothering its consequences
• Normal life appears to continue as huge waves of change take place around us, although the Arab Spring has shaped what people read, what they discuss, where they go on holiday etc
• It’s not over, even in countries where it has yet to start

My favourite story – a friend is an academic and lecturer; he tells me he had to rewrite his curricula on a daily basis as events unfolded around him; his students are more demanding and more willing to challenge him and the material which is presented to them; but the biggest change is in his family where his position is not as strong as it was and where his children do not afford him complete respect solely because he is their father and head of the house.

The most challenging member of the family is his youngest daughter.

www.colourfulthinkers.com

ALL THINGS MUST PASS

This was George Harrison’s song, quoted wistfully by Phil Redmond at a recent conference, “The State of the Arts”, as his lament for the cuts in arts’ funding by the government. Ed Vaizey, Minister for the Arts, tried the brazenly stoic “we are where we are…let’s move on” approach which from the prime culprit is a great try-on… use it yourself when arrested for drunk driving….”let’s move on Officer.”

“All things must pass”. Do you feel as though you were living in truly seminal times when the demolition of all we knew is changing? Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain, Libya, Yemen – hallo tube…hallo toothpaste. Yes, just you try getting it back in.

And it’s not just the Middle East. It’s that naked King. Suddenly like Hans Christian Andersen’s little boy we realise that “he’s in the altogether – as naked as the day that he was born.” And it applies to everything.

Lying and calling it diplomacy, selling arms and praising it as  our export drive, supporting dictatorships, placing expediency over principal, pretending command and control works…all stark naked nonsense.

And this applies to our jobs too. The employee and consumer will no longer simply be told what to do. They are beginning to realise they actually are much more in charge than they thought and that the big corporations are scared stiff or should be….not of the Unions or Which magazine but of…people.

It’s time to tell it like it is.

Gavin Stride Director of that interesting creative centre Farnham Maltings, said at the Arts Conference I mentioned, and to general dismay:

“I don’t believe in partnerships…they are generally between people who don’t like or trust each other just to get something out of someone else…in the Arts it’s usually money out of the government. But I do believe in friendships.”

He also said:

“Under the previous government Arts Organisations were stabbing each other in the back. Now under this government they are stabbing each other in the front.”

At least the front feels more open and honest. At least it’s a change. You still die but you know who killed you.

All things must pass. All things must pass away. Don’t be sad or nostalgic. Be excited – we are entering new times and new times mean new opportunities.