Today’s Remembrance Sunday was the most significant of recent times, commemorating the centenary of the end of World War One. My uncle Robert Swift was still alive when the Armistice was signed, but died on the 1st January 1919 along with countless others from Spanish flu. He had not been able to return home so his widow, my aunty Lily, received a nicely printed note of thanks from the King along with his two war service medals. He is buried in France. I wonder what he thought of the great imperialist adventure. As a religious man, I presume he thought God was on our side. My father, who fought throughout the Second World War (in Bomber Command – it’s a miracle that he survived scores of missions) couldn’t give a toss about God and all that – he joined up for the adventure, doing so almost immediately the war started. I think he wanted to escape life at home, which was probably quite dreary. His father definitely had a rather Calvinistic streak. I have a letter he sent to my father after he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal after being shot up (he was a rear gunner at the time) during the campaign in Libya. My grandfather, rather than congratulating him, was more concerned that he didn’t let it go to his head and urged him to work harder to make something of himself. No love lost there methinks.
My father underwent what can only be described as an existentially forming experience, his first six years of adulthood were precarious – not that it outwardly ever seemed to show in later years. For most of the decades after the war, he didn’t take any obvious interest in the Remembrance Sunday ceremonies. In his twilight years I think that changed a bit, but his attitude certainly coloured mine. I considered it my duty as a councillor and as an MP to attend the services, but I always found the entirely Christian pieties grating. Not least since most enlisted people saw through the nonsense. Even when I took the oath on joining the RAF – telling them I was an atheist – I was assured that it mattered no more whether I placed my hand on a Bible or a bottle of beer – it was just a routine formality. I think there is now a greater awareness that the Armistice was merely a punctuation mark in history – albeit a welcome one for those weren’t marched to more needless slaughter. Conflicts have continued, transmuting from one iteration to another according to some immutable law of human aggression – a law laid down in the Bible, among other places. All the pious words are as nothing when compared to the industrious energy poured into conflict. Sad to say, since we have a huge threat multiplier in climate change arriving on our doorstep, new iterations of conflict are here already. A shot may not yet have been fired, but the simple fact that Trump has sent 15,000 troops to guard the U.S./Mexican border against the arrival of the refugee ‘caravan’ is a signifier of what’s to come. Many of those marching north come from farming communities driven from their land by drought. Remembrance ceremonies may serve humanity better if they contained an imagining of the lives yet to be sacrificed. Sombre-looking, black coated political elites may be forced to search their consciences somewhat more thoroughly if they had to address the possibility of their own culpability, and not just that of their forebears. There are many unknown soldiers yet to be buried.
0 Comments
I was on a little excursion to Copenhagen (see the two latest additions under ‘Perambulations’) when the results of the U.S. midterm elections were coming in, or the referendum on Trump as some pundits called it. The curious electoral systems employed in the polls allowed Trump some mercy, but once again the Democrats voter tally was significantly bigger than the Republicans. In Senate races, the difference was 10 million votes, but whereas 40 million people in California are represented by two senators, in Wyoming it’s less than 600,000. It’s a wonder Democrats have ever had control of the Senate.
The problem for the Democrats now is what to do with their majority in the House of Representatives. Having economic powers, the House could easily disrupt much of Trump’s agenda. But as some commentators suggest, the U.S. economic cycle is near a peak, so if things slump in a year or two Trump could (and will) blame any obstructions on the House. As regards impeachment, which is a lengthy process which ends in the Senate, there seems little point. The Senate won’t agree to impeachment, and given the time it takes it would be best to oust Trump at the presidential election in 2020. But what have the Democrats got that could succeed in getting rid of the idiot? At least Trump has recognisable policies, and whilst his solutions are simplistic and counter-productive sufficient people know what he stands for to get him elected. I have only heard a little of what Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi has had to say, but for the most senior Democrat in Congress it sounds like it will be business as usual, which is to say they will be responsible and uninspiring. In other words, the Democrats’ gains in the House could be a false dawn. At this point it would be wise to avoid seeing these midterms as a pointer to getting a more civilised character into the White House in two years’ time. It wasn’t that long ago when the acronym BRIC was all the rage. It stands for the quartet of up-and-coming countries Brazil, Russia, India and China. Not long ago their economies were seen as the new driving force for global growth, and of course thoughts were entertained that this would inevitably lead to their assimilation into a liberal order, which apart from anything else would bolster the belief that with greater wealth – and larger middle classes – there would be no stopping the march of western style democracy. What a difference a decade makes.
All that appears to be happening in these states is the strengthening of elites that make the claim, for populist consumption, that they are battling against corruption - whilst actually overseeing exponential increases in the wealth of the top crust. One is bound to ask, why should we imagine it would be any different? It takes two to tango, and the west has always obliged the corrupt class from wherever it emanates. The only thing that seems to bother us these days is that as these countries accrue more power, it is not necessarily aligned with ours. In fact, we are alarmed that the new powers are more assertive and are no longer willing to kowtow to western values, even as they - in a materialist sense - adopt the very semblance of such values. It was once said, in seriousness I believe, that no two countries with McDonalds have or ever would go to war. This certainly seemed to sum up the ‘end of history’ standpoint, however superficial. One only has to recall the blessings of God that Protestant priests delivered to the troops on both sides of the western front in the First World War to see the culpability of people whose earnest deceit to others stems from self-deceit. And never mind that the warring ruling class came from the same family. But BRIC remains a fact, albeit with varying degrees of economic success. These are the places where (here we go) a post-Brexit Britain needs to expand its markets. These are the countries where Liam Fox needs to curry favour. No matter how vile the regime, markets are markets, so let’s get cracking! And just as many believed that British colonialism was a force for civilisation, let’s await the argument that through free trade we’ll bring more benighted people to the table of freedom and bliss (Mr Tony always thought that freedom and bliss followed in the footsteps of trade, it has to be said). A comeuppance is on the cards. I gather that the shareholders in Patisserie Valerie are not best pleased with having to stump up for a new share issue to keep the business afloat, and are calling for the chairperson’s resignation. A typical story from the world of finance. The company apparently has a £40 million black hole. The auditors were Grant Thornton. Perhaps they should be answering a few questions, should they find time off from stuffing their cake hole. Isn’t it marvellous how so many professionals get away with having a blind eye?
I have yet to comprehend how – another example – conveyancing solicitors, well known for their minimal fees, could allow their clients to purchase properties on leasehold terms which later make their homes unsaleable. There are serious issues about the routine professional neglect of customers who feel they should be able to trust these ‘professionals.’ Of course, in the property conveyancing market, most of the work will be done by unqualified, or very lightly qualified conveyancing clerks, whose main task will be to tick boxes, probably in most cases without much oversight. But we’re talking about a sector where self-regulation means lower standards all round. Getting rid of local authority building regulations inspectors was another great ‘efficiency.’ But at least we consumers can have the pleasure of answering an online ‘How was your purchase’ survey every so often. |
Archives
March 2024
|