We all change and evolve as we go through life, we have different information sources around us, different influences. Thinking about my own mindset - At this current time the things that are most influencing my outlook are; videos I watch on Youtube (The Young Turks, The Trews, Secular Talk, The Labour Leadership campaign, mostly Jeremy Corbyn ), the book I'm reading (currently: The Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire), the conversations I have (mainly with fellow dog walkers and Dara), the things I see on Instagram (I follow a wide variety of people but my favourites besides my friends are - dollyandfife, moistbuddha, michelgaubert, mydaywithleo, beigecardigan, fuckjerry, thefatjewish), work and my goals for the future. (It's ironic because most of what influences my outlook on life I have accessed via the internet, the thing I want to spend less time on is the thing that's educating me. Handy but addictive.)
At other times in my life I may have had or may have more conversations with different people to those I converse with at the moment. I may watch or have watched more TV rather than Youtube videos and on completely different subjects, the books I have read or will read cover completely different topics, so the influences on my mind and my perspective are variable but at the moment, the things that most influence my outlook:
Youtube
- Learning about politics, philosophy, spirituality, injustice, flaws in society, humanity...
Books
- Same as above and in addition, oppression
Conversations
- Talking about these things in conversations, and I've also been talking about history and how much society has changed and is changing (I'm thinking of a recent conversation I had with Tom and Frank who I met walking the dog, they were telling me what life was like when they were young back in the 60s and 70s)
Instagram
- The people I mentioned that I like best on Instagram crack me up and remind me that although things are shit and the world often lacks humanity, society is broken in ways but we sometimes just have to laugh. We mustn't take eveything too seriously as it will ruin us. We have to continue to find humour in the world. Other people I follow are inspirational in other ways.
Work
- My workplace pleases me and my boss inspires me as he is so successful and intellectual. I am grateful to be in this position.
Goals
- I'm mentally planning our wedding, I'm thinking about finance and how long it will take for us to buy our own house. Naturally the thought of 'nesting' leads me to thinking about starting a family, popping some sprogs out...
Within that I watched Russel Brand's last ever episode of the Trews, watch here:
"I think that we've gone as far as we can with the Trews for now. And the thing that's been interesting over the course of the year is the reaction to some of the stories that we've reported on and the reaction in the press and on TV, to me.
... So it's been like an extraordinary time for all of us, there's a presidential election in America that's thrown up ludicrous characters like Donald Trump but also the potentially optimistic participation of Bernie Sanders. Is there a possibility through conventional political means to return the will of ordinary people to the seat of power it's a really big question. When I talked about revolution at the beginning of this mad journey on Jeremy Paxman, I was kind of gung-ho and stuff but I think what revolution means, well what revolution literally does mean is a change of power not using the conventional means of power. We're gonna have to come together in a different way to create the change. Now I believe that more than ever. I really believe in change, I feel really optimistic about the inevitability of change...
... I believe in the possibility of ordinary people to change their circumstances if they come together, and I believe in me and the Trews and what we've been doing. I'm gonna be learning, 'cause I know change is coming and I want to be part of that.
... I can't do it the service it requires until I go away and learn some stuff so that when we come back it will be more truthful, more inclusive than ever, 'cause the worlds going mental and more than ever ordinary people need to come together.
... I'm going away to think and to learn, because its worth it, because this is an important time because there is a possibility of change.
... So really the obligation to tell the truth as always lies with you as much as it does with me. The only real weapon we have is to be truthful with ourselves, truthful with one another and to formulate new organisations, new ways of pursuing change."
So all of that combined going through my mind is probably why I've been having the weirdest dreams. The capacity of the mind and it's ability to process information is unreal. It would be a shame to waste it on gossip and game shows. Russel Brand talks about Truth being the only weapon we have, I think the real weapon is our mind. Being truthful is something we should all live by for sure but it is our mind that we must harness and evolve. The mind is the tool which we use to channel our energy, our mind is what we use to set our goals and obtain them, our mind controls our emotions, our perceptions, our behaviour. Our mind gives us the ability to make a difference in the world through our consciousness, our minds are what makes us unique.
We should strive to share ourselves through interconnectivity, be equal and one with everyone and everything. We don't need to be rich, popular or highly educated to acquire that. We should be open minded not ignorant, continuing to learn. While it naturally scares us, change is inevitable, so let's embrace it and influence it positively.
As we learn, reflection is so important. Allowing time to process information that we take in and to consider alternative perspectives, that in itself exercises the mind and develops intelligence.
With all the media attention on the Calais hold up crisis currently happening, the discussion/debate/argument about immigration is wide open again. An interesting article a friend of mine just shared via Huffington Post, well worth a read. It's good to get some actual facts about immigration because a lot of what we're led to believe by the media is completely exaggerated and tailored to create a more shocking news story. It is completely reasonable for people to be concerned by migration if they or their family are being effected by seemingly exhausted public services, or unable to find good quality work that pays a living wage. People feel at threat by what they see as a severe immigration crisis in their home country, well truthfully there is a severe migration crisis, but it's not just here in the UK - it's global, and it isn't a straightforward situation, there is a large background to why this is even happening.
I don't know what the answer is, all I know is that as a nation we have to take some responsibility for what is happening in these countries and the cause for why people are so desperate to leave. We should not get angry, we should widen our knowledge on the situation and focus our efforts on influencing global change to restore war torn and impoverished countries. As a starting point, we're better to learn the facts at least and as always, not regard what we read in the newspaper as gospel.
I enjoyed Robin Lustig's final note on his Huffington Post article:
"Do I have the answer to the global migration crisis? No, but here are some suggestions that might help: set up proper, EU-run processing centres at the main entry points: southern Italy, Greece, Hungary. Genuine refugees should be offered asylum according to an agreed quota calculated according to population and GDP. Those deemed non-eligible for asylum would be offered a choice: wait in a camp until your number comes up, and then go where you're sent -- or go home.
The tragedy is that so many people are so desperate that they're prepared to die in an attempt to find a safe place to live. And our response is so blinkered that all we can think of is building higher fences."
My attempt at blogging about politics - this could make no sense, forgive me - I'm new at this stuff.
Ever since the run up to the recent election, I've been trying to improve my knowledge on politics, mainly UK politics, I felt embarrassed that I couldn't hold a proper conversation about something that I've learned is so important to each and every one of us, and the future of absolutely everyone and everything.
I have always been interested in philosophy, I was never religious but I wanted to understand 'the meaning of life' or whatever, I wanted to stop myself from being scared of death, to get the most out of life. I remember when I was young sitting at the dinner table chatting to my family and suddenly realising that I was actually dying at that point, saying something like "so we're all getting closer to death every second" and being so stunned and scared by this prospect. I discovered that's why a lot of people follow religion, they need faith in something to have a purpose, to feel safe and secure and to have a reason to be good, and to have hope when things go wrong. Often people go off the rails if they don't see any point or meaning. I couldn't grasp the concept of God, or as I was taught it at least - the Creator. I was always more drawn to the Big Bang theory, evolution, science - although at school I was useless at science. I read the book, 'The Curious Incident of a Dog in the Night-Time', I actually posted about it on my blog back in 2010. I was comfortable with the idea of dying and my energy being absorbed into the universe, as the boy in the book puts it:
"What actually happens when you die is that your brain stops working and your body rots, like Rabbit did when he died and we buried him in the earth at the bottom of the garden. And all his molecules were broken down into other molecules and they went into the earth and were eaten by worms and went into the plants and if we go and dig in the same place in 10 years there will be nothing except his skeleton left. And in 1,000 years even his skeleton will be gone. But that is all right because he is a part of the flowers and the apple tree and the hawthorn bush now..."
I listened to some of Alan Watts' lectures, and read some Hunter S. Thompson, Jack Kerouac, D.H. Lawrence... I suppose they would be bohemian types - some of their work influenced my perspective on life, all before I learned much about politics. So I had a base if you like, I began to feel like we are all part of something much bigger than our human society, yet that rules us all. We are alive in our consciousness for a short while, it's a great blessing in itself, yet so many people go through so much pain, it's so depressing. I believe that ideally those of us who are privileged really ought to share our good fortune with less fortunate beings, and encourage them to be more engaged, we should all be able to enjoy the ride.
Previously I had never voted. I'd never really been interested in politics, I felt completely disconnected and uninterested. My early realisations were:
1. I didn't fully agree with any of the parties' manifestos; I was under the assumption that no matter which party were in charge of running the country, there would always be groups of people in society who felt mistreated, there is no way everyone could agree and be happy.
2. There are so many aspects to it; we hear about it so often - the party currently in power having to fix the damage from previous years. We very rarely know the truth of who's to blame, and our opinions can often be distorted by those we should be able to trust, giving biased accounts of happenings.
3. The only possible saving grace would be to have a diverse government who collectively understand and have compassion for the lives and needs of all people, the planet, and everything else. Educated leaders who each had a unique perspective, coming from differing backgrounds. Then I thought, but that is why there is such mayhem in government, because many of these MP's have different views yet don't have the capacity to try to understand things from an alternative perspective or the ability to compromise fairly. It takes them so long to come to any agreement on important issues, it seems to take years to change broken systems.
4. A statement I heard quite often that I wanted to learn more about before jumping on the bandwagon: "the rich get richer and the poor get poorer"
Dara and I would chat about these things, both being liberals and not really knowing which party we should support.
Other than conversing with people, Youtube has been my main source of educating myself, firstly watching people such as Akala, the Artist Taxi Driver, Russel Brand, Frankie Boyle, Stewart Lee. All seemingly angry with the government, certainly opposing the Convervative manifesto. Listening to their views, I felt drawn to the left. I couldn't quite get my head around the injustice and lack of compassion for people lower down in society, under the current system. Particularly the unbalance of government spending - how can these people on one end be getting paid way more than they could possibly need to live comfortably even when in most cases they have been born into money, sure they may have worked hard but more often than not it was because their parents could afford the best education, therefore giving them that platform. While on the opposite end, less privileged people who may not have been given many opportunities, have had many battles to face throughout their lives, even those with disabilities, are all seemingly being categorised as scroungers and unable to access even the bare minimum financial support from their government, leading them into lives of destitute rather than prosperity. It seems as though if you are born into a middle to upper class family you are likely to live a life of prosperity, wealth and success, whereas if you're born into a lower working class or poor family, you are highly unlikely to escape that category. It doesn't seem right that your life can be planned in that way before you're even born.
David Cameron is always saying "we stand for working people" in other words "we don't stand for scroungers", but they are not tackling the issue of 'benefit scrounging' in the right way. So many people are being forced into that category and not given any support. It seems to be so categorical, there isn't enough focus on rehabilitation. People need to be more engaged, encouraged and given better resources to lead a more positive and productive lifestyle. It seems to be so much about money, we need more compassion and education to spend the money in the right way. You can't just tell people that they need to change their lifestyle and turn their worlds upside down in the aim that they will one day find a balance and not need government help. People need real support, access to opportunities to give something back and be engaged with society.
Rehabilitation is a word that I find myself using quite often. I believe that we are all born pure, sure we may have certain traits built into us, but we can all grow into something good, given that we can access to the right opportunities and resources. Likewise we are all capable of being bad, if we are drawn down those paths. We come to many crossroads in our lives where we can go off track, things can go terribly wrong, we can be lead into unhealthy, soul destroying situations. But I firmly believe that with the right resources, compassion, time and love - we can all overcome these troubles and be rehabilitated to our original form but with wisdom gained by learning from our experiences. Often we hear people saying 'find God', I believe this translates into finding peace and love within ourselves, reconfiguring our lives.
I recently went to Budapest, I learned more about Communism while I was there. More recently I watched a Socialism debate at Oxford University, called 'Does Socialism work'. My two favourite speakers were Jeremy Corbyn on the 'yes' side and Daniel Hannan on the 'no' side. It was a very interesting debate. Daniel argues that fascism emerges from socialism, which leads to communism, referring to the failing communist regimes we've seen in the past, similar to what I had learned about in Hungary. Jeremy talks about the principles of a communal health service and those socialist concepts, the evils of free market capitalism, access to decent housing and decent education for everyone. Daniel talks about the desire for material improvement being fundamental in human nature. Jeremy talks about eliminating poverty and injustice while Daniel believes that the 6 billion people in this world who can't afford the cars and dishwashers, WILL be raised to a higher standard of living in the future when free exchange, specialisation and comparative advantage run their course. It's difficult to take either side because you can see where they are both coming from. Two very passionate and intelligent speakers. We need to keep both sides in mind and try to meet somewhere in the middle, compromise reflects democracy. Perhaps Daniel is right that more and more people will be raised to a higher standard of living in the future, but Jeremy is right in that action needs to be taken NOW to help these people in poverty and suffering injustice.
Is this really how it is?
Is this the morbid alternative?
Ultimately there will never be complete fairness and equality in our species, as Daniel Hannan says: "Socialism and capitalism are matrices, they are economic systems within which people can be generous or greedy, they can be selfish or altruistic."
Capitalism is really run by cartels and corporations but ultimately that's always going to be the case. In history we've seen that communism was run by criminals and greed ridden businesses too and civilians ended up much worse. We need to find a way to distribute money more fairly without exploiting anybody. We need to find a way to reduce greed and the desire for fast and destructive development. We need to show Capitalist leaders how people are being failed by their system, and work hard to introduce innovative ways of engaging these failed people with society, encouraging an egalitarian system where everyone is given the compassion and financial support that they need, no more and no less.
I felt a lot more against, or rather - unable to understand the Conservatives before listening to Daniel Hannan. Many people I know voted Conservative, a large portion of the population voted them in, they must have had their reasons to do so, it's unproductive to simply ignore that fact. My first thoughts still apply, except I know have a better understanding of the statement "the rich get richer and the poor get poorer". I still don't feel as though I would support either the Conservatives or Labour, however I now feel that no matter who's in power, we will still have battles to face, these need to be fought within communities, we need to focus our energy on making small changes. Creating a different world by these many small operations. We will always have to work hard as individuals and within our communities to create a positive impact on the world in whatever way possible depending on the resources available to us.
We have a voice now more than ever; with the powers of social media, the widespread media attention on petitions that normal people set-up to make changes in the world via platforms such as change.org, easier access to alternative news sources such as Private Eye, Huffington Post, Youtube, bloggers. More and more young people are becoming engaged with politics. If we continue to educate ourselves and others, avoiding stirring up anger by only displaying our biased views, keeping conversations open by looking at things from different perspectives, developing our knowledge and sparking interest in other people, rather than constantly battling against the system, we can actually create a positive impact on society. We can shape the future. Let's not settle on just complaining about what we think is wrong with the world, lets also seek possible solutions and promote them.
On a less serious note:
“No matter how corrupt, greedy, and heartless our government, our corporations, our media, and our religious charitable institutions may become, the music will still be wonderful.”
Excellent little article written by Frankie Boyle on "Britain's criminally stupid attitudes to race and immigration" in light of this years General Election.
'Let’s not forget where coffee and tea come from: this mug is bitterly opposed to its own contents’
Last night I watched the Channel 4 documentary, 'Immigration Street'. I really enjoyed it and it got me thinking again...
I don't know what the real objectives were for making the documentary, I'm sure there were a mixture of good and bad intentions from the different people involved in the making of it. Perhaps it did have more of a negative impact on the street it was based on, even if it did intend to send out a positive message. A lot of people didn't like the idea of it, some wondered why it was called 'Immigration Street' when a lot of the people living on there had been born there, perhaps their parents had emigrated. The producers wondered why there was such a negative feeling around the word 'Immigration' - they argued that it could be viewed as a positive thing. Many of the residents were happy to take part in the documentary as they were proud of the community they lived in.
Personally I do enjoy the odd lifestyle documentary and while I do agree that some of these production companies try to project a more controversial version of reality in order to get people talking, I still think that if they are done right - these shows can be a great way to create debate: Not just an opinionated statement made by a politician, which may have even been misconstrued by the media and then sprawled as an ugly newspaper headline. These documentaries can show real people living their lives, allowing us to see what's really happening, and in this case the majority of the residents getting on very well in a diverse community.
I don't know an awful lot about politics or current affairs, I'm always learning, I like to be open minded, taking in information from many different sources including conversations, articles on blogs, documentaries, the news, books, scripts in movies, lyrics in songs. I have ideals in my head that have developed over time and I know what is right and wrong; I know that we shouldn't believe everything we hear on the news, I know that there is a lot of good in this world but there is way too much bad, and that's all we seem to hear about - it's very easy to lose faith in humanity. I am not naïve or easily swayed, but I know that there are always so many sides to the story so we mustn't presume we understand a situation just by what we hear on the news - often one news story will be told in a completely different way in every country and even every channel - it's all part of the media mind control. I suppose my point here is that humans often talk a lot of bullshit so it's up to you as an individual to gain and maintain that ability to have an open mind, to continuously learn and not let your personal feelings get in the way of what you know to be right - it's always useful to take a moment to consider the circumstance from another perspective. We are all born innocent and vulnerable, blank canvases, open minds... only with our survival instincts. Apart from that, everything is fed into us, taught to us - our minds are constantly evolving with new information. My friend Christine said the other day "we are not born with empathy, we are taught it" empathy is crucial to living in peace in humanity.
When we scrape away all the details of our complex human world, we are all just living things on this planet for a little while until we all die and our energy dissolves into the universe. All this 'immigration' talk is only an issue to the economy, it only takes common sense to realise if everyone migrated from one country to another, it would become a problem to both countries. The issue we have now is that many people want to 'close the door' to immigrants, 'no more' they say. Well, it's not as easy as that... it's not that simple. We benefit a lot from immigration, it's just we only ever hear about the negatives, the bad eggs. An interesting comment made by one of the residents on 'Immigration Street', a man from Jamaica, he said something along the lines of "when God created the world he made no walls", while I don't necessarily believe in a God creating the world, I do agree that the planet Earth does not belong to us, it's not up to us to build walls and decide who should live where. We are all immigrants somewhere down the line. I'm also sure that many 'immigrants' would rather be in their home country living a prosperous life but perhaps their home country is war torn, which could have something to do with British invasion somewhere down the line. Many British people choose to migrate abroad too, so it's inevitable really. Difficult to manage, but inevitable.
Watch this clip from Stewart Lee's stand up show (it's brilliant):
“People are talking about immigration, emigration and the rest of the fucking thing. It's all fucking crap. We're all human beings, we're all mammals, we're all rocks, plants, rivers. Fucking borders are just such a pain in the fucking arse.”
“As I would learn later on, developed countries will always welcome the Einsteins of this world -- those individuals whose talents are already recognized and deemed to have value. This welcome doesn't usually extend to the poor and uneducated people seeking to enter the country. But the truth, supported by the facts of history and the richness of immigrant contribution to America's distinction in the world, is that the most entrepreneurial, innovative, motivated citizen is the one who has been given an opportunity and wants to repay the debt.”
“All human populations are in some sense immigrants. All hostility between different cultures in one place has an aspect of the classic immigrant grudge against the next boatload approaching the shore. To defend one’s home and fields and ancestral graves against invasion seems a right. But to claim unique possession – to compound the fact of settlement with the aspect of a landscape into an abstract of eternal and immutable ownership – is a joke.”
“Whereas it appeareth that however certain forms of government are better calculated than others to protect individuals in the free exercise of their natural rights, and are at the same time themselves better guarded against degeneracy, yet experience hath shewn, that even under the best forms, those entrusted with power have, in time, and by slow operations, perverted it into tyranny; and it is believed that the most effectual means of preventing this would be, to illuminate, as far as practicable, the minds of the people at large, ....whence it becomes expedient for promoting the publick happiness that those persons, whom nature hath endowed with genius and virtue, should be rendered by liberal education worthy to receive, and able to guard the sacred deposit of the rights and liberties of their fellow citizens, and that they should be called to that charge without regard to wealth, birth or accidental condition of circumstance.” ― Thomas Jefferson, Jefferson: Writings
Recently came across this video produced by Banksy. Watch it if you haven't seen it already.
It really got me thinking, especially this quote:
"If we wash our hands of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless we side with the powerful - we don't remain neutral"
I've always settled with the frame of mind that I can't really do much to cure all of the conflict in the world, what I can do is try to create a good world around me, a positive impact on the areas of the world that I become involved with along the way. This is easy - all you have to do is be a good person. It's just not enough. I give money to charity every now and then but it's not sustainable - how much of that money even gets to the helpless? I need to make a bigger impact.
Social media is a wonderful thing, and this Banksy video is a perfect example - the effect of that 2 minute video is huge. We have this platform, this opportunity to be heard, to create awareness. Yes it's bad that every kid these days is glued to their smart phone or iPad taking selfies, we need to degrade that fascination with self and use this platform to grow this love for the world we live in. Life is short, it's to be lived and enjoyed - everyone deserves that right.
I recently moved into an apartment with two lovely boys; one from Connecticut and one from London. The other evening we were watching Ross Kemp in Afganhistan, which got us talking about war, which led to 9/11. It was interesting talking to someone who was living within 100 miles of New York when the Twin Towers were hit by terrorists.We discussed a few conspiracy theories; that it was an alleged controlled demolition, that there were no planes involved at all, new world order etc. etc. We concluded that no one can ever really know for sure why these events took place - other than the people who actually organised them.
We talked about the type of people who are so certain on a theory that they will spend their whole lives defending and projecting it. In Jon Ronson's book, The Psychopath Test, he spends time getting into the mind of conspiracy theorist David Shayler, to figure out whether he fits the criteria of a psychopath or is just a saddo. This former MI5 officer joined the 9/11 Truth Movement, which claimed that there were no planes involved in the attack, the apparent"planes" were missiles camouflaged by holograms. Later, Shayler claimed that he was the son of God stating, "I am the messiah and hold the secrets of eternal life", then if that wasn't bonkers enough, he later told newspapers that he was living as a woman in a squat in Surrey - "I don't give a fuck what other people think of me. A bloke in a frock is whole lot less offensive than blowing up innocent people in Iraq and Afghanistan". Fair enough. I reckon he should have just moved into his squat as a bird before even joining the Security Service. It seems to me that David Shayler turned himself crazy from being so obsessed with all these conspiracies and political movements.
On the other end of the scale, we have the late Brian Haw, a peace protestor and campaigner who spent the last decade of his life camping opposite Parliament in London leaving only for court hearings and surviving by food from supporters. He left his wife and children in 2001 to start the parliament square peace campaign, over the 10 years he was beaten up, arrested, joined by other protestors, he was nominated for many different awards and even one of three shortlisted for the Human Rights Award 2005 'For outstanding commitment to justice by maintaining constant vigil outside parliament demanding respect for the human rights of those in other countries. For tireless and passionate defence of freedom of speech.' - this man has left a great legacy and has influenced many people and perhaps parliamentary decisions. I just have to step back and think about this amazing world, not considering all the hell on earth for a second, I just think seeing as we only have one life - to spend it protesting just seems crazy to me. What about his family that he couldn't take care of. There is no doubt that this man was courageous and inspirational, a firm pacifist, it makes me consider my morality - it goes back to the question - is ignorance really bliss?
Pacifism dates back to the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama and Jesus. I don't believe it is necessarily a religious concept, it is the opposition to war and violence.
In in ideal world Pacifism would be promoted and encouraged by everyone on earth. Pacifism would need to be in line with less greed and need for power, more compassion and understanding.
There would be no more of this -
It's humbling that people exist to promote global peace.
But it's demoralising that even when people dedicate their lives to avoid war, it still happens.
"Perhaps the most common criticism of pacifism is that it is naïve. The idea that humanity could move beyond war strikes many people as hopelessly unrealistic, a childish dream.
But consider for a moment an alternative to pacifism, just war theory. According to this approach, some wars may be justified, provided a number of criteria are met. A pacifist might point out that every war is a just war according to the leaders who are promoting or prosecuting the war. This insight is labeled as cynical. Instead, we are to trust our leaders and the marketing machines that disseminate their vision."
I know too many people that are filled with rage at society and at our leaders and the decisions that are made, that we as nations support. I feel that so much energy is wasted then.I don't vote; I think every political party has good and bad ideas and they all twist their motifs to get votes anyway and once they're in power they can do whatever they want.
All I know is that looking at photos like this disturbs me and no matter how much X Factor or other meaningless distraction goes on, this isn't right:
Being unaware of some of the hatred, violence, upset, feud, economy problems etc seems to make life a lot easier. I will continue trying to make people around me happy, and any other people I come into contact with throughout my life, taking up any opportunities to help people. As for these global issues - I have no answers. There is no way this world will ever be in complete peace - there will always be greed and miscommunication resulting in violence.
