Larry's Lunchette

When life’s events get too much for us, we all need a place we can go, in our heads, which transcends the normal physical realm. Under stress, I visit the ancient Chinese philosophers like Lao Tzu who conjured the deep wisdom of ‘The Way’: The Tao is not about any god or religion – but explores the pattern and substance of all that exists naturally – how we can best live in harmony with the world. A core Taoist understanding is that we ‘let go’ – allow life to take its course – ‘go with the flow’: “at this moment, allow everything to be as it is”. Following the election, I wrote this maxim on ‘post-it’ notes – beside my bed – in the car…. It captures where I find myself just now: ‘hors de combat’ – out of action.

It becomes increasingly obvious, that the most pragmatic political route to a ‘good society’ is now Scottish independence; the main barrier to which is simply our collective exhaustion. My brain knows I need to get back in the fray – the Tao says it’s okay to watch and wait for a while – let things settle.

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The street-mess from festive celebrations is cleared, but I hope the argument now raging in Edinburgh continues to build. Last week, Edinburgh city centre was transformed into a huge commercial space, where residents were told they needed tickets to have guests visit their homes. Good piece in the FT, calling this a new ‘enclosure of the commons’ – warning of the dangers of excluding citizens from city centres. I especially liked Mike Small’s diatribe in the Sunday National; “If ‘People make Glasgow’ – ‘Money makes Edinburgh’”. The city has been bought and sold.” The citizens of Edinburgh need to inform their Councillors, that cities like New York do not commercialise their public space. Only free events can be mounted.

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Just before the holiday, the head of Scotland’s Violence Reduction Unit (VRU), Niven Rennie, spoke to the media about rates of violent crime. He said that the scientific evidence remains unequivocal – criminal violence is directly linked to poverty – to childhood neglect and trauma – to alcohol and drug abuse; jailing record numbers is not the best use of resources – but, he says, the primary instinct to punish is deep in the Scottish psyche (Calvinism?) For fifteen years, the VRU has pioneered more effective engagement with offenders – but politicians and the media still lapse into populist, hardline rhetoric – which significantly hinders progress.

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For a long time, I didn’t believe that such a unionist newspaper as the Herald could launch a pro-independence title like the National – so I kept away.  But recently I’ve become a keen fan of the Sunday National – quality journalism, links with the Ferret, Bella Caledonia etc.  This week, editor Richard Walker explained the Herald/National relationship.

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Alison Evison, Labour councillor and president of COSLA, is a principled politician we’ll hear more about.  In December, she called for a second independence referendum – and this week she spoke urgently of the crisis facing Scottish Council budgets – as cracks appear at the heart of our communities.

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While I have several translations of the Tao Te Ching, the version I use is by Ursula Le Guin – Lao Tzu’s magic seems best captured by a female voice.  This from her introduction:

“I wanted a book of ‘the Way’ accessible to a present-day, unwise, unpowerful, and perhaps unmale reader, not seeking esoteric secrets, but listening for a voice that speaks to the soul.  I would like that reader to see why people have loved the book for twenty-five hundred years.  It is the most lovable of all the great religious texts, funny, keen, kind, modest, indestructibly outrageous, and inexhaustibly refreshing.  Of all the deep springs, this is the purest water.  To me, it is also the deepest spring.”