Unlike most countries, the British constitution is ‘unwritten’, but this demands that ministers of state have some sense of honour; if, as now, our leaders feel free to ignore the rules and lie to the people – an unwritten constitution is not enough; democracy requires checks and balances. I don’t remember ever feeling as gloomy, that power in this country is out of control; that the balance provided by an ‘opposition’ has disappeared; that totally without sanctions, Johnson’s crew realise that they can do want they want.
Through the positioning of their ‘placemen’, we are witnessing a calculated Tory assault on our key institutions: the Electoral Commission; the Judicial Review; the BBC; even the NHS and many others. I know we are all distracted by a pandemic but there is not enough ‘outrage’ – that democracy and the rule of law are being intentionally undermined – that the UK is drifting into one-party rule.
No longer a ‘warrior’, I rant into this blog before re-joining the spectators. Although very different from Western thought, I try to borrow insight from ancient Chinese philosophy: My go-to text is the Tao Te Ching. Taoism favours allowing things to take their natural course – that our activities should fit into the natural pattern of the universe – detached, not ego-driven. Taoists find their way through life in the same way as a river, flowing through the countryside, finds its natural course. Sometimes I get close to this composure, but not around our present government. I want rid of these sleazy chancers.
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Although it’s difficult to find any clarity, it seems that John Swinney has once again assumed ministerial responsibility for aspects of third sector support; I must say, that in 14 years of SNP rule, he has been the most engaged and informed about our sector; except that he frequently said that he justified generous levels of funding because of the third sector’s contribution to the economy – but this distorts the picture. Our sector exists as the expression of compassion towards suffering and injustice – that’s reason enough – independent of financial consequences. Raghuram Rajan in an important economic thinker. This is a review of his book, ‘The Third Pillar’ which warns of the danger of the markets and the state leaving communities behind.
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Full article in the Sunday Post about how Covid has pushed the poorest Scots over the brink. (Save the Children Report – ‘Dropped into a Cave’) – that a reliable minimum income for families with children is an urgent priority. To understand more about child poverty in Scotland, see this press release from the Poverty and Inequality Commission.
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I look forward to a future ‘wellbeing economy’ which requires businesses to demonstrate that they don’t harm the common good. This Conversation article asks whether sport, football in particular, should restrict the advertising of unhealthy products like alcohol, gambling, junk-food etc. Fans could demand healthier brands partners for their teams – maybe taking a leaf out of Cristiano’s book.
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Great rendition of 500 miles in Spanish Flamenco.
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Having read hundreds of detective novels, set in many countries, I don’t believe that police officers are any more or less honest than the rest of us. But, at times, many institutions can harbour a culture of corruption, which seems to be the case with the London Met (Daniel Morgan inquiry). Let’s hope our Home Secretary is not a sleazy chancer.
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Advances in medical science mean that some people, in pain and distress, are kept alive too long, when they would prefer to end their life. Another survey by Dignity in Dying, finds that 86% of Scots want our Parliament to reconsider the law on assisted dying. I know it’s controversial, but we don’t let animals suffer.
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The German writer Hermann Hesse has been influential over the years in shaping my view of the world. This quote is from an unpublished letter:
“Life is meaningless, cruel, stupid, and nevertheless magnificent – it does not make fun of us (for that requires intelligence),but concerns itself with humans no more than with the earthworm. We must take the cruelty of life and the inexorability of death into ourselves, not by moaning but by experiencing our despair to the full. Only then, only when we have taken all the meaninglessness of nature into ourselves, can we begin to confront it and to force a meaning on it. That is the highest achievement we are capable of. Most people do not suffer from meaninglessness, any more than the earthworm does. But precisely the few who do look for meaning – are the meaning of humankind.”