Musings
We
are constantly being told that we live in the most blessed era. We
live long and prosper. We enjoy good health well beyond the three
score and ten we were promised. Each human carbon unit currently
infesting the planet enjoys unprecedented advantages. Average life
expectancy is at levels undreamed of by even our grandparents.
In terms of numbers we are indisputably the most successful sentient
species on the planet. We stand on the backs of giants in terms of
technology and science. We are the masters of all we survey. We go
where no man has gone before. We decide who or what lives or dies on
this planet, and we do it without much thought most of the time.
Take for example, the present crisis in the Amazon. The Brazilian farmers - aided and abetted by the Brazilian government are happily chopping down the rain forest or setting fires to clear the land. They hope to grow crops for cash or raise beef for earning valuable hard currency. The owners of this hard currency are aghast. The climate change Gestapo are on the streets of London, Paris and Berlin marching vociferously towards their perceived Armageddon whilst taking a break for a Big Mac at lunch-time. Their hubris knows no bounds.
I watched an interesting program about antibiotics just the other day. By Today the government's Chief Scientific Officer is on television warning of the coming disaster of biblical proportions. As pathogens become more resistant to our drugs, we may soon see steep rise in illnesses we thought were gone. Science races to find new drugs which can postpone our demise for some time. How long? No-one really knows.
Mean-whilst we moan and groan every time the price of petrol, natural gas or electricity goes up. Yet deep down in places where we choose not to look, we know that these are finite resources. When I was at school in the 60’s, we were told unequivocally that all the oil would run out before the year 2000. Needless to say, that didn’t happen. So, when similar predictions are made today, is it any wonder the general populace treats them with scepticism? We are a most selfish species. As individuals we may make token gestures in terms of re-cycling or riding a bike instead of using our car, but we will not make drastic changes to our lifestyle on the whim (or word) of self-proclaimed experts. They may be right, but they may be wrong. Result, we do very little. And, even if we did, how could we convince the Brazilian farmers that they must continue to live in poverty so we can feel quite secure in our air-conditioned condo or gas guzzling limo? Logic will not suffice. Nor threats. Nor appeals to their better nature.
Meanwhile back in the real world the Brexit saga just keeps on giving. I really wanted to write about other things, but there is seemingly no escape. The other problems pale into insignificance. Boris keeps trying to call the shots but is clearly either deluded or just incompetent. Your choice. Answers on a postcard to SW1. Evidence is building that the PM is in the middle of a mental crisis or aberration. Riveting best describes watching the news. I've actually stopped watching Steve Smith flail the hapless England bowlers to all parts and switched to the BBC Parliament channel. It's better than any soap opera. It's just so difficult to keep up! Today not only has Bonking Boris lost four votes on the trot in the commons, but also he's lost his brother Joe who has resigned from the government and also his seat in parliament. So Boris troops off to the Yorkshire Police Academy, makes a dog’s dinner of a speech, causes mayhem and a police cadet to faint, slopes off back to London and continues to insist that he has everything under control.
He screams that he wants a General election, but none of the opposition parties believe he is genuine. They vote just before the prorogation to stop Bojos disingenuous call for a general election. Parliament simply will not allow a disorderly Brexit. They may not allow any Brexit at all.
(I digress to gloss over the embarrassing departure of the Ashes to the antipodes)
Meanwhile the parliamentary shenanigans may prove to be a very clever plan, even worthy of Baldrick, on behalf of the prime minister. By effectively shutting down the house, Boris now has time on his hands to wander about Europe trying to get a deal. He will be unencumbered with the necessity of having to report to parliament. Certainly this is the view of many members of the public. I hope they are right and fear that they are wrong. We will have to wait until mid-October to find out.
It's a real leap in the dark for Boris and the people. What it does highlight is the glorious revolution of 1688. While the Americans were busy forming a more perfect union and the French avidly employing madam guillotineguiteem Britain was basking in the self-serving glow of smugness at avoiding such inconveniences as real democracy. Hence we are at the mercy of the idiosyncrasies of an ancient legislature. The danger is Boris may win the day but lose his honour and soul in the process. Returning to the French revolution, one may recall the immediate cause celebre was a prorogation of the estates general by a government in order to avoid the risk of power passing to the people. This directly led to the tennis court and the refusal to disperse. And we all know where that led.
These points are at this moment being debated in the commons. They will be voting on issues which may embarrass the government, but which are unlikely to be of any use to the people who are intent on influencing or changing government policy.
Perhaps my vanity knows no bounds? String theory holds neither answers nor terrors for me. I would much rather know that our immortality is confirmed. It's not. We may fall victim to our own stupidity? We may proceed to the end of time measuring out our lives in coffee cups?
But what if we are not? What if we never pass this way again. Fact: our memories are not immutable. Our legacy is not guaranteed. For our collective sanity we assume that after we are gone our brethren go on and on. But this is not necessarily so. Perhaps the dinosaur gazing with little or no comprehension at his and his kinds imminent demise as it streaked and smoked across the sky thought they would go on for more millennia and was amazed that this was proved to be not so. We were the beneficiaries. What if we are not so fortunate? Imagine the nearby super nova which kick-started our planet should do the reverse. Our ever steady sun may blow and eight minutes later we no longer exist. Not only that. We never existed. 1984 has become fact. There is no evidence.
There's a thought. And not a pleasant one either.
