SPRING 2007
These days, as the recent wreath lecture series - radio 4 - has shown - all serious "conservatives" - economists too - those that dare to face facts - are reformers . Sometimes, "radical" reformers.
HOUSE OF CARDS WORLD
This is a "house of cards" world - with its backdrop of increasing climate turbulence, other environmental feedback effects,extreme global poverty in the "third world" (- but also here), raging global rearmament, (nuclear, chemical, biological - dna too), sudden shortages, increasing amounts of "pendulum" disasters-waiting-to-happen . . . . yet a set of democratic decisionmaking structures all too easy prey to the machinations of "opinion formers" . Funded by lobby groups, vested interests etc - described in that series of lectures as a "logjam", though perhaps this description understates their actual role somewhat, it is perhaps, too, the "state of mind" of the "opinion formers" that is the problem, seeing as this, too, is a "logjam", of sorts- either way, the bit of the solution that addresses these jamms is, for the worlds future to exist at all, crucial.
PUPPET LEADERS, POISONED PUPPETEERS
Actual leadership these days is often "under the horizon", as "Leaders" are all too often either puppets, proxies, "lightning rods" (to distract or take blame) or pinballs - despite good intentions, bounced this way then that, by lobby groups, odd media fashions, suspect polls, or forces they dont fully comprehend, but must pret end to. It is unfortunate, but the most of the leadership "under the horizon" is much, much worse. Levers that are, most of the time, about forms of smearing the facts or quiet sabotage, increasing the stupidity or adding distractions, tend to have a dumbing, sentience-corrosion effect upon those that use them. The newest "sacred cow" is the myth of "getting away with it" - or - it was.
THEM, US, GAMES. . . . GAME OVER ?
In this situation, "leadership" of both sorts tends to take a position "against" others - seeing everything as "the game", or "choose us or them" . Enemies are easy, when acting in favour of social principles or creating social worth seems blocked or without appreciation. The "war on terrorism" seems a lowpoint in this worlds distraction from progress - as it seems that somebody or other tries to create a "clash of cultures" with actions that actual soldiers of all ranks protest is, in fact, causing increasing numbers of "terrorists" to such extent it seems a deliberate aspect of the strategy. ( in fact, if so, the only bit of the strategy that seems to work).
BUT. . . . WAR WAS OVER. . . .
(BUT WHO WAS IT GOOD FOR)
Looking back from the gritty miracle of the N.I. peace process, I remember the old soldier "informed sceptics" that said the biggest problem was the racketeers that might think they had reasons to try to get it going again. Post-cold war, when from the rubble of the Walls we were about to fashion a good name for "progress" again - a series of odd "hiccups"meant several people had suspicions we might have underemphasised both supporting certain sections of people into the new "peace", as much as protecting it from the consequences of old "side-effects" of the cold war.
BUT. . . .
The 1992 "Rio" global UN summit WAS due to cover disarmament, with the eradication of global poverty, as much as "the environment"in the original brief . Although those other 4 key issues ( of global democratic structures, the economic (credit/ worth / investment/ waste) foundations of the world, the aspects of "media" that affect democracy, global covert crimes - ditto) werent included, it might have needed somebody with a serious depression or paranoia to predict that all we'd get was a dodgy racket of "carbon trading" for a different set of percentage rake-off games to play.
BUT YOU DONT STOP
The worlds people - despite overwork, distractions, malnourishment of all varieties, gaudy circuses replacing proper information, control freakery replacing stewardship - didnt stop. Campaign by campaign, backed up with each test of public opinion, despite biased questions, whipped up apathy, the interest sapping dilution of "aims", people of every nation got together to "make poverty history" - culminating in the G8 summit at Gleneagles - but almost as if the bombs were torpedoes aimed by racketeer criminal "opinion formers" guiding a traumatic "memory wipe" distraction at this campaign, 7/7. If our media OR our decisionmaking structures are thrown off course with so little "cost" - except a few of our fellow citizens - then the question "were the actual people plotting 7/7 doing it for the spin?" is immaterial. Are the structures of the world adequate? No.The main problem might seem the terror-crime, or the climate turbulence - but for this reason too - the "structural" discussions shouldnt wait, or limit itsef to piecemeal, "polishing" adaptions of the status quo.
BOUNCEBACK, FACTCHECK, ATTITUDE
As, say, 1939 was to the British, 2007 is to the world. The "precondition" is to pass the test of explaining how it gets us all out of this mess, in time. All other attempts to seize the word "realpolitik" should get the ridicule they deserve - but people from the entire spectrum of past opinions should get heard, listened to, in the expectation that all could alter positions - but that there is much that people could do to assist each others efforts to have greatest effect - when people dont agree about everything, too.
STRENGTH IN DIVERSITY
- that overused but underemployed phrase - in retrospect is often that the necessary "solution" was the existence of several very different-seeming solutions pushing upwards at various different fronts, different energies, taking different forms, with traditions that emphasize the memory of different things, etc, tactics, "evolve" in different ways - the key is often the "overlaps" - listening to each other to comprehend, to appreciate further, then to think, then rethink, to "pull each other up" - but in a good way, listening to each other is sometimes less all doing the same thing at the same time, more getting accustomed to moving to the music together without stepping on each others toes. It aint THAT complex once you do it for a bit.




PROPOSITION - 4 FEEDBACK
What we need at the moment is further sorts of overlap - of all sorts of traditions, of reformists, of radicals from the entire spectrum of opinions etc that result in ALL choosing to alter positions after - sometimes a heck of a lot, sometimes to step on each others toes a bit less, misrepresent each other a bit less, but also to refuse to tolerate getting played against each other by "middlemen" - or "middlewomen" for that matter - in the broadcasting industry or elsewhere - in fact - to unite to push for certain straightforward discussions about "structural" inadequacies to get heard, as much as serious ways to alternate futures that cushion all communities, allowing a good future for all.
LESS CONFERENCES, MORE MUTUAL MEETINGS. . . . PLUS
Of course, this also means, to some extent, saying things that, in the past couldnt get said, but also supporting others doing so.
( Sometimes, this means allowing the "perhaps its about cash, or old cover-ups" sort of doubt to go where "of course its some weird ideological thing, thats what all the papers say" used to go ) !