I’m not a fan of globalisation. When the term came into being in the mainstream, I thought it was quite exciting. I was off travelling the world, looking overseas for opportunities to excite and entice – I was younger, I saw the world through different eyes. The consequences to those communities, the Peruvians living around the Inca trail, the Samburu in Kenya, the Navajo in Monument Valley etc, reliance on the likes of me to make their living never occurred to me. The fact that standing face to face with me somehow destroyed their way of life didn’t cross my mind. Now my culture, way of life and freedoms are being negatively affected by globalisation, I have a certain connection with those far-away places and people borne out of mutual experience.
I’m not class prejudiced, racist, sexist, ageist and I engage in the whole ‘political correctness’ that somehow has come to reflect ‘class’ – it would be a display of ‘ignorance’ to have any other view of course, would it not? I’ve engaged in ‘regeneration programmes’ and relished working within programmes that bring the ‘excluded’ back into the system but occasionally that can reflect a negative judgement of their choices - is that fair? Does allowing ‘globalisation’ to play its hand in our communities take away their freedom to ‘just be’?
Progress; It would be a very dull world if we were ‘all the same’ and I’m open to new experiences, environments and change but that’s me. Is there a level where ‘progress’ meets freedom of choice and not ‘choosing correctly’ turns into enslavement? Worship of ‘Our Ford’ to quote Huxley’s Brave New World – are we being forced to embrace ‘globalisation’ by small steps where ‘stuff’ and ‘profit’ take priority and ‘consciousness’ is dictated by the ‘blueprint’, whatever that may be?
My world has consciously shrunk over the last 12 months. I spend much more time in the park than in front of the television these days and I’m the happier and healthier for it. There are other changes however that are enforced by globalisation like my business suffering in the wake of the banking crisis, my waking up to the global companies that dip into my bank account on a monthly basis and having to stick with my current mortgage provider because the legacy of the industry’s ineptitude makes re-negotiation pretty much impossible. The tax man however has to remain at the top of the ‘pay list’ not least because it’s the only thing you can be jailed for not paying!
So I’m here and very happy with, my new ‘smaller’ life but let’s look more closely at that big financial ‘top of the list’ priority. I don’t sweat the small stuff, Salford City Council’s £100 a month is well spent keeping me and my community safe, clean and entertained – great job. In my name the global expenditure on science research and defence in one year is another matter however. It could feed the world and all the aid projects combined for 200 years. I’m not intending travelling to space and I sure as hell, given the choice, wouldn’t be funding my Government to ride into every natural resource rich country on the globe with a ‘swag-bag’. I’m sorted with a bus-trip into town and a trip down the Co-op, thanks all the same.
All that said, I’m done pushing against the banks, the UK media and the global companies that help keep a roof over my head (not least because it feels futile) but I am concerned about “the hand that rocks the cradle’s” agenda. Freedom vs globalisation – I’ll take the former, thanks. I don’t want to be a cog in a massive wheel creating ‘stuff’ that has somehow completely lost its meaning (if it ever really had a valid one to begin with). I’d like to just get on supporting the conscientious UK developers and local authorities focussed on creating improved prospects, environments and economic opportunities for communities, the fantastic supply chain that serves them and the journalist network that works tirelessly to bring the real issues to the fore.
World Government has lost sight of what it’s there for – to serve the people. The populous is becoming aware of this loss in precedence worldwide but the Governments seem unwilling or unable to deal with ‘peaceful protest’ and containing that with force seems to be their only response. That’s wrong, and if the population reacts against that force in the same way, they, and we, are the only losers in the longer term.
Regonomics, now there’s a term, alongside Thatcherism, was the start of where we find ourselves today. Regulators then and since have given global companies free rein to slowly but surely to move into the more dominant position of power. Is it too late to halt this now and does the Government realise or care that those policies ignore human beings? People, in spite of the grand plan, just don’t, nor should, live in boxes on flow charts.
More worryingly, and perhaps a more sinister and a personal by-product of ‘globalisation’, is the ‘war on terror’ lawmaking that makes a mockery of our freedoms. A meaningless term used in describing ways in which our Government is ‘protecting’ us whilst simultaneously chipping away at that freedom. What’s worse is that, alongside it, there is a demonisation of groups, perpetrated in part by the mainstream media, setting large swaths of the population in opposition to each other. The ‘Muslim community’, the ‘feral youth’, the ‘NIMBY’s’, the ‘benefit scroungers’, the ‘super rich’, the ‘bankers’, the ‘dirty-trick media’, the ‘corrupt law enforcers’, the ‘ex-offenders’, the ‘drug users’ and the ‘job-stealing immigrants’ (it’s a whole blog in itself). Surely the large majority understands that 99% of people, group or no group, are, on the whole, nice people without a scary, hidden agenda?
Immigration is at an all time high and is eroding our sense of belonging. The large majority of us are afraid to associate or defend our ‘place’ in the world for fear of being labelled, well, just ‘wrong’. Where is our sense of identity? Is it buried in the ruins of the World Trade Centre? Is that OK? We’re desperately looking for a sense of solidarity and connection which is why I suspect the recent #ILoveMcr campaign did so well – it’s an acceptable ‘grouping’ but still indirectly under the guise of ‘fighting’ another group (the scary ‘feral youth’...ooohhh). Why aren’t we allowed to ‘belong’ anymore? Is the only way we are allowed to ‘identify’ with other people by fighting another group (usually pin-pointed on our behalf by the mainstream media)?
The point is that, on a micro level, the dilution of communities and national identity is the end result of globalisation. We’ve seen it happen all over the world but because ‘the west’ was in the driving seat, we sat back and thought ‘it must be OK’ – it’s not OK. Whether you’re Libyan, Egyptian, Irish, Muslim, English, young, old, professional, Salfordian, homosexual, Cumbrian, devout – you should be given the freedom to identify on a large or small scale without being made to feel like you’re wrong to do so. National identity is under attack globally but unless you’re ‘fighting’ in response to another group, it’s not really ‘PC’ to express it or identify strongly with a minority group, religious or otherwise. Negative labels aren’t healthy and we all need to work together for the greater good not fight between ourselves on a small (or large) scale. Clearly, we’d all be much better off if we weren’t fighting on a large scale at all, or should I call it ‘peace keeping’ (the creeping terminology is also another blog in itself)?
When I’m acting on behalf of a developer, there’s a ‘master plan’, it doesn’t mean I ride roughshod over the community or accuse them of being a ‘NIMBY’. I inform them openly what that plan is and why it’s happening and how it will benefit/affect them. I work as a link between that plan and what’s best for the community taking all views into consideration and informing my client (which is bound to operate within established laws). Granted I use the media to inform (not to manipulate) but there’s a bigger plan and a benefit statement that’s openly there for review by everyone.
Where is the flexibility and listening within the Government’s plan? Furthermore what the hell is the plan anyway, other than an apparent shambles? Perhaps that’s the point because we might not actually like the plan if we knew exactly what it was - all we get is propaganda. Does this reflect a democracy?
Apparently, in a ‘State of Emergency’, Government can just change the law because, erm, I don’t know why, just because they’ve quietly amended it so it can happen that way. If you read the Daily Mail with the largest UK readership, it seems as if we’re in a state of emergency on almost a daily basis and that’s not even one of Murdoch’s (but they do have a “Catastrophe Risk Management” sister company so at least they can tell us how to sort it out once they’ve informed us all of it!).
Does all this therefore add up to being in a dictatorship? If not, as a member of a democracy, I’d like to say “Dear World Governments, please may I ‘just be’? If not, what exactly am I paying you for?” I don’t have the option to ‘sack ‘em’ do I? I’m Salford born and bred, as is most of my community, I’m happy here. That doesn’t mean a more diverse community can’t live in peaceful harmony together as long as, as individuals, they allow each other to ‘just be’.
This short film says it all, it has that ‘all American’ feel but it’s still relevant (with fun graphics too) http://www.youtube.com/storyofstuffproject#p/u/22/9GorqroigqM.
I’m not class prejudiced, racist, sexist, ageist and I engage in the whole ‘political correctness’ that somehow has come to reflect ‘class’ – it would be a display of ‘ignorance’ to have any other view of course, would it not? I’ve engaged in ‘regeneration programmes’ and relished working within programmes that bring the ‘excluded’ back into the system but occasionally that can reflect a negative judgement of their choices - is that fair? Does allowing ‘globalisation’ to play its hand in our communities take away their freedom to ‘just be’?
Progress; It would be a very dull world if we were ‘all the same’ and I’m open to new experiences, environments and change but that’s me. Is there a level where ‘progress’ meets freedom of choice and not ‘choosing correctly’ turns into enslavement? Worship of ‘Our Ford’ to quote Huxley’s Brave New World – are we being forced to embrace ‘globalisation’ by small steps where ‘stuff’ and ‘profit’ take priority and ‘consciousness’ is dictated by the ‘blueprint’, whatever that may be?
My world has consciously shrunk over the last 12 months. I spend much more time in the park than in front of the television these days and I’m the happier and healthier for it. There are other changes however that are enforced by globalisation like my business suffering in the wake of the banking crisis, my waking up to the global companies that dip into my bank account on a monthly basis and having to stick with my current mortgage provider because the legacy of the industry’s ineptitude makes re-negotiation pretty much impossible. The tax man however has to remain at the top of the ‘pay list’ not least because it’s the only thing you can be jailed for not paying!
So I’m here and very happy with, my new ‘smaller’ life but let’s look more closely at that big financial ‘top of the list’ priority. I don’t sweat the small stuff, Salford City Council’s £100 a month is well spent keeping me and my community safe, clean and entertained – great job. In my name the global expenditure on science research and defence in one year is another matter however. It could feed the world and all the aid projects combined for 200 years. I’m not intending travelling to space and I sure as hell, given the choice, wouldn’t be funding my Government to ride into every natural resource rich country on the globe with a ‘swag-bag’. I’m sorted with a bus-trip into town and a trip down the Co-op, thanks all the same.
All that said, I’m done pushing against the banks, the UK media and the global companies that help keep a roof over my head (not least because it feels futile) but I am concerned about “the hand that rocks the cradle’s” agenda. Freedom vs globalisation – I’ll take the former, thanks. I don’t want to be a cog in a massive wheel creating ‘stuff’ that has somehow completely lost its meaning (if it ever really had a valid one to begin with). I’d like to just get on supporting the conscientious UK developers and local authorities focussed on creating improved prospects, environments and economic opportunities for communities, the fantastic supply chain that serves them and the journalist network that works tirelessly to bring the real issues to the fore.
World Government has lost sight of what it’s there for – to serve the people. The populous is becoming aware of this loss in precedence worldwide but the Governments seem unwilling or unable to deal with ‘peaceful protest’ and containing that with force seems to be their only response. That’s wrong, and if the population reacts against that force in the same way, they, and we, are the only losers in the longer term.
Regonomics, now there’s a term, alongside Thatcherism, was the start of where we find ourselves today. Regulators then and since have given global companies free rein to slowly but surely to move into the more dominant position of power. Is it too late to halt this now and does the Government realise or care that those policies ignore human beings? People, in spite of the grand plan, just don’t, nor should, live in boxes on flow charts.
More worryingly, and perhaps a more sinister and a personal by-product of ‘globalisation’, is the ‘war on terror’ lawmaking that makes a mockery of our freedoms. A meaningless term used in describing ways in which our Government is ‘protecting’ us whilst simultaneously chipping away at that freedom. What’s worse is that, alongside it, there is a demonisation of groups, perpetrated in part by the mainstream media, setting large swaths of the population in opposition to each other. The ‘Muslim community’, the ‘feral youth’, the ‘NIMBY’s’, the ‘benefit scroungers’, the ‘super rich’, the ‘bankers’, the ‘dirty-trick media’, the ‘corrupt law enforcers’, the ‘ex-offenders’, the ‘drug users’ and the ‘job-stealing immigrants’ (it’s a whole blog in itself). Surely the large majority understands that 99% of people, group or no group, are, on the whole, nice people without a scary, hidden agenda?
Immigration is at an all time high and is eroding our sense of belonging. The large majority of us are afraid to associate or defend our ‘place’ in the world for fear of being labelled, well, just ‘wrong’. Where is our sense of identity? Is it buried in the ruins of the World Trade Centre? Is that OK? We’re desperately looking for a sense of solidarity and connection which is why I suspect the recent #ILoveMcr campaign did so well – it’s an acceptable ‘grouping’ but still indirectly under the guise of ‘fighting’ another group (the scary ‘feral youth’...ooohhh). Why aren’t we allowed to ‘belong’ anymore? Is the only way we are allowed to ‘identify’ with other people by fighting another group (usually pin-pointed on our behalf by the mainstream media)?
The point is that, on a micro level, the dilution of communities and national identity is the end result of globalisation. We’ve seen it happen all over the world but because ‘the west’ was in the driving seat, we sat back and thought ‘it must be OK’ – it’s not OK. Whether you’re Libyan, Egyptian, Irish, Muslim, English, young, old, professional, Salfordian, homosexual, Cumbrian, devout – you should be given the freedom to identify on a large or small scale without being made to feel like you’re wrong to do so. National identity is under attack globally but unless you’re ‘fighting’ in response to another group, it’s not really ‘PC’ to express it or identify strongly with a minority group, religious or otherwise. Negative labels aren’t healthy and we all need to work together for the greater good not fight between ourselves on a small (or large) scale. Clearly, we’d all be much better off if we weren’t fighting on a large scale at all, or should I call it ‘peace keeping’ (the creeping terminology is also another blog in itself)?
When I’m acting on behalf of a developer, there’s a ‘master plan’, it doesn’t mean I ride roughshod over the community or accuse them of being a ‘NIMBY’. I inform them openly what that plan is and why it’s happening and how it will benefit/affect them. I work as a link between that plan and what’s best for the community taking all views into consideration and informing my client (which is bound to operate within established laws). Granted I use the media to inform (not to manipulate) but there’s a bigger plan and a benefit statement that’s openly there for review by everyone.
Where is the flexibility and listening within the Government’s plan? Furthermore what the hell is the plan anyway, other than an apparent shambles? Perhaps that’s the point because we might not actually like the plan if we knew exactly what it was - all we get is propaganda. Does this reflect a democracy?
Apparently, in a ‘State of Emergency’, Government can just change the law because, erm, I don’t know why, just because they’ve quietly amended it so it can happen that way. If you read the Daily Mail with the largest UK readership, it seems as if we’re in a state of emergency on almost a daily basis and that’s not even one of Murdoch’s (but they do have a “Catastrophe Risk Management” sister company so at least they can tell us how to sort it out once they’ve informed us all of it!).
Does all this therefore add up to being in a dictatorship? If not, as a member of a democracy, I’d like to say “Dear World Governments, please may I ‘just be’? If not, what exactly am I paying you for?” I don’t have the option to ‘sack ‘em’ do I? I’m Salford born and bred, as is most of my community, I’m happy here. That doesn’t mean a more diverse community can’t live in peaceful harmony together as long as, as individuals, they allow each other to ‘just be’.
This short film says it all, it has that ‘all American’ feel but it’s still relevant (with fun graphics too) http://www.youtube.com/storyofstuffproject#p/u/22/9GorqroigqM.
No comments:
Post a Comment