BEING IN THE PRESENT - AN OBSERVATION

The difficulties of keeping up with keeping up have never been more apparent than at the present time. I have previously listed events attributed to specific years - 1968, 1956/57/58/59 – but in the past 12 months there has been an onslaught of dangerous activity under the cloak of a pandemic, that takes one’s breath away.  

The incidents are not actually hidden, as the news media reports on these events, and various columnists and editorials in various journals, proffer opinion. Likewise, various reporters attempt to relay the facts of these occurrences around the world. Because of the nature of some events capturing the attention of the public and the media (e.g. party-gate in the UK, revelations by the Jan 6^th Committee in the United States, and Trumps endless harangue) it has been difficult to keep an eye on other governmental activity looming in various legislative bodies.

So far as the United Kingdom is concerned, the Crime bill and the Elections bill are instances in point of regressive and repressive legislation going through the parliamentary process to become laws that will cause a great deal of harm to this country before they can be amended and repealed; possible breaches of International Law in Northern Ireland; disturbing reports of the activities and endemic attitudes of sections of the Metropolitan Police only add to the perception of glaring failures by various administrations to take control of law enforcement. A cost of living crisis being addressed by a government in panic mode, attempting to shore up the rising costs, and floating a thick manifesto of principles to ‘level up’ societal divides. These measures are not to have immediate effect, but are supposed to bring equilibrium by 2030, 8 years from now. Why do ministers keep saying the UK is the fastest growing economy? Repeating it ad nauseum is not going to make it true. One only has to look around and hear people explaining their distress at current cost of living, difficulties of living on benefits, and the increased use of food banks to wonder how fast the economy is growing. For whom?

These measures are being announce to distract the public from current realities, not only of the incompetence of the government, but in particular from the deficiencies of the prime minister, whom they are somehow trapped to defend with inane excuses. The only way out of defending the indefensible is to distract. They do this by claiming to get on with the job, faffing around with grand promises and bits of cover expenditure to temporarily ease inflation, on the assumption that the public will be so grateful that the voters will keep them in office for the next 8 years. Can you believe the arrogance?

On top of all this, there is an international scene being developed by Mr Putin. Various world leaders have all lined up to speak to him on the phone. To what effect? What possible gain have we had from Boris Johnson’s day return to the Ukraine? So far it is all bluster and maybe sanctions that might cause problems for Russia but certainly not Mr Putin. I believe the movement of some personnel and the sharing of weaponry has only had the effect of hardening Vladimir’s resolve and image making for the Russian people.  I may be wrong.

There are also various elections coming up around the world, all of which will have some impact of the international scene. There is growing civil violence in Myanmar to dislodge the Junta. What assistance is being given by the western powers?

There is so much more stuff to take into account, all of which is viewed under the daily charts of Covid Infections, deaths as a result of covid, hospitalisation, percentages of vaccinations together with disputes over vaccination and mask wearing.  

The pandemic cannot help but continued to dominate, while other matters of import appear in an iCloud, to be downloaded piecemeal when some incident attracts attention. Party-gate is part of the pandemic, it is only one of the viral effects that plague this administration and has exposed its weakness. The glaring exposure of its leading jester as an habitual dissembler and the weakness of his acolytes forced, as well as choosing, to come to his aid with embarrassing appearance before the cameras, attempting to deflect real answers by claiming success for Johnson’s leadership on the vaccination effort, a growing economy, falling unemployment, great numbers of jobs etc.. none of which is real. 

Without the existing NHS there would have been no vaccination program. Boris did not produce the NHS. Producing a vaccine was underway from the beginning of the pandemic and did not require any asisstance or push from Boris. He just takes the credit. There are more jobs on offer because a lot of people have left jobs, either to work abroad, become self-employed, or are on zero contracts, or simply return to their own country as a result of Brexit. Inflation is wiping out any real economic improvement and the process of levelling up is a promise floating on the hot air being spewed out by ministers.

Again, I may be wrong about my analysis, and if I am I ask pardon. It is because I feel as if I am constantly observing through a fog or is it through a glass darkly?

Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰ but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. ¹¹ When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. ¹² For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

¹³ And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

This is not to suggest that I am in any way religious or prepared to believe in a God, but the language of the Bible can sometimes produce a clear reflection of a passing moment of contemplation.