Listening to a Radio 4 discussion (I can’t now remember which or who said what) I heard the phrase “Families are like countries”. It is indeed a sentiment that I can relate to, although I would have placed the emphasis the other way round “Countries are like families”. Indeed, the preoccupations of a nation are reflected in media (newspapers, radio, television, internet) or perhaps promoted by that same media, just as there is always someone in the family who passes round information of births, successes, travel, engagements, marriages, fallings out, job changes, movements in general and deaths. The gamut of human activity within the family is discussed with various degrees of emphasis and importance, as well as who, or what, should be told. This will also included, on occasion, the trials and tribulations of close friends and acquaintances. What is happening in the rest of the world, at times, is quite secondary.
It is not that the information isn’t there to be absorbed, it is merely a matter of what is holding our interest at the time. The strike in Birmingham in relation to the collection of rubbish is an instance in point. We are made aware of it and its effects in Birmingham, but for those of us living in London, with no relatives or friends in that city, in may provoke some empathy but, on the whole, levels of concern will vary a great deal across the country. Similarly, what goes on in France, Germany, the Sudan, China and the Far East etc. will only become of notice and import depending on the nature and gravity of the event that brings it into world focus. I suppose that is only natural.
What causes me, at this moment in time, to ponder on the question of emphasis, importance and relevance of information, is the current preoccupation with the royal family and the machinations of a member of that family. How is it that this event has been blown up to such proportions? I liken it to the notion that a butterfly fluttering its wings in the amazon can cause a storm in the North Atlantic. This is chaos theory in action. One very socially mobile rich man’s perversions in southern Florida several years ago, have caused ripples round the world. That storm seems too have had its greatest effect in the United Kingdom. Political careers have been aborted and lines of succession are being debated across the country. Possible acts of Parliament are being discussed. The tragedies in middle Europe and in the Middle East have taken a back seat. Wars continue, health care is in serious financial difficulties, the costs of higher education are in turmoil, poverty and homelessness are still very much problems to be addressed, and the greatest threat to western democracy still sits in the White House in Washington. The man who is mentioned over and over again, laced into the the cocoon of that Florida butterfly, is a a major contributor to the current chaos.
It all boils down to acquisitiveness. The relationships effectively revolved around information able to be used to acquire yet more wealth. The insider information available to people in influential positions close to imminent financial dealings involving vast sums off money. On the spot knowledge of substantial public and private investments in substantial public and private businesses, surreptitiously passed on to others by persons with a duty of care not to misuse the confidences with which they were entrusted. Therein lies the problem in the United Kingdom. I am not so sure that the underage sex will play any great part in the UK, except as a salacious backdrop.
In the United States however, the situation is reversed. There are outcries for prosecutions for sexual abuse by the so called ‘clients’ of Mr. Epstein, whilst the financial trading aspect is peripheral. What is bizarre is that people in the United States are pointing to the arrest and contemplations of prosecutions in the UK, and loudly proclaiming “Why aren’t we doing that here?” They seem to miss the point that the offences being contemplated in the UK are about misuse of position over financial dealings rather than sexual behaviour. Sadly, the traumas suffered by the victims of Epstein and his wealthy ‘clients’ are unlikely to see any retribution of any kind, unless, of course, there are substantial sums of money involved. Perhaps I am too cynical.
It is the prominence of these events that have pushed the lethal violence in the rest of the world out of the headlines. Just as, in a family, the death of a relative puts, the failure of someone’s passing an A level, in the shade, whilst an affair by a close relative with another might put the death of an elderly parent off the agenda for a while. I really don’t know just how much attention one should pay to world events. Does having a specific knowledge of the affairs in other countries give us any greater insight? Does it help knowing the names and political affiliations of other leaders of state and their ministers in all African, Asian and European nations? Will we be better for having that knowledge?
What I can say is that we are all facing the same problems. Health, housing, employment, food supply, education, security, culture and leisure are necessary for survival no matter where we are. Collecting waste, efficient plumbing, public and private transport along well maintained rail and roads are equally essential in the 21st century. How each state choses to provide these things for their citizens is what matters most just as it is of concern to all families. Understanding how best to achieve this across the globe is not a bad thing to be aiming for. It doesn’t necessarily make headlines, but it is what should be the order of things. What does seem to make the papers at the moment is the chaos. Restoring order and freedom can be achieved either through democracy or dictatorship.
There was once a call for “Education, education, education” which somehow has transmogrified into “Brainwash, brainwash, brainwash”. That is what seems to be the trend, certainly from the leadership in the United States. I understand the concern for victims of Epstein, but turning the deaths of innocent protesters in Minnesota, into ‘dealing with domestic terrorists in self defence’, when the entire world has seen the videos, is beyond comprehension. That should be the greater outcry, the continuing headline; but, we live with what we have. It would be so nice to get back to democracy.
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