I had intended on posting a completely different type of entry, one more focused on the autobiographical; however, in the light of events I was reminded that on the 24th June 2025 I wrote a blog entitled “Have we given our hearts away”. In it I included the following, but I have highlighted some phrases in bold:
“The world is too much with us, complained William Wordsworth in 1802, just after the turn of the 18th and 19th century....
In effect much was going on then as now. There certainly was a continuous level of violence going on, and the recognition of human rights was being determined all over the globe. Revolutions and hypocrisies were rife, nonetheless we have established, in more than one area, a human rights convention and an International Criminal Court to oversee flagrant breaches of a rule of law that we are all meant to observe. So as Wordsworth cried out in 1802 against a disappearance of decency, so we cry out now that the world is indeed too much with us. Relief from this insanity of nationalist imperialism and violent religious bigotry, would not come amiss. Must leaders of democracies be tyrants in the making? Is arrogance and narcissism a prerequisite to governance? Why do so many cling to people of such colossal ego with extravagant and amoral prejudice? Is it necessary to create a bogeyman on whom to heap vile insults, such as Hitler on the Jews and Trump on all immigrants? Is it essential to so obviously twist the truth?
For goodness sake, there are pictures and recordings of events, clearly illustrative of appalling actions and criminality, which are turned on their head. Why is that accepted? Are the populace so totally mesmerised as to be made deaf, dumb and blind?
When will the congress of the United States step up and reassert its powers to uphold the rule of law? When will this Orwellian horror show be over?
One should normally be respectful of other people’s views, no matter how difficult they may be. To have divergent opinions is a healthy thing. We are individuals and not all alike. We may seethe inwardly, but honest opinion is to be respected. Honest opinion, not one founded on mendacity, bigotry and ignorance. With the likes of Putin, Trump, Netanyahu, Lukashenko, Orban et al, it is a calculated and pernicious obsession to retain power. Any lie and appeal to ignorance is acceptable. It is strategic condescension, as defined by Pierre Bourdieu, used to maintain that power. Is it any wonder Trump claims to “love the poorly educated”?
I sometimes feel at wits end and deeply troubled by an inability to act. It is all very well to rant at my MacBook Air screen, but it changes nothing. I know I am not alone in my point of view. It is irrational, but I loath the poorly educated. I do not speak of the ignorant, or the intellectually challenged, as they are for the most part able to distinguish truth from lies. I loath the people who claim education and knowledge when it is, in effect, based on deceit, duplicity, lies and fabrications. Believing in myths and ghosts is harmless, but calling on people to obliterate those with whom we do not agree, and calling them scum, is a crime against humanity. This is what our current leaders seem to do, and want to do. It is who we have elected. How sad is that?”
So, having said that nearly a year ago, the situation has become even worse. The crass, crude and rude uncivilised behaviour of the current President of the United States is beyond redemption. His acolytes are no better. How has the world order let such stupidity reign for so long? Now, even some of Trump’s previously staunch supporters want to see him removed as soon as possible. His clear lack of control over his own speech as well as over his supposed ally, Netanyahu, has imperilled the world. Under the guise of his approach to making America safe, he has exacerbated a tragic situation in the Middle East by making it not only a death trap of horrifying proportions, but an equally catastrophic economic disaster.
I am sorry to be so repetitive, but there is no other way. The same crap seems to be occurring again and again. The nightly news is just as stuck, amplifying the same story over and over again since the 21st January 2025. There is no such thing as “What’s new?”. Perhaps there is a change, from “plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose” to “plus ça change, plus c'est pire”
Can this be fixed at the ballot box? I sincerely hope so.
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