Historic Parallels

Paddy Ashdown has said that the decision to not take action against the use of chemical weapons in Syria will make England “be a country that shrugs its shoulders and says ‘nothing to do with me’”. I agree. Of course I understand that there are many well-intentioned people who disagree with Syrian military intervention, mainly because they do not fully understand the difference between the Iraq conflict and that which is going on now – i.e. U.N. democracy, or lack thereof – and I fully accept that British democracy has been proven functional in its resistance to warfare. But unfortunately, Syria now stands alone, just like Britain once stood alone, and tyranny will have to take its toll before decent human beings realise that allowing Assad to commit torture is almost as bad as when America refused to fight dictatorship in 1939. This is not sensationalist, it is historical relevance that many people have seemingly forgotten.

Decisions

A few days ago, film director Tony Scott committed suicide by jumping off a bridge in America. Initial reports indicated his primary reason for doing so was that he had an inoperable brain tumour, but that story is currently being brought into doubt. Whatever the reason was, Scott made a decision that was his alone to make, regardless of how grim it must be to have those life-ending thoughts. It’s a decision that last week was again denied to Tony Nicklinson, a man in England who has locked-in syndrome (he is virtually unable to consciously perform any bodily movements by himself); the British courts decided that to issue a ruling allowing doctors to assist suicide for those who are unable to help themselves, and avoid prosecution for it, was not for judges to decide upon. So if a doctor attempted to help Mr Nicklinson - and it would be help - they could still be arrested for murder. How preposterous! Judges and politicians alike are continually afraid to make moral decisions for fear of a reactionary (and probably religious) backlash - shame on them! But they can still manage to make controversial decisions where international political prisoners / asylum-seekers are concerned. Yes, Julian Assange will be ingloriously deported by the British government if he dares to step outside of the Ecuadorian embassy. And rest assured this has very little to do with sexual allegations from Sweden; Ecuador was happy to release Assange into Swedish custody as soon as assurances were given that it would not be followed by deportation to America for a Wikileaks trial (where even the death penalty could be considered!), but no such assurances were ever even negotiated by the British Foreign Office. Nowadays I usually have great respect for the U.S. government under President Obama, but the witch-hunt for Assange has got way out of hand.
How is it that so many decisions seem to be going so badly wrong? Or should I simply not be surprised anymore?

 

Medical Greed

Doctors have voted this week to take industrial action in the non-urgent care sector because of proposed changes to their pensions. Under the new plans, NHS medical practitioners in England and Wales would see their retirement age rise from 65 to 68 by 2015. Contributions to pension plans would also rise, and a new doctor joining the scheme could only expect to receive £68,000 per year when retired … I’m sorry, what? Did I read that right? Doctors are preparing to strike because they will only be receiving 68 grand a year?! Most people won’t ever get anywhere near that amount! Patients should not have to suffer a loss of medical care (even if it is non-urgent) just because doctors have become greedy in their old age. The NHS is meant to be a public service, not a golden handshake freebie giveaway! And as far as the retirement age goes, when state pensions were first widely delivered to the population after World War II the retirement age was set at 65 because life expectancy at that time was less than 70. A pension was intended to give a working person some peace and quiet in their final years. Yet over the passage of time, retirement has become a period of luxurious indulgence, foreign holidays and the start of new adventures! So the fact that we are now having to redress that balance should really come as no great surprise - well, not to anyone who studies history, anyway.

Comprehensive Isn't A Dirty Word

The Department for Education has stated that the majority of secondary schools in England are now academies or are in the process of seeking academy status. (For the purpose of definition: academies have local flexibility over staff pay and conditions.) So, when removed from accountability to local authorities or national standards, schools can pretty much do whatever they want as long as they don’t receive too many complaints and produce good grades. That may seem reasonable, but just because the grade average is of a high quality doesn’t make up for the underprivileged few who are continually left behind. If your son or daughter wasn’t up to scratch because they couldn‘t conform to that school‘s particularly individualised teaching methods, would you be content that at least your school had a nationally prestigious status? Would you have the time and energy to ‘shop around’ for an educational institution that was better suited to your child’s needs? At least the comprehensive system was equal for all and everyone had the same fair chance of success. Individual entrepreneurialism can be determined at college or university, when people rightly choose their subject options; prior to that everyone should be on an equal footing in compulsory education.
A spokesman for the Department for Education said: "It is only when schools have been under-performing for a number of years that the government steps in to ensure improvement”. So according to the government, over half of secondary schools were under-performing! That may be acceptable to a right-wing ideology, but a lot of parents and teachers are happy with their children’s education and wouldn’t want an overhaul of the system. Perhaps the government should leave schools alone for a while, let kids enjoy learning without the constant pressure of tests and exams, and let teachers enjoy teaching without the constant pressure of league tables and Ofsted repercussions. But then that wouldn’t suit the needs of capitalist competition and the desire to be superior, would it?!

Important Principles

Two issues have caught my attention this week.
First, Fabio Capello has walked out of his role as England football manager. I admit that I’m not the biggest football fan - there’s too much dissent to the referee and deliberate foul play for my liking. But an important principle is at stake here: innocent until proven guilty. After John Terry had been accused of racist conduct, the first mistake that the Football Association (F.A.) made was to postpone the trial until after the Euro 2012 championships. My understanding (and again I’m no expert in football) is that part of this postponement happened due the urging of Chelsea football club. But we need to know whether Terry is a racist before he plays for England again; at which point did the F.A. think it was wise to put club politics before the issues of prejudice and discrimination? Then the F.A. made the further mistake of stripping Terry of his England captaincy even though he’s legally innocent. No wonder Capello felt the need to resign.

The second issue I noticed this week was that of Councillor Clive Bone of Bideford Town Council, who won a legal battle to prevent other councillors from conducting Christian prayer before meetings. My first instinct was to think that Mr Bone was being a little petty in taking legal action in the first place against what seemed to be freedom of conscience, but then I realised that ‘Prayer’ was actually on the formal agenda for each meeting meaning that every councillor was obliged to witness it. This kind of enforced worship is a good example of how religious rights can impose themselves too much onto parts of society that should remain secular (i.e. neutral). So well done to Mr Bone for standing up for the rights of secularists, and well done to the court for acknowledging them.
Finally however, let’s not get too carried away with these issues, important as they may be. Perspective is still required when you consider that genocide is currently being carried out in Syria, while Russia and China refuse to do anything about it. Bastards.