(This is the last post 'til September. I may post
some random stuff but not the regular Tuesdays which will be back in a few
weeks)
From Here to Eternity
– the iconic (and debut) novel by James Jones – published in 1951 – deals with
a pre-Pearl Harbour military compound and the compressed, convoluted lives of
those contained in that strange mini world of bullying, social subversion,
sexual repression and dishonesty, violence and tangled relationships.
The 1951 book is far more raw and risqué even than
the film and that, with its famous ‘racy’ surf scene and blatant acceptance of complex
sexual relationships, was regarded as ground breaking.
This post - From Fear to Eternity - is both a
new and an old story about what is happening right now in this world. The sex isn’t racy (or Stormy) it’s
drab and grubby and predictable and the plot is not raw and risqué so much as
corrupt, corrosive and devastatingly destructive. Somehow, despite all the
accumulated knowledge of the ages of the many civilisations that have existed
since the ascent of man, we seem to have embraced a new era of ignorance and
venality. Along with that has been the descent into fear – the kind of fear
that leads people to follow men with loud voices who offer easy solutions to
problems that don’t really exist.
This juxtaposition of fear and ignorance has, in the
past, led to many things –not least the rise of despots and crack pots – from
Hitler to Franco from papa doc Duvalier to Duterte and Urdogan and Trump. They,
in turn, happily stoke the very fear and ignorance that got them to the top in
order to consolidate their power.
But maybe – soon – we will reach the point where the
problem is so big, the fear so deep, the ignorance so wilfully embraced that
there is no going back.
In the words of The
Cat in the Hat by Dr Seuss– “the mess is so big and so deep and so tall we
cannot clear it up there is no way at all”
This is not just because these pigs wallow in the
mess and benefit from the chaos but while they have all the attention, many
things that cannot wait for our energies to be applied are left unattended to –
the economy, the environment, poverty and disease and health, war trauma and so
on and so forth.
Sadly it may be ignorance and fear that drives
humankind into the premature eternity of extinction.
We may be approaching the moment where the
confluence of stupidity, wilful ignorance, deliberately stoked fear and disarray
with the disregard for real problems creates that perfect storm from which
humanity cannot recover.
If we have – it will – most definitely – look
something like this –
Zero
One Zero Two is my actual vision of where we are
headed (not the sci fi space parts – which are purely for entertainment – Elon
Musk is not going to get us ‘there’ and he is the only one with the combo of
fantasy and money). This is, in my view, how we will end up at The End.
*
And on that note, I will be taking a break until
September.
I know – all the informed opinion is that breaking
from posting your blog is not a good idea but there is STUFF to do including
getting my youngest off to university and getting together a new one-woman show
(possibly). Plus it’s not like there isn’t a serious back catalogue for you to
dip into if you get bored. Here are some suggestions -
WE once aimed for better for the
working class - blog 10. My One Night Stand with the Ghost of Bill
Farrell
Sleepwalking to Armageddon - blog 12. Armageddon Will Not be Televised.
The magic parts of family life - blog 22. Drink Driving with my Dad and Other Happy
Memories
Killing innocent civilians by the book - blog 43. Killing Them Softly
Self-explanatory - blog 50. Ed Miliband – Political Semolina
On the death of Nelson Mandela who I met in Glasgow
– blog 63. Nelson Mandela – If not a Prophet
We have got our priorities wrong – blog 97. Viagra – Yes. Effective Cure for Malaria –
No!
The whole social disconnect thing – blog 113. The Crap Gap Club
Losing our humanity - blog 147. More Less Contact is Making us Horrible
Back when the really shit people were just a bad
joke – blog 167. Donald Trump and Katy
Hopkins Scientifically Explained
Before he was promoted to Foreign Secretary – blog 184.
Boris Johnson Racially insulted President
Obama
Then we kind of descend into the mire of Brexit and
the nightmare of the toxic Trump presidency with some exceptions - blog 236. Does Edinburgh Need a Tree Museum?
And – if that’s not enough, bearing in mind what
I’ve written recently about how Brexit is colliding disastrously with a Britain
stripped of assets by decades of privatisation and the reversal of hard won
post-war working class gains – here is a brilliant New
York Times article on austerity Britain, proving that a little distance can
give you a rapier sharp perspective. EVERYONE should read this.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/news/in-britain-austerity-is-changing-everything