When you look at the world in terms of lack of equality it is suddenly obvious why it’s in such a mess. When you balance everything on the scales measuring inequality, suddenly everything makes sense.
Politicians’ atonal whining that they are ‘working
to make things better’ or that ‘it’s complicated’ or ‘we are making difficult
decisions’ all turns to tepid turds. It is actually very straightforward.
Last century – when I first became involved in
formal politics and got elected as Newcastle City Councils first black woman
councillor, I was unfortunate enough to encounter Tony Blair when he posed for
a photo opportunity in my ward. Little did I know then that I’d met my first
(and hopefully only) future war criminal. Also one of the new breed of British
leaders where personality – or what passed for it - counted for more than
substance. He also loved a soundbite. Something else that was to become endemic
in British politics. Paving the way for the likes of Boris Johnson where
slogans trump substance every time.
One of Tony Blair’s favourites was Education
Education Education. Odd then that his government presided over a huge increase
in the gap between the privileged and the rest of us and also his government
introduced tuition fees – crushing the futures of generations of young people
saddled with debt and diminishing job prospects.
Over the last two months I’ve been hosting a new
social debate programme on Jambo Radio Scotland. I’ve been fortunate enough to
talk to many interesting and well informed people from a union activist and a
poverty campaigner to an international aid expert, an environmental consultant
and someone who has dedicated his working life to supporting and working with
refugees.
And what has hit home hard is that in fact it is
Equality Equality Equality that matters. It is Equality that is at the very
heart of improving everything. It is inequality that is the rot at the core of
what is wrong.
Whether it’s that rich countries pollute and poor
countries pay the price or the rise of poorly paid insecure jobs, decades after
we all thought unfair work practices had been shown the door to the fact that
International Aid actually benefits wealthy countries far more than the poor
countries and keeps poor countries in insurmountable debt.
Check out this interview I did with Dr Samuel Mwuara
If we had real Equality in the work place there
would not still be a significant average gap between the pay of men and women.
Nor would there be a significantly higher chance of you being unemployed if you
are Black or Asian (or being in insecure work).
IF there were real equality in relation to the
climate crisis – then countries dumping their waste and pollution into the sea
and land and air would be duty and legally bound to pay compensation to those
countries where rising sea levels are rendering life unliveable or the heat is decimating
crops and infrastructure.
More so –
there would be a direct link made between environmental devastation – climate
refugees and the responsibility of the main polluter countries to take in and
support the climate refugees. Ironically this would put those who care about the
environment suddenly on the same side as the idiot bigots who piss themselves
every time they come across someone who is ‘different’ from them.
IF there were real Equality, we in the West would
not be spending time, money and resources on nonsense and self-indulgence while the world literally burns and our fellow human beings, mainly in
the global South pay the price for our selfishness.
Equality
Equality
Equality
It is the answer - to EVERYTHING.
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Do remember
to check out MY BOOKS (available on expanded distribution so you can buy from your favourite online book supplier). In relation to the above – do especially look at Zero
One Zero Two.
Its nice to
be back. Thank you for reading.