Tag spin
Dust
The poem I’m publishing here foresees the end of the world. The false god Me n’ Mine has too many worshippers to be withstood. Besides Greed, the angel which serves Me n’ Mine most faithfully is the Lie and it is the Lie by which the false god rules and will destroy us all… Continue reading Dust
The History of the United Kingdom
Click here for a summary of this piece, consisting of just over 700 words.
Are You Sitting Comfortably ?
The history of the United Kingdom (whose every seam is under terrible stretch and strain just now) continues so fast, so scattered, so hurt, so incoherent, so unguided and ill-advised, that it is hard… Continue reading The History of the United Kingdom
The Angel Overhead
In his grief, he asked the angel hanging overhead,
his faceless confessor :
Why, Lord, do sinners’ ways so grossly prosper ?
How can you allow the Lie so fatly to preside ?
And the angel answered :
I invited you to my feast,
my laden tables… Continue reading The Angel Overhead
A Drawing of Conclusions
It is surely still natural to respect a conclusion that is reached through cogent argument. Each stage of the argument leads to the next stage, like a series of links in a chain. The conclusion is given its authority, its right to be heard and accepted, by the strength of the links that have led… Continue reading A Drawing of Conclusions
If the People is Sovereign, Lying to the People is High Treason
As 2016 comes to an end, I want to present an argument which I believe follows from the year’s events. Different elements of the argument have already been touched on here in recent posts.
I must begin with language and those first words of St John’s Gospel. In the beginning was [and was always]… Continue reading If the People is Sovereign, Lying to the People is High Treason
Can Liberal Democracy Survive our Tumult ?
Can liberal democracy survive our tumultuous, bewildering, frightening, dangerous times ? Can it surmount them ? Can it direct the flailing social forces at work towards positive solutions, a viable human future ?
As things stand, it seems not to be coping at all. It is surely in great danger of allowing and even… Continue reading Can Liberal Democracy Survive our Tumult ?
Democracy & the Lie: do they go hand in hand ?
During July, two articles by Andreas Whittam Smith appeared in The Independent newspaper on successive days. Here are the links to them: http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/broken-democracy-spin-doctors-destroyed-uk-politics-theresa-may-repair-it-a7135146.html ; http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/fix-broken-democracy-smash-political-class-two-simple-things-a7137131.html
Whittam Smith co-founded The Independent and his two pieces are worth reading. They explore the Brexit campaign’s “victory” and contain proposals for starting a process of… Continue reading Democracy & the Lie: do they go hand in hand ?
Report
I wish to report a strange man
of average height, indeterminate
skin colour but a knowing look
who sidled into town today
wearing an immaculate top hat
and shoddy trainers.
He said he was searching
for a convenient park
popular with the townspeople
where he could… Continue reading Report
Six Truth Works Three Tattoos
Here in the UK, recent elections and this Summer’s cataclysmic EU referendum have been opportunities for liars, demagogues and PR specialists to practice their skills on the population, in order to sway it to their will. The phenomenon is not unique to the UK, nor of course is it unprecedented.
But the pervasive dishonesty… Continue reading Six Truth Works Three Tattoos