tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481298417819219839.post960288370305654536..comments2024-03-28T19:27:59.772+00:00Comments on A K Haart: Lichens on the stones of circumstanceA K Haarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05897490979828603179noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481298417819219839.post-73622202520671093022021-04-08T11:26:16.292+01:002021-04-08T11:26:16.292+01:00Sackers - thanks - it's mostly quotes from boo...Sackers - thanks - it's mostly quotes from books I've read.<br /><br />Sam- "ask where the grifters and shysters in all levels of society want to go."<br />Yes and in a huge number of cases that seems to be no further than their own comfort zones. Not quite grifters perhaps, but close. I came across people in the public sector who would tenaciously resist any process improvement which could possibly impinge on their own circumstances.<br /><br />DJ - we have a TV licence for the same reason. In my experience the public sector generally is a problem, as is the sheer extent of government. To roll it back would entail a vast upheaval unless done piecemeal. Even then, people are extremely alert to that kind of thing. Maybe we do need the Labour Party to implode.A K Haarthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05897490979828603179noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481298417819219839.post-44850543725076647692021-04-08T08:58:51.720+01:002021-04-08T08:58:51.720+01:00@Sam Vega
I'll go a little further... Yes the...@Sam Vega<br /><br />I'll go a little further... Yes the Government had to be seen to act. Yes the main stream media are complicit in generating scare headlines. And the Civil Service do not take Government direction well. But the tensions between these arms of the Establishment are mere froth - they signify how the Government, Media, and Civil Service are all tied together looking after their own self interests.<br /><br />You can argue that the Conservatives in government are possibly the best of a poor bunch. The Media are facing an existential crisis as other people pass opinions on the Internet <i>for free</i>. And the Civil Service 'rules of conduct' have been corrupted by politicisation.<br /><br />What can we do? I don't think we can reverse the Nanny State during the pandemic, but we should campaign to roll back the restrictions afterwards. I'm inclined not to have or use a 'vaccine passport' unless I really have to. <br /><br />Don't buy newspapers or watch main stream TV. I only have a TV licence because Mrs DiscoveredJoys likes to watch a few BBC programs.<br /><br />The Civil Service is more of a problem. Most of the people are well meaning, but change is needed at the top. Either that or we have to 'privatise' as much of it as possible. A longer term response (around 20 years?) that probably will need a new party in power (or as a threat to a present party). Perhaps the Labour Party will implode further making room?<br /><br />To summarise: Resist quietly but doggedly. Reverse the march through the institutions. The alternative is either a totalitarian state or widescale social breakdown. YMMV.DiscoveredJoyshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05300239909689336895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481298417819219839.post-59151498965560863122021-04-07T19:09:44.853+01:002021-04-07T19:09:44.853+01:00Yes, your account of what happened is brilliant. ...Yes, your account of what happened is brilliant. By which I mean, of course, that it's very close to what I believe, but I can't be arsed to start my own blog. <br /><br />The whole situation raises the issue of where real power lies. As you say, had the government done nothing, they would have been pilloried by the media. So do the media call the shots? I doubt it, because the government can to some extent manufacture the news, and because the media are now increasingly dispersed and diffuse. If it lies anywhere, real power lies with expediency and cowardice. If you want to know where we are heading, ask where the grifters and shysters in all levels of society want to go.Sam Vegahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05978971199859845931noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481298417819219839.post-53095451962107728802021-04-07T15:32:54.522+01:002021-04-07T15:32:54.522+01:00You have a great knack for titles.You have a great knack for titles.Sackersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17284329249862764601noreply@blogger.com