Monday 2 January 2012

New Years Revolutions

If you can organize yourself for Christmas you can probably organize yourself for revolution; it’s a logistical nightmare but on balance both are almost certainly worth the effort. It has been a period of relative quiet for me and The Happiness Manifesto as I indicated it might be, but that is symptomatic of the other things going on at this time of year and has provided me with the opportunity to touch base with family, catch up with old friends and generally take stock in preparation for this new calendar year. And, having said this; while I haven’t been taking to the streets, I have been continuing to engage in philosophical debate and distributing books to friends, family and more than the odd as yet unknown friend.

The first of these came a little before Christmas shortly after a man challenged me in the supermarket having seen me pick up some average tinned soup. He suggested that I looked like the kind of guy who could probably make his own soup. I countered with a list of the soups that I do regularly make and said that the tins in question were simply for those occasions whereby I don’t have time. He argued that time was no excuse and in all fairness he was right. Why eat average food? If you’re going to do these things you may as well make time to do them properly and take pleasure in doing so. I‘d been had and so put the soups back accordingly before giving him a book. This triggered a further 20 minutes of more philosophical debate in the tinned foods aisle in which the man in question continued to play an excellent devil’s advocate.

This was a happy man, the kind of man who has no fear of strangers and will happily open a discussion with one jokingly on the basis of their would be purchases. I stated recently that I would be giving books to those that on some level may need it, but that does not in any way rule out people who are happy and who are already probably of similar persuasions. We all need encouragement at times and I know from personal experience that these little moments can really give you a boost in how you’re feeling about the world. So it was that I hope the gentleman in question left as buoyed from the experience as I was. He had a book, I was going to make a better soup for my lunch the next day than I would have previously opened and we’d both had an unexpected but rather excellent discussion.

A few similar but briefer encounters were had over following days including my giving a book to a man who served me in a record shop. I explained that each year when Christmas shopping I inevitably, and quite quickly, end up freaking out and buying myself records. The guy laughed and said, ‘As long as it makes you happy’. He couldn’t have been more right and so was obviously getting a book. After that it was when at home that some of the most interesting discussions took place and in familiar surroundings, with some dear old friends.

In a party of 6 at the pub we ended up having something of an impromptu staged debate. Each of us had a chance to pitch the one thing we would change in the world if we had the power to do so, and at the end we would have a secret ballot to determine which idea would hypothetically then get put into practice; obviously you wouldn’t be allowed to vote for yourself. My friend Satish pitched the idea of higher taxes on the rich through such measures as the financial transaction tax so as to attempt to address the clear growing divide between rich and poor. Peter proposed the 4 day working week arguing that it would instantly improve everyone’s quality of life through having that extra day of freedom and further that we could probably still get whatever apparently needs doing done within that time. Daniel argued that he would reform education to try and make it fairer through measures including lowering tuition fees and revising the way UCAS points are calculated so as to take into account people’s backgrounds; thus making it easier for someone economically deprived to have the opportunity to go to university. Jenna said she would go back in time and stop John Lennon from being killed, arguing that his was such an important voice from an unprecedented platform that was calling for peace and change; that this voice is one that has been lost and has been much missed over the past few decades. Laurie stated that he would make the world vegan, suggesting that the kind of caring ethics that veganism promotes would mean a better world and further would stop the systematic oppression of animals. I argued, as might have been guessed and the arguments for which are already loosely documented; that I would remove money.

After the pitch we held the vote and amazingly, but somehow quite fittingly in my mind, the results came back even. Each one of us had one vote from someone else at the table but there was no outright winner. I feel this quite aptly depicts how in many ways there are no right answers though there are very good suggestions and beginning to think about solutions is an important exercise. That we will never have such power is probably a good thing despite the fact that I’d trust any one of them more than the tyrants and sociopaths currently at large.

This New Year we have woken up to another massive hike in train and bus fares, massive cuts to housing benefits which will price many out of their homes and leave in many cases 2 claimants to every one property available within the new bounds for what can be claimed for; as there are simply not properties available at the prices the government are now to back. This will surely create a further increase in homelessness and leave more young people having to leave the cities for places where rent is cheaper and where inevitably there are even less jobs, thus further limiting chances for employment. Talk about an own goal. I can only hope that more people will realise that they will not stop. While the fight for progressive increased social justice should be constant, there are times in history when balances quite clearly and simply need to be redressed. This is one of them.

May you have an incredibly happy and revolutionary 2012.

Time to pick sides…       





After this relatively quiet festive period I will be getting back out on the streets soon.

Post birthday in Berlin, the next city in my sights is Manchester.