Civilisation?

I have tried not to be too overtly political on these posts.  Not because politics isn’t important - it is profoundly so - but because I believe in trying to connect rather than break, to empathise rather than ignore.  The danger of writing is that it cannot have the nuance, the tone of voice the eye contact or even the safety of speaking to individuals.  Most of you will have worked out that I feel strongly about green issues, worry about the degradation of public services and was a remainer.  But the the thing is, I’ve always been happy to report that I have friends and family in opposite camps.  It feels important.  Why?  Well firstly, there is the obvious point that I could be wrong - and it is a foolish person who thinks only their views are either correct or relevant.  Secondly, there are people who I respect or love who disagree with me.  My Mum - like many of her generation - voted for Brexit.  I still believe that was a mistake, but what am I supposed to do about that?  Stop talking to her?  Sniffily agree to only communicate on ‘safe’ ground?  Of course not; we have to agree to disagree, to attempt to understand and to recognise that there are bigger, deeper things to care about… all those lovely civilised middle class things that we profess to aspire to.

I have recently felt however that to simply be nice and civilised is perhaps not enough.  We need to respond to some of the terrifying current affairs and I dare to venture that there is some consensus about this.  The fact that most wealth and power is now concentrated in the hands of a few mainly elderly, white males is worrying and - as we have all witnessed - potentially dangerous.  I don’t believe I’m exaggerating; according to Oxfam ‘The growing concentration of the world’s wealth has been highlighted by a report showing that the 26 richest billionaires own as many assets as the 3.8 billion people who make up the poorest half of the planet’s population.’  Rather than going into detail about why this matters, it’s perhaps more powerful to leave that fact there to sink in.  Presumably this type of information is landing into my feed because of algorithms, and although it’s a recipe for madness, it feels too important to ignore.  I was amused recently by an incisive cartoon saying ‘My desire to be well-informed is currently at odds with my desire to remain sane’ and I think many of us are feeling that right now.  Everyone has to find their own priorities within that important set of criteria.  But for once I feel action needs to happen.  Why?  Because the mother lioness in me can’t bear to see the future deteriorate for our kids.  There are multiple statistics out there showing that young people are more depressed, anxious and pessimistic about the future than they’ve ever been.  Clearing aside the fact that they are young, necessarily self-centred and their frontal lobes are not yet fully formed, we need to be concerned.  I believe much of the answer is economic; if they currently have no money, are projected to have no money and are going to spend most of their adulthoods propping up an ageing population with no money, it’s not surprising the future feels hopeless.  And please don’t tell me that gym membership and cups of coffee are why they have no disposable income; I spent much of my student life getting pissed and going out, and was still able to scrape together a deposit with my then partner - at the age of 25 - to buy a house less than three times our joint salary.

Wealth inequality is a massive, glaring problem and there are things that can be done to sort this out.  In case anybody is frightened by this thought, it’s worth looking at the happiest countries in the world, (at the time of writing - Finland, Denmark, Iceland) where this nettle has been grasped.  Indeed it has become so embedded in the culture that ostentatious displays of wealth are considered vulgar.  There is wealth differentiation - just not the extremes that so many other countries have.  I could go into detail, but it’s probably better for you to explore this through people who really know what they’re talking about.  I recommended reading ‘The Trading Game.  A Confession’ by Gary Stevenson on my last post, but if you don’t what to buy or borrow the book, he puts out regular videos explaining economics and wealth inequality.  Check it out if any of this resonates with you.  And if it doesn’t or you profoundly disagree with the above, I am still reaching out!  There is no alternative - we have to connect through our humanity and desire to make things work.

I wanted to finish this doom and gloom post however with what I hope is a more optimistic thought - which is that concentrating on our passions still matters.  Regular readers will know that my vocations and deep interests are to do with books and music and I have never stopped being excited about delving into these.  There are books to read, scores to learn and awesome, amazing things to listen to.  I honestly think the best of the human spirit is embedded in these works of art and - apart from the natural world, total immersion in these is a route to sanity.  Keep your passions alive - and keep your pecker up everyone.

Uplifting Music of the Day:  Overture from Thomas Ades’ Three Piece Suite - ‘Powder her Face.’ Laughingly and outrageously descriptive, this piece is just a hell of a ride.

Contemplative Music of the Day:  After the recent sad death of Roberta Flack I had to mention ‘The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face.’  Her beautiful arrangement of Ewan Maccoll’s song is the absolute essence of playing and singing with a sense of space.  I can’t remember the first time I heard this piece, but I know I was a child and blown away by her musicality even then.

Book:  Excuse the priggish nature of this choice, but it’s ‘Clara Schumann - the Artist and the Woman’ by Nancy B Reich.  I am partly reading this for research for an article, but her life is so fascinating this is well worth a read.  Just try not to feel hopelessly inadequate in the process…