From The Mind of Merc - History Repeats Itself (Part 2)

Sometimes I find my mind wandering over various eclectic topics and occasionally I am inspired to write some of them down. Today I was thinking again about history repeats itself – only this time a lot closer to home.

Associations have been made (including by me) linking Trump with the rise of the Nazi party in 1930s Germany. (An association which was supported particularly by the photo taken at THAT rally.)

However, from my perspective at least, similar associations can now be made for Johnson.

Let me explain:
In the 1930s, Hitler began an escalating campaign to takeover land in Europe which continued unimpeded or even challenged for years. Britain, which under the terms of the League of Nations was supposed to act on aggression, made occasional efforts to supposedly combat this with repeated and what proved to be unfounded threats of retaliation. Ergo, when Hitler threatened to invade Poland and Britain once again threatened to respond if he did so, Hitler had no reason to believe they would actually follow through.

In 21^st century England, Johnson and the Tory government have been following an escalating campaign to impoverish, weaken and, at times consequently, endanger the nation and its people  whilst enriching themselves. This has also gone on unchecked or effectively challenged. Members of the British establishment (specifically those who are supposed to without bias monitor, review, query and when necessary act to prevent questionable or illegal activities) have repeatedly failed to do so. Ergo when Johnson and the Tories push through increasingly self-serving and (to the rest of us) punitive policies, they have no reason to believe they will be questioned or held accountable for their actions. 

However, just as Hitler was wrong with his assumption, I sincerely hope the Tories will prove to be wrong with theirs and that at long last the British public will prove that they will be not accept being mistreated like this.

Just as when England did nothing to prevent Hitler’s policy of aggrandisement so the British have done nothing to prevent the Tories’ policy of self-aggrandisement. We’ve threatened anger, displeasure and discontent but not actually done anything to prevent it. If anything the opposite as they have been consistently voted in – so we the British public are to blame.

However, just as with England in the 1930s, we also have the power to stop it from continuing.

This also links into another theory I had – which I posted about on Facebook – following Liz Truss’s resignation. 

I honestly believe the Tory government thinks we are idiots and that having gaslit us for a ridiculously long number of years, we will now agree to and go along with whatever they say/want/do.
Case in point, Liz Truss’s resignation – it struck me that she could easily be a Tory sacrifice, someone they put out there who was so awful at her job that she was designed to make Johnson look almost palatable. Like they’re trying to get us to think that we would be so much better off if Johnson came back. There are several things wrong with this theory (which I sincerely hope the British public realise):

1.        The mess was Johnson and the Tory government’s creation in the first place – Truss just compounded it
2.       Johnson was ‘in charge’ for years, Truss for 44 days. She was bad for a bit. Johnson has been bad for ages. And what she achieved in her brief tenure is nothing compared to what he achieved (or rather destroyed) during his time in power.
3.       Whether or not Truss was any good (and I’m not saying she was) does not in any way mean that Johnson was good or that the myriad of rules, regulations and laws that he broke is now somehow ok.

As with Hitler, the underestimated ‘lower orders’ are in fact the ones with ultimate control. Yes, it will be up the Tories to choose their new leader but we live in a democracy and it is up to us to say whether or not we accept their rule and want it to continue. In the end we have the power. That is why the Tories seek to control and manipulate us while they line their own pocket at our expense and try to distract us by directing our critical gaze inwards when it should be at them.

Consequently, whenever it is we manage to get a general election (and if there is any sense and justice in the world it’ll be soon), I sincerely hope we will not allow the Tory government to repeat their mistakes in the way they have run the country by repeating ours and voting them in again.

The choice is ours. The power is ours. We can make things change for the better.

From The Mind of Merc - Trickle Down Economics

Sometimes I find my mind wandering over various eclectic topics and occasionally I am inspired to write some of them down. Today I was thinking about trickle down economics.

Despite every known example proving this doesn't work, the Tories have decided this is the approach they are adopting to resolve the cost of living crisis. Further proving they do not care one bit about the people they are meant to be representing and they are unashamedly and unabashedly out for themselves. Their supposed solution to the crisis being taking steps to make sure it absolutely and definitely does not affect them. (But I guess we shouldn't really be surprised considering their fingers-in-ears response to everything to do with COVID and their reaction to it.)

The effects (or actual outcomes) of this approach can, I think, be most accurately demonstrated in the following cartoons (found online).

Oh Dear What Can The Matter Be (Pt 3)

Yet another parody of this anonymous ditty but, let's face it, it's another worthy occasion.

Oh Dear, What Can The Matter Be also not by Anon

Oh dear, what can the matter be
Liz Truss has won her battle you see
Now she’s our new premier MP
What on earth will she do now? 

She started out just like any one of us
But decided to change her ways was a must
A New Tory that’s what she is Liz Truss
And look at what she’s done now 

A new PM sounds like a new chance but we
Now know that is not what she will be
Her mini budget won’t resolve poverty
In fact here’s what it has done 

The pound has slumped to a 31 year low
Those rising bills continue their upward flow
Tory assets meanwhile continue to grow
And they still come out on top 

Their job is to run England all safe and sound
Instead they will run it into the ground
Amongst that lot there is no hope to be found
Cos they don’t care about us 

Oh dear, what can the matter be
Liz Truss has won her battle you see
Now we’re stuck until well after ‘23
We’re counting down the months now

From The Mind of Merc - (Political) Life Imitating Art

(Bit late with my monthly post this time so it's just a short one).

Sometimes I find my mind wandering over various eclectic topics and occasionally I am inspired to write some of them down. Today I was thinking about the similarity or appropriateness of quotes from and to completely different situations.

Case in point - who said this?

"If nothing else works, a total pig-headed unwillingness
to look facts in the face will see us through."

From The Mind of Merc - Home Truths

 Sometimes I find my mind wandering over various eclectic topics and occasionally I am inspired to write some of them down. Today I was thinking about the current state of affairs thanks to the corruption, incompetency and lack of compassion of the current UK government. Which I feel is adquately summed up in this collection of memes.

From The Mind of Merc - The Cummings Conspiracy

Sometimes I find my mind wandering over various eclectic topics and occasionally I am inspired to write some of them down. Today I was thinking about the effect that Dominic Cummings still appears to have on UK politics.

What I mean by this is that, although he is longer a member of parliament it is still painfully evident that they continue to dance to whatever tune he cares to play.

Tbh, I really wouldn’t surprised to see him become PM in the future. To be clear, this is not something I want or would relish – it just seems to me that a man who holds as much sway in and over the UK government as he does and is capable of using that to his own ends must surely only have one destination in mind.

To explain what I mean about his clear and continuing influence, I present these 3 examples.

Example 1 – The Durham Debacle
He flagrantly and unapologetically broke the lockdown rules by driving to Durham with his family. What repercussions did he suffer for his lawbreaking? Absolutely none. Clear proof of the power he held as it Boris wouldn’t dare evict his loyal and experienced advisor.

Example 2 – Gone But For How Long?
Cummings’s enforced resignation coincided with a change in leadership in the USA. The new POTUS brought about a change in Boris and his strategies (particularly COVID) – a heavy suggestion both what Cummings’s influence had been and that it had (for now) been removed. 

Example 3 – Hancock’s H-exit
Last month Cummings emerged from the woodwork to take aim at Health Secretary, Matt Hancock, who was forced to resign after footage of an affair (which had to have been going on before this) subsequently surfaced – the government is still subject to Cummings’s machinations.

Clearly, Cummings is not finished messing with politics and, ultimately, I believe the main question is who will he take aim at next? And how long before the Tories to decide he’d be a good replacement for Boris? Remember: we do not need to elect him – he only needs his own party to choose him to be their leader. And when there’s little to no effective opposition within his own or from other parties…

From The Mind of Merc - Contradictions

Sometimes I find my mind wandering over various eclectic topics and occasionally I am inspired to write some of them down. Today, possibly inspired by a certain announcement, I was thinking about contradictions.

Leaving aside from the ample instances said announcement provided (e.g. Important to take action now says the man who's been delaying lockdown for weeks), there is still another prevalent issue which demonstrates my point.

For example: 

Don't see the irony in that? How about:

Still nothing? Ok - last chance:

From The Mind of Merc - Leadership

Sometimes I find my mind wandering over various eclectic topics and occasionally I am inspired to write some of them down. Today I was thinking about leadership.

According to the Center for Creative Leadership, the 10 characteristics of a Good Leader are: integrity, ability to delegate, communication, self-awareness, gratitude, learning agility, influence, empathy, courage, respect.

So how does our own leader, the inexorable Boris Johnson, stack up:

1) Integrity - Nope. He'll back whatever horse is winning
2) Ability to delegate - (as in facilitate teamwork rather than pass the buck so) Nope!
3) Communication - Nope. Incredible stutterer though.
4) Self-awareness - Ha! Nope.
5) Gratitude - Definitely not (clapforNHS does not count)
6) Learning agility - (ability to know what to do when you don’t know what to do) Absolute fail!
7) Influence - (through logical or emotional appeals) Could have done - if he didn't ignore his own rules
8) Empathy - Given block of Grenfell recommendations and NHS pay rise, Nope!
9) Courage - More like cowardly lion. The man hid in a fridge to avoid an interview!
10) Respect - With comments like piccaninnies and watermelon smiles, does he know what this means?

Don't agree with the list? How about Forbes - they define 8 Essential Qualities of Great Leadership as: sincere enthusiasm, integrity, great communication skills, loyalty, decisiveness, managerial competence, empowerment, charisma.

Let's break them down again:

1) Sincere enthusiasm - Again not convinced he knows what this means
2) Integrity - Nope.
3) Great communication skills - See above.
4) Loyalty - In this instance it means to employees etc. so Nope.
5) Decisiveness - Ha! He's U-Turn Central
6) Managerial competence - Ditto
7) Empowerment - Hell no. He wants it all.
8) Charisma - Again not a word I'm convinced he's familiar with

Still not trusting the source? How about the government's own website? An article on there says there are 11 key features of leadership. (Paraphrased) these are: understand how to have positive impact, be prepared to lead, win and retain respect, motivate and inspire others, clear sense of purpose and direction, good communicator, lead the delivery, manage your energy, build the right team around, trust your instinct, accept that we all make mistakes.

So one more time:

1.   Understand how to have positive impact - Nope!

2.   Be prepared to lead - Nope. Hid in a fridge.

3.   Win and retain respect - Nope.

4.   Motivate and inspire others - Definitely nope. Have you seen the number of anti-maskers out there?

5.   Clear sense of purpose and direction - Nope. U-turn Central.

6.   Good communicator - Nope again.

7.   Lead the delivery - More like avoid the blame.

8.   Manage your energy - Ok, this one he can do. He's very good at taking holidays - even illegal ones!

9.   Build the right team around you - If this means right for him, yes. If right for everyone else, nope!

10. Trust your instinct - Again, he can do this one. But given he fails the others, this is not good thing.

11. Accept that we all make mistakes - Nope. It's never his fault (apparently).

Webster's dictionary defines accountability as:

the quality or state of being accountable
especially : an obligation or willingness to accept responsibility or to account for one's actionsI wonder if he, or indeed anyone in the Tory government, is aware of that.

From the Mind of Merc - Good and Bad Deeds

Sometimes I find my mind wandering over various eclectic topics and occasionally I am inspired to write some of them down. Today I was thinking about the idea that a good deed cancels out a bad deed. Tbh, I think this is to blame for a lot more bad deeds than good deeds.

If this is true, than people who are regularly ‘bad’ can supposedly excuse or justify themselves by committing ‘good deeds’. The person in question is not changed – they just believe they are not bad because they did one ‘good’ thing. Consequently a bad person can convince themselves they are not so because the one ‘good’ thing they did means the ‘bad’ thing, in effect, didn’t happen. For me, this means the whole concept is undeniably flawed. And in more ways than one.

Firstly, it seemingly allows bad deeds to happen so long as good deeds continue to happen as well. How can this be ok?

It makes me wonder if this is how the Tory government sleeps at night and how they can convince themselves they are still good people despite the considerable damage they have done to the country - the most blatant (non-COVID related) example being that, since the Tories came to power, life expectancy in the UK has gone DOWN. Yes, you read that right – DOWN. But all these bad deeds are supposedly ok because of any ‘good deeds’ they’ve done.

This is not how this should work. This is little better than spin – it is not right to allow bad deeds to go unnoticed or to be forgotten or hidden just because of the occasional act that is not ‘bad’. And it certainly is not acceptable behaviour for a country’s leadership or government.

There is also the matter of whether the ‘good deeds’ could actually be viewed as that or if it just seems that way from their perspective because they can see the benefit but that’s a discussion for another day.

Secondly, a good deed does NOT cancel out a bad deed. If someone commits a good deed, that does not mean the bad deed did not happen – it just means they are not a completely bad person.

If someone seriously wishes to atone for their actions then it is not and cannot be a quick fix solution. Years of misdeeds cannot be wiped out by one good one. But one good one is an important and worthwhile start on the path to atonement as, surely, the whole point of the concept itself was that one good deed is the start of turning over a new leaf rather than equating to the eradication of all previous bad deeds. It was a way of recognising what happened in the past was wrong and should not happen again.

Perhaps now, when the country is returning to a new ‘normal’, is the best time to realise this and to start to change our viewpoint – no more excuses, no more delusion, no more denial. Acceptance, acknowledgement, accountability.

After all, when someone’s been wronged, the main thing they want is an apology from the person who’s wronged them. No-one should be exempt from that – not even governments.

The idea might be to avoid showing a sign of weakness but it’s actually not apologising that’s the sign of weakness as it shows a refusal to accept the situation, to acknowledge the wrongdoing and take accountability for what shouldn’t have happened. That can be much more damaging than any apology could ever be.

So, if you’ve committed bad deeds and you’re sorry for them the message shouldn’t be ‘doing good deeds cancels them out’, it should be that doing good deeds starts to help undo the hurt the bad deeds caused. It doesn’t mean the bad deeds didn’t happen – they did and this must be understood - but it does mean you’re not allowing them to continue.