Make the world a better place

 The motto that I live by is that we should all strive to make the world a better place and that this applies to everyone. It applies to you and I, young and old, where ever you live, everyone. The “world” I define as every human being and every living thing alive now and in the future. The past is irrelevant. If you make the world better for all others, not just your family, tribe, gender, country, species or contemporaries,  it will  automatically be better for you.  What the definition of “better” is, is up to you to decide. Every person is the expert of their life and people should think about their circumstances and skills and decide how they can best improve the world. If everyone took this unselfish stance, putting others before themselves, the possibilities are unlimited.

Migration (Review of 'The Fourth Time we Drowned' by Sally Heydon)

 When reading about the Nazi Holocaust against the Jews I am emotionally disturbed. The suffering endured and inflicted by human beings like me is shameful. When I read about migrants suffering in Libya, I don’t like the cruelty they suffer, but I feel little empathy. Similarly, I support the Ukrainian refugees, or displaced Syrian people, or children sent by parents (as a form of substitute pension policy)  , but for the economic migrants crossing the Mediterranean sea or English Channel, I’m less sympathetic. Certainly they should be rescued from the dangers of the sea, as the middle of an ocean is no place to resolve migration problems, but as Ms Haydon’s book makes clear, the fact is, that most of the migrants want to make the crossing and have paid smugglers for the journey. Most have chosen an illegal route to Europe in pursuit of a dream that no one forced upon them. They are not victims, just humans, like you and I, wanting to improve their lives.  

It must be recognised that there are two types of migrants, those that don’t want to leave their homes and loved ones, but are forced to so, and those that want a quick and easy way to a better life.

The problem is, there is no human right to live where ever you like on this earth. Human rights apply to citizens of countries. Persecuted Citizens, or those  escaping war have a right to apply for the protection of asylum in another country and other counties citizens must do every thing they can to help.

Borders could be viewed as only lines on a map and some say they should be open, but just as life is not fair, with some born in wealthy countries and others who are not, geography isn't fair either. Landscape, culture and history means that what lies within borders is variable and therefore also unfair. Open borders are impractical as everyone who follows the natural desire to improve their lives would all head to what is perceived as the best place to live and  thus completely over load the local social and political infrastructure. We can’t all live with a sea view of Bondi beach and neither can every one in the world come and live in Europe. To illustrate this point I would ask has the EU’s open boarder policy within the Shengen area benefited southern Europe or Northern Europe?  Have not the younger generation left southern Italy, Greece, Portugal and Spain and gone to work in the northern cities of France and Germany  thus  enriching the north whilst only slowly enriching the south? Also when West and East Germany merged, did people stay put or did large numbers move to the rich  west, leaving the east underpopulated? Another example is rural inland and booming coastal China. Therefore I conclude that open borders are an ideal, but in reality not a means to the equalization of wealth. Like people, some places are more equal than others. So borders are necessary and if you have borders, it means  there must be enforcement of laws, permits, exclusions, visas and deportations.  Migration is a good thing, but it has to be controlled, so local populations, institutions, infrastructure  and also the migrants themselves can adjust at a rate that all can cope with.

You only have to look at the long term problems caused in Northern Ireland and Israel to see why uncontrolled large scale mass migration is not wise policy, especially with culturally distinct peoples. A large influx of culturally different people into a society means that they don't have to integrate and all the problems of a divided society can arise.

Many of the sub Sahara migrants in the book are chasing their dream of a life in Europe. The internet shows them a rich western life style and criminals tell them they can get there for a price. Both the criminals (by demanding ransoms) and the migrants (by contacting westerners) use emotional black mail to get what they want.  Migrants choose to leave their own country and  often with the encouragement of  their families. follow an illegal route to a war torn country, which has little or no rule of law. The stakes are high, but like all gamblers, they see only the few lucky winners and not the many losers that fail. Why are they so surprised that they end up at the mercy of criminal gangs being treated as cash cows milked for what ever they can produce and then discarded when deemed empty and worthless. Its tragic, but what did they expect? - the nasty side of humans (who lack social constraints) is selfishness, cruelty and greed.   And because they are pursuing their dream, are the migrants not pursuing their own greed and selfishness?. Are they not making their world better rather than making a better world? Hopefully more in Africa will read Ms Hayden’s book before setting off.

When a young person leaves an African country for Europe, is that African country better off or worse? If this person comes to Europe and makes a successful life, learns and works hard, pays taxes and contributes to his new country, does Africa benefit? Money may be sent back to the family but has not Europe once again taken something at the expense of Africa? Is this not another form of imperialism of little benefit to the poorer nations of the world? Shouldn’t African resources ie its energetic  young people, benefit African Countries? If all of Africa’s talented young people leave, and never go back, it will forever be bad news coming from the African continent.

Freedom, peace, human rights are not the default setting of humanity. They have to be fought for and protected. Today, democracy is under threat from lies, ignorance and military force and those privileged to live in the west have a duty to stand up to those who follow old violent ideologies. Similarly, those in the developing world have a duty to make their world a better place and not just run away from the problems in their countries. Ms Haydon asks the reader of her book to think of what they would say if a person contacts them from a Libyan detention centre saying they are being tortured raped and staved and asking for help. Well I would tell them the truth, there is little I can do - it’s a cruel, uncaring, unfair world and you are in a lawless war torn country. Get out and go home. If you want a European life style as we all do, start to build Europe in Africa. Don’t run away from your problems. There is no quick fix, Work and fight for a better life for you, your loved ones and your fellow countrymen. Because if you don’t,  no one else will.

Is this response heartless? Yes, but sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind. What would Europe look like if, in the 1939, Europeans just left and went to America? What would Ukraine be now if most chose not to fight and took the easy option and just left? The morally correct option, is not the easiest option.

In her book, Ms Haydon rightly criticises the UN and EU for wasting money and not addressing the suffering and human abuses in Libya. I recall no criticism of African Governments being mentioned. Perhaps she thinks they are beyond hope and so tries to influence those who may listen. However she should have more faith in humanity. African Governments have a responsibility to serve their people and others just the same as the UN and EU does. The failure of some African leaders is  where the heart of the migration problem lies. Incompetent, greedy, selfish leaders, who put themselves first and not their people, leaders who think that war is a solution to problems, fail to take the advice of other countries whilst sitting in their luxurious palaces are wrong and should be told so. If net migration numbers are an indicator of a counties success, most are a complete failure. You may dismiss this as an expression of my ingrained imperialist racism, but look at the facts. Perhaps, if all African Countries gave hope to their people by clearly making their countries wealthier and  had sound financial policies that included pension and welfare schemes, then perhaps parents in Nigeria wouldn't send their kids off to Europe to get rich and so support them financially in old age because a complete lack of access to sound pension schemes.

It could be argued that western countries have room and wealth for all who want to come,  and everyone should be welcomed as newcomers will enrich and enhance their new societies. After all, there are many jobs in the UK that need doing by hard working people. It is also true that anti migration policies are based on an irrational fear of flood gates opening, invasions of  multitudes and cultures being diluted. Such fears are deep routed and reach back as far as the collapse of the Roman empire, when the north European tribes came knocking on the door.  

Both arguments are wrong. What is required is a sense of proportion. Migration should and must happen but control is the important factor. Illegal routes should be shut down, but the priority given to migration for those in desperate need.Too few migrants is inhumane, too many is impractical. 

The motto that I live by is that we should all strive to make the world a better place and that this applies to everyone. It applies to me, you and the migrants. Everyone. The “world” I define as every human being and every living thing alive now and in the future. If you make the world better for others it will  automatically be better for you  What the definition of “better” is, is up to individuals to decide. Every person is the expert of their life and people should think about their circumstances and skills and decide how they can improve the world. If everyone took this unselfish stance, any thing is achievable and no one would have to leave home. 

PS (Added June 24). I find it strange that Right Wing politicians in Western rich countries use Migration as a major problem that must be addressed. Fundamentally this problem is distorted out of all proportion because they are rascists and see themselves and their countries as superior. If a Country is Great, it is no surprise that people from all over the world want to live there, so migration should be seen as an indicator of Greatness. If the people want to get rid of migrants, perhaps they should wreck their countries economies, start wars, and ruin law and order; then they will solve the migrant problem as no one will want to come, just as no one who has a choice migrates to Russia, North Korea or China.

I would recommend all readers to the UN 2024 report on global migration. Because of wars in Syria and Afghanistan, Iran is the country that is currently absorbing the most migrants. 

Marketing Sustainability

To bring about a speeder change to a sustainable life style. a tool at our disposal is marketing which, because it is very expensive, hasn’t been fully exploited to our advantage. However I have worked with marketing people and studied the books so here are my ideas for consideration.

• Keep it simple – focus on the single most important issue. From reading Greta’s Climate book I think this is “stop burning stuff” All other issues are secondary and  whilst important, distract. These can be dealt with after people have accepted the priority issue. So “Ban the Burn or its going to be hotter and hotter and hotter" or more positively  "Electrify your life".
  
• Answer the Why question – “just because smoke is clear these days, does not mean it’s not dangerous” or “We’ve made a good job of clearing up all the dirty smoke we can see  – now its time to tackle the important stuff we can’t see”. This last statement is a positive one showing its not all doom and gloom. ( Living in Sheffield, it annoys me when we forget UK rivers and air are the cleanest they have been for over a century).
• Make the message personal – answer the question “What is the benefit to me?” This can be addressed by saying “Show you are caring, smart and love life, by going green”. The implication is that if you don’t, your selfish, dumb and nihilist – but this must never be stated.
• Always  Stress the positive, not the negative, - “were making progress, the world is cleaner, so help to do more”
• Show that changing your choices or vote is not pointless - other people are rapidly changing too  – “people all around the world are joining us”, Get celebrity  endorsement. Show Green thinking is now mainstream – the other parties are making promises too, but will they implement?
• Address the doomsters – would you rather live in a hot house or a comfortable house?
• Stay focused – don’t get distracted, dismiss deniers with a simple, “ you still think that” or “your behind the times mate!” sort of attitude.
• Be humorous - For Celeb endorsement I would love it if Sean Kelly the world famous cycling champ and thoroughly lovely man stood up and said “go green – or its going to be a real killer!” , which is what he always says just before the cyclists have to pedal up some steep  mountain in the Alps.
  

If you are working for a sustainable future, I wish you success with your endeavours. You have the whole world of science saying that what you are doing is correct.  If you just pull on the holds you can reach, and after that reach for the next ones, you will reach the top of the mountain!!!

Charity Shops and how to fill the existential void

 I love charity shops. They are something of which us Brits should be very proud. Rather than chuck unwanted, but perfect good, stuff away, we can recycle it for resale thus helping good causes. And hunter gatherer hoarders like me can fill their houses up with wonderful things for next to nothing.

Upon a visit to my favourite local charity shops, (the ones that have yet to be ruined by a professional make overs), the jigsaw section is the priority. I’m a sucker for jigsaws of beautify works of art. Whilst completing each puzzle, I can really get to know the details of each picture and learn the brush strokes of the masters. I can also break the second law of thermodynamics (albeit on a temporary basis)  by restoring a little order to the world. Now my attic is so full of Botticellis,, Van Goghs, Turners, Constables, Klimits, Kandinskys, Giottos etc etc etc that I could probably open it up as a small art gallery. It’s a shame that the bedroom ceiling is now developing some rather large cracks.  

After the jigsaws, it’s the book section. Why buy a new book when we have libraries and charity shops? Of course, what is on offer is totally random, but that is just what makes it so magical, Who knows what you will find and what you will end up reading about.

Currently, I’m reading “Danube” by Claudio Magris, for which I paid £1. What a gem! I would never have bought this book full price and I’ve never heard of the author, so how could I search for him on line. Who ever donated it, was either a fool or very wise. This is just one of the many admirable paragraphs that gave me great pleasure.

“Perhaps writing is really filling in the blank spaces of existence, that nullity which suddenly yawns open in the hours and the days, and appears between the objects in the room, engulfing them in  unending desolation and insignificance. Fear, as Canetti has written, invents names so as to distract itself. The traveler reads and takes notes of the names, of stations his train passes through, at the corners of the streets where his footsteps lead him; and he goes on his way with a breath of relief, satisfied with that rhythmic order of nothingness“.

Wow. Where’s that jigsaw of the Scream? This is exactly how I used to feel until a few years ago. But now I’ve moved on.

Fear, as I’ve already written, only exists in our heads and holds us back. Even fear of death should be banished, after all it can’t be that bad, because, if it was so terrible, why would we all do it?

As for the existential void, that boring bit between birth and death, what should we fill it with? Biology says reproduce, travel writers say travel, and Voltaire said gardening, but that still leaves plenty of time to fill. So what to do?

Well I’m a boomer, and was constantly told, in that super confident time, that I could become what ever I wanted . However, I was in a bit of a dilemma, as no one ever told what was worth doing - so I became a Quantity Surveyor. This gave me a quiet comfortable, boring life that I spiced up with dangerous rock climbing.  

Now that I’m retired, and weaker, (so can’t progress on the rock), I’m faced with a similar dilemma. What to do?

Make the world a better place, that what. But how to achieve this? There are so many things we can all do, But I like to think big - what are the biggest issues the world faces? How can these problems be  solved? Firstly pick a topic and then learn. Secondly understand, predict, and finally, interact. Apply a bit of pressure at a sensitive spot and see if the world twitches. I Listen for echoes of what I write and so far, what I hear gives me encouragement.

Of course these echoes could all be delusional creations of a Don Quixote, or the imaginings of a small dog, that whilst yapping at passing juggernauts, is very pleased with itself because it believes it has chased them away.

Well, as my friend Pete says "a mans got to have a hobby". and I’m happy visiting my local Charity shops!

Ps A burglar broke into our house recently but didn't take anything of mine. So another advantage of getting your stuff from charity shops - none of it is worth sealing!!!.

Life's a Joy, or it should, would, could be.

Every Wednesday afternoon, even in the final years of her life, my great grand mother visited the local cinema for her movie fix. The family legend is,  that for a couple of years, the Wednesday matinee was always the Sound of Music! Nobody knows how many times she saw it!

“She went a bit senile at the end” my mum explained, but having watched the film for the first time recently, I’m not so sure. The Joy explodes off the screen and is a delight to watch. Perhaps Great Gran Ma just loved being reminded of the simple joys of living. Perhaps she would agree with me that it is simply the best film I’ve ever seen. All others are just incomparable to it!

When watching the news, or thinking about the state of the world, it’s almost impossible to see the positive. Such Suffering. It’s almost debilitating thinking about it, especially  as most of it is totally avoidable. Its depressing a friend said to me, but its only depressing if you have lost your faith in humanity.

War in Ukraine - come on Putin, what’s the point anymore, no one is winning, Pull the plug on it!
Earthquakes in Turkey and Syria - we have the engineering skills to build earthquake proof buildings.
China US tensions - co operate don’t compete.
Global warming - don’t burn stuff, love life and care for the world.
Poverty and disease  - Share the wealth and medical knowledge. Israel Palestine - integrate don't segregate.
Suppression of freedoms and human rights - is it really so important for those in power to cling so tightly to it. They should just relax and play with the kids or walk in the mountains, swim in the ocean. Be more Julie Andrews, than great dictator.

Why do we make it so difficult for ourselves? Perhaps we have forgotten the joys of life and need to rediscover them and then help others to find them too.

When ever possible, wallow in the joy and wonder of your existence. Its fantastic!, And help all others to do the same...Lets make the explosion of joy in real world, not the movie world.

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In my essays below I've tried to make sense of the absurdity of the world, and (perhaps) having come to some understanding of why we are making such a mess of it, what can be done about it.

The Tyranny of The majority

 In the UK and Israel, the democratically elected Governments are attempting to pass laws that protect their own positions. From the stand point of "we represent the people", they think the can do what ever they like. However, history tells us time and time again they cannot - think of the Terror after the French Revolution as an extreme case. 

As the new bill is still making its passage through Parliament, I have sent the following letter to my Member of parliament to see if our historic system still works. 

Dear Sir

 By the differences in their nature, upbringing, learning and experience, every human being has a unique outlook on the world. This means it is perfectly natural for people to have differing points of views on a wide range of issues, and as we in the West believe in freedom of expression, these differing views should be permitted to be aired and discussed, rather than be driven underground or kept unspoken by self censorship.  It is also the duty of the majority, not to oppress the minority, and not to abuse their power for their own benefit.

 If minority views are not permitted to be aired by passionate people who get frustrated because the majority will not listen, then what will happen? They will find other more extreme ways to protest, and the majority will react with more bans, to which more extreme forms of protest occur to which the majority calls in the army to start shooting. THIS IS NOT A MADE UP STORY, BUT HAPPENS TIME AND TIME AGAIN, ALL OVER THE WORLD.

 What the current majority forgets, (or only knows too well) is that today's minority may be tomorrows majority – but this is not a  bad thing this is PROGRESS.

For these reasons the Law and order bill which reduces the power of citizens to express their views should be thrown out. It goes against every thing this country has stood for in my life time. I can only speak for myself but no one will ever take away my freedom of expression, but it is up to others to decide how extreme that expression is displayed.

Please discuss my words with all of your Parliamentary colleagues.

 Yours Sincerely 

 

The reason this bill has been proposed in the UK is because protesters have been blocking motorways, disrupting the center of London for days on end and generally being such a pain that the Government feels it has to act. However the protesters actions have not been popular and so their tactics have backfired on them - the general population has turned against them. Therefore the bill is no longer required. However the protestors made them selves heard and will no doubt try other less disruptive but more persuasive methods in the future.  Good for them.

However if it is passed, and similar anti freedom bills are passed in the future, I will be making a few free downloads from the Albert Einstein Institute.  

We each support and serve each other

 "We each support and serve each other". - Tolstoy

Is there any need to say more? Except to add that my definition of "other" includes all life on earth and those future others who have yet to come. We have a responsibility to them as well.

Being Green shows you are caring, intelligent, and love the world.

 If, like me, you watch old movies, you can't help but notice the amount of smoking that people used to do. In films today you rarely get a shot of  a beautiful man or woman,  looking fabulous whilst puffing away on a cigarette. How and why did this change  occur?

Well, now, we all know that cigarettes are bad for you, the premature death of millions is undisputed . So smoking is now seen as a pleasant in the short term, but stupid in the long term, activity. It's not sexy anymore. Even increasing government regulations is not disputed as a right of freedom issue. Societies understand that less smoking is good and sensible.

Greta Thunberg, because she learnt early, is young and so unhindered by societies established norms, has taken it upon herself to highlight to everyone the stupidity of burning stuff and wreaking the planet. Her current message is that if people learn about climate change and its effects, they not be able to do anything but act wisely and will swiftly change their lifestyles. This may be a sound long term strategy but to achieve the rapid change in direction that is required, ie to change our entire civilization from one based on dirty fossil fuels, to one based on renewables that needs a completely different infrastructure in a few decades, I think her efforts are admirable, but naive.

People can't be forced to learn, they can ignore the truth, or choose to delude themselves with excuses not to change or simply not care about the world or the future. They can continue enjoying their current way of life regardless of the consequences to others. We have to be honest, we all act in our own self interest. We, on the whole, put our self first, our family or tribe second and the every one else last. Why should I pay for heat pumps in my house, or buy a new expensive electric car, or give up meat sausages or foreign holidays to exotic places, or pay higher taxes for renewable energy? Why should we all do what that kid with some funny syndrome says?

Greta and many others like her know that because the consequences of continuing to dump so much CO2 into the planets atmosphere will mean continually rising global temperatures and just by watching the news or weather forecasts, its becoming obvious that we have no choice, we have to change, we have to stop burning stuff. But how?

I think the change in smoking habits holds the key. We must make being green a sexy, high status intelligent lifestyle choice. Being a smoker is now seen as stupid, it may be pleasant in the short term, but in the long term it will kill you (it killed my Grandfather). It is anti social as it harms the health those close to you and shows you are selfish and don't care about others. Smoking is expensive demonstrating you are unintelligent as you waste your money on harming your self for a short term hit and don't use your money for better things. How many of these statements also apply to being non green? We need to socially stigmatise, fossil fuels, excessive consumption, wrecking the planet etc etc.

 In the past comments in every day conversation often included "Are you still smoking, you aught to give that up you know". Today we need to hear, "you've still got a gas boiler!" or " you still driving an SUV, how naughty" Or "we don't have to take our kids on a far away holiday to have fun" or how about "I don't need to take Johnny to fantasy world in America, he knows I love him already" or " I love a man in an electric car, it shows he cares for me, my children and the planet". This may be crude but I bet it will be effective ( I nicked all these ideas from current adverts). 

A top celeb showing people round their wonderful zero carbon home will also get people thinking about their own obsolete energy inefficient homes. So who could this be?

Once this trend is set in motion, others wont want to miss out and will switch. Companies will fall over themselves to align their products to a green caring intelligent selfless lifestyle. Change will be rapid and unstoppable once it gets underway.

To a certain extent this is already happening, but the process must be pushed harder so those in power truly believe in it. This will stop things like new coal mines being opened (as no one will invest in them). Nicotinoids being approved (as it will lose significant votes at election), or lack of investment in a hydrogen industry (Governments will want to show they are wise).

This can be done - the movies prove it.