Well I started the morning with not being able to get into my computer, the password I usually use was overtaken by a request from Windows to establish a pin. **** and all the rest of the swear words, having demanded of me a password for my email, it said it was wrong several times. Frustrated I just shut off every time and it eventually cleared back to its original password. My son always used to say, mum just put your finger on the 'off' button for 20 seconds and it will disappear!
I had a terrible weekend, mostly caused by Lucy, who went into her longest agitated mode for ages. We both fell asleep yesterday afternoon and awoke, me refreshed, she in her normal sweet mood. The Newstatesman came yesterday and two articles caught my eye one was by Paul Collier - Remaking Britain - Capitalism after Coronavirus.........
Britain is heavily over-invested in its belief in the efficacy of centralised state direction. Underpinning this belief are two fallacies. One is that the top knows what to do. It knows best, because it is staffed by those of the highest calibre and they draw on the finest expertise. The other is that central control is necessary for coordination. These sound – at least to the people to whom they are congenial – obvious. Indeed, anyone hearing them would judge them to be common sense. How could either possibly be wrong?
He goes on to explain that perhaps central control does not work as efficiently as we like to think, that there are many more bodies in the state, wired up, intelligent enough like universities and non-political groups to solve problems. He makes a point about resilience in sustainability of supplies, something companies seem unable to do because of capitalism. We have seen the shock of the virus hit supplies quite drastically, food and medical gear and medicines - Switzerland could show us a much better way. All in all an interesting read.
The tabloid press – and its alter ego television news – is also hot. It likes fear. It certainly has a role to play in airing the public’s feelings, insecurities and sentiments, views that may be dangerous if suppressed. But it rarely delves deep, and its targets are random. The other side of the same coin is social media – free of editorial control or regulation and the disseminator of panic, such as fake news about 5G causing Covid-19. The “bias against understanding” is the occupational disease of emotional journalism.
Then there is Simon Jenkins - The BBC and the Journalism of Fear. Yes you have experienced it, each day we are given a statement of facts, above and below, not only is the daily press conference excruciating but embarrassing to us and the people who give it....... I am not saying it should not be there but the tone is wooden and dull, a list of deaths, always light after the weekend, and then the factual statistics, which are very much the same from day to day.
The public was left with a wooden daily press conference, with a few wooden questions and excuses, as the nearest it got to accountable government.
Enough of politics, but I am intrigued to know where shall we end up, as this lightening strike of a virus from the natural world turns our more humankind world on its head.
How should we fight this epidemic with fear? or solid rationalism and intelligence. One of the things that is beginning to emerge is the goodness of our population, the need to give and help but I would hate to see it used in a politically narrow minded way by the incumbent government, to be quite honest I think they are as flummoxed as we are.
To be honest Thelma, I can no longer manage to raise the energy to listen to the daily briefings or read about them in The Times (biased anyway) - what will be will be for me now.
ReplyDeleteWell yes it is all boring, though terrible at the same time. But it is interesting to watch from the sidelines as to how things will change. Anyway my wool has just been left on the doorstep, so goodbye to politics for the moment;)
ReplyDeleteI agree with most of what was written in that article. I watch as little as I can of the daily briefings that we get every afternoon. One of our neighboring state’s governors is a kind and compassionate man who speaks of the people and not the numbers, and tells the truth with some alarm but also cheers on anything positive, however small it is. He makes me feel better knowing that some of our leaders(?) are human, and can relate to us and give some comfort. Most of our politicians can’t and don’t.
ReplyDeleteYour son was absolutely right. Turn the computer off and the bad guy will go away.
I believe many politicians in many countries, do not know how to act. It is not their fault, here we all were moving quite happily in one direction and then suddenly we are all faced with a disaster. It is only when we have a problem than the realisation that a handful of politicians are not able to cope intelligently and we need something else.
ReplyDeleteI get so cross with the gremlins on computers but of course they live by rules and algorithms ;)
So much in your post today is relevant. Factions, fault-finding, accusations--and so many 'experts' who don't agree. I think many of us are weary of trying to sort out what is credible. For sanity's sake, I find I have to back away.
ReplyDeleteSorry that Lucy has had another bout of 'stress disorder'--or whatever combination of genetics and past life affects her.
Lucy is snoring gently away on the carpet Sharon, she needs at least three days of rest to get over her stress related naughtiness. Though when I left her in the house to go and cut a large hawthorn bush, she managed to get the wool just delivered and scatter it everywhere. But Nigel's sheep and goat have plenty too munch on for today.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Weaver how boring it has become. But as for central control, why does it seem such a surpise to them that people prefer being paid 80% to stay at home rather than 100% to go to work? Did they not anticipate that?
ReplyDeleteNot many people are workaholics and there are many dangers lurking when we mix with people. London transport people are witness to that.
DeleteWell, you'll get no direction from "central control, USA".
ReplyDelete:), although it is not funny it gets worse in your country with the people in charge at the top,just put your faith in the people lower down the scale.
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