Well this is one reason - George Orwell. His writing burns with a fire of compassion and intelligence and reminds us what being a person is - or at least should be.
Well, I am a bleeding heart liberal leftie, yes. And this seems a good time to be thinking about that - what with elections afoot and it being the start of May, when people start marching.
Of course I'm in a minority group - so is that why I'm a BHLL ? Maybe - but we're all in a minority of some kind aren't we, at some time?
Why is it that I threw my complimentary Daily Mail in the bin yesterday (recycling bin, obvs) - the putrid rag that Tesco insist on providing me with every week (grrr) ...?
Well I have a child and I encourage him to share and play nicely and be considerate - to be a good person. There's no great philosophy required to tell us what being a good person is - surely we all know.
It's just being kind, thoughtful, considerate... but also aware, independent and not in a dream.
Right wing people frequently accuse left wing people of living in a dream world. But we're not in a dream - they are. Or rather a nightmare... a world of dark shadows, conspiracies and fears. The Daily Mail world of horror and outrage and fury.
The left wing is where you stop and think, consider and empathise.
There's nothing actually airy-fairy about thinking about other people, understanding that we're all clinging to this rock in space, that we all breathe the same air and cherish our children's futures... as JFK put it. That's logical - that's using a bit of common.
Look at the behaviour and attitudes which typify the right wing. For example - the unquestioning adulation of the armed forces. There's nothing that moves me to gaze in wonderment at them. If you're in the army you have to be an instrument of the powers that be - at the moment it seems rather like being the pawn of empire. They should certainly be pitied for some of the shit they have to do.
But the soldiers who ruffle the hair of Iraqi children will soon start accidentally blowing them up when they're ordered to start killing again. It's a complicated, awful mess. Becoming a pawn yourself and allowing yourself to be manipulated - well ... it's the behaviour of someone in a dream world. Wake up and think for yourself. The hero worship is just the kneejerk reaction to a whole sackload of guilt - an attempt to get back to the old days when we knew who and what we were fighting.
Look at political correctness. That odious concept was made up by right wing people who demanded (and continue to demand) the right to be senselessly cruel. It's bullies crying that they're not allowed to bully anymore.
It's part of the dream - this idea that you can't say Merry Christmas and you can't sing Baa Baa Black Sheep and you can't say you're English. I am English and proud of it. I don't particularly identify with the flag of St George though - in this country we have an atavistic mistrust of flags, and that's a good thing. We've seen the terrible things that happen under them. There's only one Saint George for me - and his picture is above.
What else? Er... immigrants, language... why do they come here if they can't speak English? The intolerance, the inability to cope with the idea that in modern 21st century England you might bump into someone who doesn't speak English that well.
What drives someone to leave their own country and come to foreign place full of nasty people who point fingers at them and judge? Is it really ideal from their point of view that they can't speak English? I'm sure they'd rather be able to.
What drives them? Greed? They're too lazy to work so they come here to claim benefits. Wake up!! You're in a dream! Desperation - that's what it is. Sad, horrible desperation. They just want a slice of the cake we stuff down our throats like Mr Creosote because we were lucky enough to be born in a prosperous country.
What would you tell your child to do? Share. Don't judge. Be kind. Listen. Understand. Otherwise the world really will be a nightmare.
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