Hypocrisy in international affairs, incapacity in providing public services, it is time for a breath of fresh air in governance across the board
Military conflict, whatever the causes, whether it is reactive or proactive, remains the constant factor in the equation which constitutes the human being. The juggernaut of international relations is once again parked in front of the goal posts, or stationary in the crux of the four lanes of the crossroads, amid a frantic hooting of horns, much ado about everything and no movement at all. Fists waving, swearing, shouting, theatrics, heart attacks, crying children, desperate wives.
The mainstream media is still banging the drum about how Russia invaded Georgia when it was Georgia that murdered Russian peacekeepers in South Ossetia and planned an attack on Abkhazia, it was Georgia that refused to meet its obligations on nationality referendums under the Third Soviet Constitution. Nobody is banging the drum about Iraq. Nobody is banging the drum about Kosovo. Nobody is banging the drum about Libya.
And so the circus moved on to Ukraine where everything was said about Russia’s military intervention but the fact that there were Fascists strutting around in Swastikas worshiping Hitler and a child-murdering pedophile Nazi collaborationist called Stepan Bandera, the fact that groups of Fascist thugs were massacring Russian speakers, the fact that the Kiev government was practising cultural genocide against the Russian language, church and culture, forbidding the use of Russian in public institutions among people whose mother tongue was, is and will always be Russian…did not engender a mention. If Ukraine is such a wonderful democracy, how come the Communist Party is still banned? On one side there could be Ukraine, the Devil or King Zog of Saturn but the fact that Russia is on the other side means a media campaign of demonology, an absence of objectivity and balance and a campaign of hatred which I refuse to subscribe to. I prefer peace, understanding, dialogue, cultural exchanges, friendship among future generations. Smiles make me happy. Tears make me sad.
But have weapons, will fight… and equipment for war and murdering people and destroying families, ironically dubbed “defence” is a mainstay of countries’ economies and if they produce weapons to sell to make money, they need wars and conflicts to use them. That explains everything.
My take continues to be that it takes two to tango, that military conflict is extremely undesirable and I can never forget the look on the face of a grandmother protecting her cats when her home, which she spent her life building, has been destroyed. Her tears taste of salt, it does not matter whether she is Ukrainian, Russian, Israeli or Palestinian, or whatever else. War and conflict equals human tragedies, period.
Obviously, if Ukraine had adopted the terms of the Treaty of Minsk, which it signed and refused to implement because Biden or someone else in the USA told it not to, then this conflict would never have started and Ukraine today would be a (culturally) federal republic in which everyone lived as friends. But those who pull Ukraine’s strings couldn’t care less. Obviously, if Israeli settlers did not murder Palestinians and steal lands and groves and desecrate cemeteries, and if Israel kept to its original borders, then there would be less resistance on the other side. But if my grandmother hadn’t died, she would still be here today.
So in terms of international relations, same old, same old. While the military industrial complexes continue to make huge profits out of conflict and misery, nothing to do, there is no point in unravelling the ball of wool from there.
Which brings us to the crossroads again and the juggernaut does not only represent international relations. It also represents internal policies. Looking around, what a mess. Populism fuelled by vapid soundbites and sheer ignorance, an absence of political maturity, failed education systems, delivery of public services deficient to the point where the institutions are being eaten away by the private sector and we are moving fast forward towards a world of haves and have-nots. Have money, will receive services. Have not? Tough titty, mate. Better luck next time.
But that is not what the system promised us and it is not what we pay our taxes for. I pay up to 23% in VAT on everything I buy, including notebooks, pens, carrots and dog food, before we speak of other forms of taxation, direct or indirect. Across the board, getting a decent education is a lottery (the situation is better in some countries than others), getting a place at University has become a business negotiation, renting a house has become a drama, buying one has become practically impossible, salaries are not keeping up with rising prices, keeping a job and a home and providing for the family has become a daily challenge and getting healthcare from start to finish is becoming a luxury which you pay for. Just a second here, what the…?
Here’s the reason. The great political battles were won by the Left a century or more ago. Children’s rights, women’s rights, the right to form Trade Unions to protect workers and give them rights, universal suffrage, universal education, universal healthcare, the right to a pension, sick leave, maternity leave (still deficient). These battles won, political activism has decreased because when everyone has bread on the table… However, history shows us that reactionary forces will chip away at the rights we have gained and this has already started. Dental care, for instance, is today a question of how much you pay, ditto a university education, to mention just two more visible areas. But it is happening elsewhere, in education in general and in healthcare in particular, in public transportation.
This means two things. First, the fact that you now have to pay for services which you took for granted to be free, and excellent but you have not been compensated for the shift, have you? If someone says I have the right to half a dozen eggs a day and then suddenly starts giving me two, I say what the…
This also means that in a population which treats politics like a soccer match and which votes based on Pavlovian spasms rather than reaching decisions based on studying political manifestos, a populist leader who looks good, who is a communicator and who gains popularity through the manipulation of soundbites and fear, gets more votes than someone with a nasal voice and a bald head wearing a suit and tie, spouting statistics.
Ohhh he wears ever so nice ties, I think I’ll vote for him. Nah, I’m not voting for that party, I don’t like that woman. My grandfather voted brown, my dad voted brown so I vote brown. I am going to vote orange. Why? Because I don’t like the other one, he looks like a snake. Yes but what are their economic policies? Er…what?
Welcome to Democracy 2024.
And so the Left has done its job. Thanks guys, see you! The political centre starts to crumble away because people are hooked on reality TV, adrenalin rushes with drum-beats at the start of news programmes, flashes of wow stories with screaming kids, a sense of them and us and the worse the them, the more justified the claim to represent us. Don’t worry, vote for me and you’ll be safe. Don’t worry about all those foreigners taking the places of your kids at school and worshiping funny Gods and eating spicy food.
As a shining example, I was approached by a gentleman during the Covid crisis whose solution ran along the following lines. He asked me “Where are all the Covid cases?” I said, in hospital, the serious ones. “Right! And where are all the doctors and nurses?” In hospital, I replied. “Right again! So, fire all the doctors and nurses, close the hospitals, get the patients out on the street and problem solved”.
And this gentleman gets the right to vote.
Here’s the deal. What we see is total hypocrisy on the international stage, with certain countries behaving as they wish with impunity, Fascists starting problems as usual then running screaming when someone has the guts to stand up and confront them, while the wonderful, wizzy international shitshow run by the USA and its poodles sides with the fascists and says nothing about the horrors committed by certain countries. Surely, rules are rules and the law is the law. You do not steal lands, you do not destroy homes. You do not turn a blind eye to Fascist forces committing pogroms and committing cultural genocide. Such actions create reactions. And what would your country have done, nothing? Get real. It isn’t rocket science, is it?
What we see is our basic rights chipped away at, daily. You want an appointment with the eye doctor? OK we should be able to fit you in some time next year. Sorry, the dentist does not do National Health Service appointments, you will have to pay 250 Euros. Sorry, the creches are all full in this area. Sorry, there are no places at this primary school. Sorry, there is nothing we can do about the drug addicts kicking pensioners to death for their pensions, there is nothing we can do to stop crack, heroin, Gray Death and Fentanyl ripping your community apart.
But again, what the….? And you were elected to do what exactly? To sit back and watch like a voyeur or to provide public services? My vote comes with a tail attached. It is my right as a citizen to demand that those I vote for follow through on their promises or else I sue for breach of contract. And let us all start off by examining carefully the promises made.
Personally, I want to see a political party which pledges to offer me free and excellent public services. I want a free creche for my children, then a school near my home. I want access to a home, rented or bought, which is compatible with my salary. I want a proper salary in line with prices in the country where I live. I want to see integration of immigrants, not fear-mongering and hatred. I want to see an ethical foreign policy with the same set of weights and measures. I want access to free higher education. I want a medical appointment when I need one and not after I am dead. I do not want, I demand, safety on the streets, I will walk anywhere at any time and be able to do so. I expect a serious policy to address drug use in communities. I want to see an adult education system which runs alongside the workers’ professional life, training them in new skills in a fast-developing digital world. I expect to see all of this in return for the taxes I pay. I expect free or at least affordable public utilities and finally, I expect to see policies aimed at catering for the pensioners whose income has halved, or worse, since they stopped working. I am paying for what, exactly?
And if the politicians in a party cannot promise that, then I am not going to vote for them. These are basic requirements.
The only solution is staring us in the face and is glaringly obvious. People have to become politically active once more so than we can win back our rights as citizens and shape the world we wish to see, not the living hell that is imposed upon us by those who shrug and say they cannot do any better. Ah no? Then clear off and leave the seat free for those who can. And let the citizens reconsider their options. Rather than turning away from the Left because it did its job, consider what the Left has already done and what it can do in future if people give it a chance. Finally, set up civic platforms, watchdogs of experts who can hold politicians to account, whoever they may be.
Timothy Bancroft-Hinchey can be reached at timothy.hinchey@gmail.com