Showing posts with label G20. Show all posts
Showing posts with label G20. Show all posts

Sunday, 12 July 2009

Behaving responsibly in the face of unfairness



Children seem obsessed with being treated unfairly. They constantly question whether the treatment and benefits that are laid down out by parents, school or anyone else in the line of fire is delivered fairly.

I guess it’s human nature ... but the issue of being treated fairly is not only a local one or a national one but also a global one. With this release of Obama’s first speech to African nations stressing the role of good governance, it really seems that western nations and particularly Britain after the expenses scandals are in glass houses throwing stones.

Working over this weekend I’ve also been thinking about how to get the clearest message to local people about the need to take action to protect public services when there is such a lot of unhappiness with the quality of them after years and years of sustained cut backs on all from all sides. Some politicians seem to think that it’s just about fighting the cause, however some of the work has to be about taking local communities with us. One of the difficulties is media onslaught from certain prominent individuals about public sector wages and pensions. Although some of it is from the shallow thinking of the Tax Payers Alliance and other Daily Mail readers there all too often pressure from “so-called” friends. Look here for a thoughtful post from Michael Meacher telling it how it is.

Sunday, 12 April 2009

Time to turn back the tide



The war on terror produced a fundemental shift towards conservatism in the country. It's the culture of fear that makes us want to suspect all foreign students regardless of the fact that 99% of them are law abiding with their heads down trying to get an education.

With not inconsiderable public concern about what did actually happen at the G20 demonstration that resulted in the death of a homeless newspaper seller perhaps the time is right for people to stand up not only for their own rights but also for the rights of others.

I came across this and thought it an opportunity to encourage all of us to think about the way we'd like to think about our neighbours. Hat tip to Nigel Ashton for showing it to me:-)