Shame

For the last six weeks, we have all been told how to behave. We must wash our hands in a certain way. We must keep a safe distance from eachother. We must stay indoors. We must accept what we are told, and it seems, above all, we must not question those in authority under any circumstances. Of course, it goes without saying that we are living in incredibly difficult and unprecedented times. I understand that negativity can be the enemy of mental health, and I understand that very well indeed. However….and this is a big however……None of what I have to say is negative. If I am to criticse the government, that is in a spirit of positivity, that I believe we can, and should do better. I am a stubborn bugger when all is said and done. I do not like being told what to do, and by and large, I ignore any such instruction and do what I want. It is not that simple though, and I concede this. My problem is one of patriotism and pride. We are to celebrate V.E. day tomorrow. It seems almost compulsory. Along with the weekly “Clap for carers”, we must conform. To not join in is to be in some way negative. Yes, its that word again. I want to counter this though, and to do so, I must ask people reading this to get to the end before forming some “Dreadful disloyal Lefty” opinion of me. So…let’s start with Clap for Carers. A worthy cause surely, and one which no-one can reasonably suggest is a bad thing right? Well…Not quite. As a grand gesture, I understood the need for it. To say “thank you”, and “we appreciate you” is a special thing, but it’s not as simple as that. It has now become a state sponsored distraction technique. We saw the footage in London where Police joined in with the clapping on Westminster Bridge, seemingly oblivious to the lack of social distancing that was surrounding them. In fact, throughout the nation, it would seem that anyone clapping is immune to Covid 19…If only we’d known. The biggest problem for me is that we have treated NHS workers appallingly for a decade or more, and underfunded the NHS. I’ve seen the argument that it is not simply a case of throwing money at it. Well it is. To carry out a review, to make improvements in organisation and to ensure that the organisation is modern, well equipped and ready for any scenario, it needs money. We absolutely knew that a pandemic was the biggest threat, and we ignored the result of the test run we carried out in 2016. “It would have cost too much” is the standard answer, but this pandemic will be costing us for the rest of our lives. We gambled on our future and lost. That is not to say that it’s entirely the government’s fault, but I would clap the government once a week if it started to act with integrity and honesty. It seems to change it’s mind as to what advice to give. One minute the message is herd immunity, then it is not, then it is, but under a different name. All along we have heard the same tired old mantra of “We are following the medical advice”, but this is mendacious nonsense, and they know it. If we had followed the advice we would have taken notice of the model test we ran in 2016. It’s simply another “Get Brexit Done” message, written on a podium rather than a bus. The farcical approach to testing, where, to date, we have only managed to hit the government target twice in the whole period, sums it up. Rather than saying sorry, and promising to improve, they lie, and lie, and lie once more about what they said and what they did. When questioned about it, they simply attack the press and try to evoke the old wartime blitz spirit. Well to put it impolitely, they can stick their evocation of war right up their blighty. This is not a war. It is a PR exercise to cover up for the completely inadequate response. So forgove me for not clapping, as I will not stand side by side with a nation that cheers Boris Johnson on, when he has treated us so badly. I will not stand side by side with a nation that voted for this cruel government. I will not stand side by side with people who clap for the NHS and then the next day break the lockdown rules and have friends and family come round on a regular basis. I will sit and quietly reflect on a friend of mine, who lost one of his best friends to the virus this week. A friend who was fit and healthy and relatively young. He was let down by a system that was not funded, or treasured. Again, I will be forever thankful for the NHS, and have always voted for the parties that I believe will care for it. So clap if you want to , but I will show my thanks in other ways, that do not let this government off the hook. Getting back to the war, we have a bank holiday tomorrow. Moved to coincide with VE Day, we are all, again being encouraged to decorate our houses, celebrate a victory in Europe that was not ours alone to celebrate. The Blitz spirit will be mentioned regularly, and no-one will question it….but the Blitz spirit was a myth, concocted by a government desperate for good news in war time. They had an excuse. This government does not. I will always recognise remembrance day, but this seems a crass bit of nationalism designed to distract again, and I will not play. So, throw accusations of disloyalty all you like, but my loyalties lie with the poor people who have needlesly died in the war, and of course in this latest terrible situation. Clap and wave your flags, but actually, it’s not enough. All you are doing is wearing a badge that states your support, but to quote someone far more eloquent than me….

“Wearing Badges is not enough, on days like these”

Billy Bragg