When I was sixteen and studying for O Levels. I chose Modern History. I was disappointed though as I wanted to study Henry V11, but that was not on the curriculum. There is nothing like the Tudors to excite us all, however I was entirely wrong and grateful for the knowledge that I received in those elementary classes. In the first class we were all turned into Fascists and the second class hardly any of us interestingly were turned Communist. We had an enlightened teacher. Of course in someways the two extremist groups are similar. Equally we should not assume that Fascists are Right wing, wishing to keep the status quo, they may feel similar, but they are entirely different. Fascism is complex and there are variations and equally Right wing are different too. Fascism as I learnt it was meant to be socialist. They liked road building, a good education and hospitals. It is why today the Italians have great roads and so do the Germans. So back to the simplistic Fascism which was appallingly racist.
I remember the teacher saying
"If there are hooligans in the street"?
Our answer to was get the police in.
"If there are bombs in the street"?
Get everybody off the street
"If the bombs get worse"?
Close borders and call in the army.
"What do you do with the people causing the problems"
We said put them in a prison.
In the light of the tragedy on Saturday 14th November in Paris all of the above seem too familiar. They are of course necessary and essential, coming to terms with the terrorists being home bred. The world is on a fast train without breaks it seems? It is indeed global and although the foot soldiers are needed, drones can kill from an armchair millions of miles a way. It is as if we have forgotten the past and are trampling on our future. Women are being killed and time is going back to a Medieval period of no hope and misery.
If people are against refugees they may not mean the colour of their skin, where they came from, their education but indeed the fact that it is tricky to settle into a country and assimilate. To be part of a community. People think they have more rights than infact they have. We want a good education, jobs, health service provided, low taxation, a good army and police force, housing. We feel we pay for it, we feel we deserve it, but the truth is that we pay very little for all these things. If we added up our tax and went out to pay for these things separately it would be an entirely different bill. If we really think about it, why should we have rights? Why should we expect all these things? What are we but an out of control people who have forgotten our origins. Too big egos for our abilities, too greedy, outspoken, violent, hopeless and lazy? Then there are the political shenanigans of the Middle East that seem totally out of control.
The Dalai Lama is correct in reminding us that there are too many people that are successful and what we need is healing, loving and repairing. In Bangkok the people went out and prayed on the very spot the bombs went off. Every person in this world could do the same. The unnecessary atrocities from Saturday were appalling and I feel for everybody who has suffered. I feel also for Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan where the innocent deal with these dreadful occurrences on a daily basis.
When I was little my mother bred whippets. The Whippets were snobs, the would not speak to different coloured members of the same family. They only liked the colour that they were. We are as humans naturally fearful of things we do not understand. A white dog with a blob on its head was put to the side by its Mother. I used to watch and learn from animals.
Now is the time to find the perpetrators and deal with them intelligently.
Time to heal and time to pray I think and listen.
Unfortunately the hooligans at present are disgruntled fit young men, who have little to hope for and ISIS has given them the very reason to live. With violence the more exciting option they have sadly taken their unhappiness out on people that were not able to defend themselves.They believe in an out of date world that only brings more misery.
This is a political problem mainly concerning our greed for oil and pipelines.
The Dalai Lama is still the most hope that we can offer this generation, I just hope we and they listen in time.
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