78 - 1984

Sometimes I feel like we're living in 1984. That is, the Orwellian version, not the real life version that happened 36 years ago. I say this because increasingly I see people silenced because of their opinions, bullied for their thoughts, and a general sense that if you do not say that you love Big Brother, and that Eurasia has always been at war with Oceania, you must be some kind of horrible bigot that must be erased from whichever online platform you are using. 

The fact is there is never going to be a consensus about any issue, especially those that cause controversy. Where there may be people with polarising opinions on either side, but also people trying to navigate a middle way. It's often these trying to navigate a middle way that get caught in the cross-fire and before you know it, the cancel-culture idiots are down on them like a tonne of bricks. 

I have for a long time thought that the best way to persuade others that yours is the best path is by reasoned debate. That when concepts which perhaps are quite a leap from the status quo maybe time needs to be taken to gently, and reasonably, persuade people that actually this is the right way, rather than hitting people round the head with a metaphorical sledge hammer. 

Your message may be right, but the way how you deliver it is also very important and can be the difference between people suddenly realising "oh, yes, I see what you mean" or thinking you're an obnoxious shit who's best ignored. 

I see people on places like Twitter who are clearly on the right side of the argument, but the tactics they use end up antagonising many people, and rather than drawing people in to their cause they drive them away. And that's very sad indeed. Similarly, the willingness to insult, and abuse, those who hold rationally thought opinions that don't chime with your own. 

There are always people who will disagree with you. People who do not share your opinion. The question is, how do you react?

Personally, I don't care if you love Big Brother or not...

77 - Cummings

Perhaps Dominic Cummings has been cleverer than many think during all this hoo-ha about him allegedly breaking the quarantine. After all, it is known that he is quite the strategist, and is adept at coming up with techniques to ensure certain outcomes are what happens.

Picture this scenario…

Imagine a situation where the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, wants a way to relax the lockdown greatly, but knows that politically it’s not the right time. So., he needs a way to get more people out and about but can’t do things officially too soon.

Enter Dominic Cummings and his trip up north…

[I’ll not go in to all the details; they’re all out there…]

Now, Cummings could have fallen on his sword, and apologized profusely, and begged forgiveness. But he didn’t. He’s riding it out. Boris isn’t sacking him. And there’s outrage amongst a lot of the country.

Outrage that is manifesting itself by many people thinking that if the rules aren’t applying to Cummings then they’re not applying to them. This is, therefore, leading to an increase in people flouting the lockdown. You can see the footage and photos.

So, Boris effectively gets much of the lockdown relaxed, albeit unofficially.

And when there’s a second peak he can just turn around and say that people shouldn’t have ignored the lockdown. For him, it’s a win-win situation. And you can bet Cummings had a hand in guiding it…

Oh, such an imagination I have…

76 - Absence

So, I'd gone a while this year writing a post a day every day without missing one, when... well, I accidentally missed one. 

Instead of just carrying on the next day, I've now somehow left a gap that's linger than the consecutive blogging days. 

Best get restarted...

75 - Repetition

I do apologise if sometimes there is an element of repetition in this blog; pretty much every post is written on the hoof every day, and there may be some points I make one day that I need to elaborate on the next day, or maybe even days later.

Just bear with me about this. 

Much of what's on here is me spitballing about things. Sharing my opinions, which can shift. After all, if a person's opinion could never shift, we could never learn, and we could never grow... and if we didn't do those things, what's the point?

74 - Debate

I think one of the most important things in any civilised society is the freedom to express your opinions. This will certainly mean there are people out there who have opinions that are diametrically opposite to your own. Some of these opinions may even cause you offence. 

Tough. 

If a person has such an opinion, debate with them, engage with them, expose the fallacies in their arguments. prove your own point. 

The one thing that should not be done is to censor their opinions.

Once you have to resort to such censorship, you have lost the argument. It shows that you have no coherent points to prove them wrong. Censorship is the last resort of someone who cannot win an argument. 

And we do seem to be becoming more censorious as time passes. A person can post a message on Twitter, and if it's not what is deemed to be the "correct" opinion of the day, there is a massive scope for abuse, threats, and demands that their account is banned. People have been arrested, and taken to court, for saying something deemed incorrect. 

This cannot happen.

It is a slide towards a state where we are afraid to even open our mouth lest what comes out be not the right opinion. Yes, if someone says something you deem to be wrong, challenge it. Debate it. Etc. 

But the right to express that opinion? That must be held as a cornerstone of a civilised society...

73 - Ethel

No matter what else she does, the thing I will always remember Sandi Toksvig for most will be as Ethel, from TV's Number 73; which was one of those Saturday morning kids' shows they used to do. 

My memories of it are that it was quite brilliant, a little anarchic, and something about sandwiches. 

I sometimes wonder if the show would hold up if I were to watch an episode today (I'm sure there must be some on YouTube), but then I come to think that if it doesn't it would taint the memory. Sometimes the memory cheats. 

Hmm...