It is not possible.
We can all close our eyes and imagine the perfect world. I close mine and I see a world conjured of my imagination, every detail fine tuned to perfection. Therein lies the problem. My version of perfection will not be the same as yours. What is perfect for you would be imperfect for me.
But, can we do better?
We do not have to look far from home to find examples of things we should all be able to agree upon. Shouldn’t we be able to house our homeless? Feed our hungry? This reflects upon all of us, from the poorest of us to the richest. Like the vainest person in the world looking into a mirror and seeing their true selves for the first time. It ain’t a pretty sight.
The media is our vanity, it has been stripped by the pandemic and we are seeing the Country for its true self. In all its ugliness. The wrinkles of poverty, the liver spots of corruption and the greying thinness of a world that is worse than you possibly imagined.
Sometimes you have to see things for what they are before you can rebuild.
Do we really want to live in a country where people are ashamed to ask for help? There was a lady in tears yesterday on the radio. Why? Because she felt ashamed at complaining about the quality of the food parcel she had been sent. Ashamed? She felt ashamed! What about the company that sent the box? Political divides should not matter. The food sent out was a disgrace. If you lean to the right and disagree with me, you can look at it this way. The government spent £30 (plus) of your tax money on that food. Not an inefficient civil service, not a bloated bureaucracy. This was tax payers money being wasted by the government. The company spent around £5 on the food, £25 into the pockets of someone, £5 for the poor… That should annoy everyone no matter where you stand politically.
I know, I know. I enjoy a good moan. I will find fault with (any) government and I will rant and complain about it. This is not news. What is, I think, worthy of note is the corruption and the cronyism. The level of help that is needed for the poorest. The homeless living and dying on the streets. We have built a country over the decades that has left us with people feeling ashamed about speaking up. Sheepish about complaining when they were sent something inadequate. Embarrassed by the fact that they are poor.
Being poor is not a choice. Many will be working, they will be doing the jobs that are — for the moment anyway — classed as “key workers” and vitally important. Earning the minimum wage doing a job to keep the country going. Many will be claiming benefits, many will be eligible for free school meals. Next time you are at the checkout remember that. The person serving you could have received one of these food parcels.
