A Nation in Denial

So we have 100 months left to save the planet.
Even if this is some kind of exaggeration I'm still concerned. What worries me more is that no matter how much rubbish I recycle, how many miles I don't drive my car, how many holidays I don't take every year, all of this will come to nothing except a clear conscience if those with the power, and responsibility I might add, continue to do all but nothing to help.

This country I call home, England, Britain, the United Kingdom, is nothing but a slave to world trends under the illusion that it still has a significant influence on global issues. The British public need to feel like they are important on the larger scale, but we are a nation in denial. As a country we are in desperate need of some perspective. If all we are able to do is stand idly by and watch the world fall apart around us then so be it, but lets not delude ourselves into thinking that we are actually going to make a difference anytime soon.

I'm not saying we should stop any efforts to save this planet, in fact we should be doing a hell of a lot more. But like the housemate who buys all the food while all the others eat it, all we can do is continue what we are doing, stepping it up where we can, and hope and pray that sometime soon someone has an attack of conscience and starts taking responsibility, lest we all starve to death.

Some kind of ranter... (...and the point is...?)

Sometimes, in the society we live in today, we are pushed into doing things that we probably wouldn't do if we had the choice. I, for example, wouldn't be attending university if I thought I could pay the bills as a journalist without a degree. Maybe I haven't been trying hard enough, or maybe I'm simply not a good enough writer, but the fact remains that I'm doing something I promised myself I would never do. Then again, I thought I'd be touring the United States with my band at 19, so perhaps my younger self was a little optimistic in thinking that I could do anything I wanted to do without following the rules set by our government today. Excuse me for believing it's still 1965 and people are rewarded for their hard work, passion and originality as opposed to their ability to do whatever is asked of them by those in power, leaving all morals and integrity by the wayside.

Don't get me wrong, there are those who have got where they want to be in life with their conscience intact. And those people are to be applauded, be it the surgeon saving lives, or the rock star raising millions for charity. All I'm saying is that these people are few and far between.

When I started my university course last autumn, all I saw was a large group of 18/19 year olds, all thoroughly unprepared for what life is going to throw at them, and all believing that what they learn in the proceeding three or four years will take them through the rest or their lives. And perhaps, for a very lucky few, it will. But for most of us, sooner or later life is sure to come around when you least expect it, and I guarantee that no matter how many lecture notes you took, classes you attended, or exams you passed, the kick up the backside you receive will be just as hard, if not harder, than everyone else's.

Sounds pretty bleak? Life is what we make of it, but it is also this life which will be the making of us all. The sooner we realise that we will not all be earning over 40 grand a year by the time we're thirty, and that there is a chance that your hard work will never be rewarded, we can at least get on with the business of living our lives the best we can manage.

We might even start enjoying ourselves.