PEACE FOR OUR TIME?
How wrong could they be?
According to Wiki (an organization, along with Google, which I
resolutely try to appreciate) the phrase “peace for our time” has
been quoted by two British politicians, Benjamin Disraeli in 1878 and
Neville Chamberlain in 1938: both were speaking of a peace agreement
with Germany.
How wrong could they be?
How wrong could they be?
There followed war with
Germany from 1914 to 1918 and again from 1939 to 1945. The former was
initially described as the war to end all wars. There must have been
at least one major conflict somewhere in the world ever since.
Now,
as we drop bombs on 'selected targets' in the Middle East and send
ground forces - but only in an 'advisory capacity'(?) - into areas
where military support has been sought, how can we be sure that we
are doing the right thing?
Parliament voted for it? Well...yes...it
did.
So why not impose military conscription on all those MPs who
voted in favour and tell them they will be the advance party for our
next 'friendly' invasion force out there? Like to bet the buggers
wouldn't change their minds then?
Meanwhile...
CLIMATE CHANGE?
Or lousy maintenance? To those of us who live in an
area that has so far avoided flooding, the thought of homes awash
with effluent-littered water is wholly abhorrent.
The heartbreak,
fury and helplessness besetting those actually hit by the floods we
can only imagine.
How do you cope when your home is unfit to be lived
in for months on end and never again insurable or saleable?
And in an
era when somebody or something has to be blamed for the slightest
mishap, who or what do you blame for something so enormous?
Do you
blame climate change? I'm sure the government and all the local
councils concerned would like to.
Or do you blame the lack of
drainage caused by modern farming?
The neglect of waterways?
The
lousy maintenance of current flood defences?
Even those conspiracy
theorists who hold that climate change is just a massive con must be
having their doubts.
Whatever the cause, it can no longer simply be put on hold. One way or another the powers-that-be
are going to have to spend money - lots of money - to tackle it, even
if that eventually means the removal (with compensation) of entire
communities to flood free locations. Daft idea? Well, if they can do it
in wartime when they want training grounds...
THIS YEAR.
The phrase I
can most do without:
Lessons will be learned. No they bloody won't.
That having been said:
A HAPPY NEW YEAR!
To anybody who still reads,
or has lately taken to reading, this blog. It will be ten years old
on the 26th of next July and any kind soul who has read all 235
outpourings prior to this one has not only braved an awful lot of
words but possesses the patience of Job.
I hope, whoever you are,
that your Festive Season went well and that 2016 will be happy and
healthy for you.
And I do rather like the following as a cautionary
thought for the year.
