~ Robert Benchley. (American humorist and writer)
I have kleptomania, but when it gets bad, I take something for it.
Verdict on the current British government. (Part 1)
“Instead of a cabinet, there is a potentate. The traditional structures still exist, but as tributes to an obsolescent way of governing.” There are still secretaries of state, but they now have “little bearing on real power, which swirls in an unstable vortex of advisers and officials vying for proximity to Boris Johnson’s throne”. Behr continues that “having such a personality at the heart of government makes a nonsense of unwritten protocol” that governs British politics. “It was never rigorous. All manner of hypocrisies flourish when a self-selecting elite chooses the boundaries of legitimate behaviour. But there were boundaries. Johnsonism has none.” (Rafael Behr, The Guardian)
My comment: Epicurus disdained politics, and one can see why. There is little we can do about it, so I think we should concentrate on inter-personal kindness, consideration, politeness, honesty, and integrity, and do what we can to help for the poor, the sick and the under-served.
Abolition of slavery
On June 19th Americans celebrated Juneteenth, a holiday commemorating the anniversary of June 19th, 1865, and the end of slavery in the United States. Many believe Juneteenth is a celebration of the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation, However, the document was actually signed in 1863. The real cause for celebration came two years later in Galveston, Texas when Union General Gordon Granger’s troops made it to the city and informed the population that slavery had finally been abolished, releasing hundreds of thousands of Black Americans from bondage.
We should reflect not only on how far we’ve come as a nation but also on the many challenges that Black Americans still face in this country; not the least of which is a massive racial wealth gap. We have watched this gap worsen for over fifty years, in large part owing to massive inequalities found within the U.S. tax code that continues to put Black Americans at an undeniable disadvantage. (Patriotic Millionaires June 16, 2021)
My comment: I think Epicurus would have said “ Amen” to this.
Smacking worsens behaviour?
Smacking children makes their behaviour worse, according to a new review of two decades of research. The study found that children subjected to physical punishment showed increased behavioural problems with no improvement in behaviour.
The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health and the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children are among the groups calling for an outright ban on physical punishment of children. ( The Week, 29 June 2021).
My comment: The first time I was severely smacked is vivid in my memory. My grandfather had a barrage balloon station on his farm. My sister and I had climbed a ladder to get onto the top of the ballon and were playing there when the air raid siren went off. Enemy bombers on their way! There was a delay in letting the balloon fly into the sky as Home Guard members had to climb up and remove two naughty kids who were having an exciting time running around on top of the balloon.
The first time I was smacked (well deserved!). We were repeatedly forbidden to go anywhere near the balloon. Had roles been reversed and had I been my father ( on weekend leave) I would have smacked my son, too. The smacking did me no harm at all. Even at 5 I knew I had been naughty and deserved it.
100,000 children have not appeared at school
| More than one in eighty U.K. school pupils have failed to return to school following the lifting of coronavirus lockdowns, according to a new analysis of official U.K. data. |
The Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) found that 93,514 pupils were “severely absent” – absent more often than they were present – during the autumn school term. In a newly pubished report titled “Kids Can’t Catch Up If They Don’t Show Up”, the think tank reports that the total number of absent youngsters has risen by 54.7% year-on-year.
My comment: I think, if I were a parent of a young child, I might keep the kids at home as well if I felt that the local educational authority had not taken adequate steps to keep children safe from covid, and other infections as well. Companies appear to be desperate for workers – perhaps the missing workers are keeping their children at home for safety’s sake?