Categories: uncategorized
Date: 28 March 2009 08:00:14
The Put People First document is a document which seeks to put forward a set of recommendations about how we can move forward from the current financial meltdown. It does take the position of calling for massive public investment but also details how this investment may be obtained by closing the tax loopholes which many of the larger multi-nationals take advantage of.
It is a document I would encourage you to read, think about and if you are a person of faith pray over.
As somebody with an interest in political activism and social movements I find it a facinating read. I believe that it is a significant document for a range of reasons..... which all demonstrate hope to a cynical generation.
The rag-tag bunch of organisations which have come together to sponsor / promote this is in many ways predictable. Over recent campaigns these NGO's have become familiar bed fellows. The document represents a range of faith groups, trade unions and environmental groups. Yet there has always been a tension of some kind underlying their competing interests. This document provides a synthesis and coming together of those different interests. It also removes the debate being largely about the Northern hemisphere countries making decisions to benefit the South to a truly global one which has to address both domestic and foreign policy. This document removes the debate from being between the DFID, DTI and Treasury (or whatever they call themselves these days) to being throughout the whole system.
The demonstration supporting this is the fluffy one at the beginning of a week when one unfortunately suspects that we will see the Met manage to shock us by using tactics we never thought were possible, (at least not in our "civilised" country) and protesters sometimes using equally disturbing responses. History tells that the majority of those protesting this week will be peaceful people who want a better world and the majority of those policing them will be ordinary people trying to get on with their jobs. This is something we must never forget. During this week the media must not be allowed to dehumanise anybody (politician, police, protester). The media has already been setting us up for violent confrontations, with warnings of anger exploding into extremism this summer. This need not be a self-fulfilling prophecy, but one fears that it will be. Again history tells us that this "warning" is likely to be the justification for the government approving a set of measures for increasingly repressive policing which targets anybody that might be a dissenting voice.
What we, the "respectable majority" need to do is challenge the media reporting. To challenge the perceptions that will undoubtly be put forward by using this document and our wider knowledge and understanding to show that "middle England" cares about these things too. There are various ways we can do this:
1) Write a letter. If you read a newspaper article or see a tv report that shocks you with its inaccuracy send an e-mail, a text or a letter. Politetly explain what the real issues are. Note: we may want to move beyond the Guardian this week ;)
2) Refusing to believe when people say the change is not possible. I could use a range of examples through history but I'll focus on one of the most recent. Two years ago Cadburys were saying that Fair Trade Dairy Milk was impossible. This autumn it hits our shelves. The impossible becomes possible when people keep chipping away.
3) By getting informed and joining in actions. The range of NGO's involved in this campaign is diverse and impressive. You may find it useful to join one of the sponsoring organisations and get involved in their work more closely.
4) Don't take this as being a campaign just for the week the G20 come to town. One suspects it will be a movement that grows. Find out about it and challenge your elected representatives on the issues.
5) If you are a person of faith pray. Pray not just for the politicians and Christian NGO's. Pray for all those who are working for justice, even if you don't get or agree with their motivations. Pray for the bankers and business men. Pray for the WTO, IMF and other faceless organisations. Pray for the policeman that they will employ restraint and will refuse to dehumanise the protesters, whatever their orders.
6) Use a range of media sources to inform you. In addition to the mainstream use the websites of campaign organisations and alternative media sources such as Indymedia UK.
7) Finally, don't let cynicism win. I am one of those who has felt let down and disillusioned after 12 years of an increasing drift to the right by politicians who were meant to be representing us. I am one of those who has resigned their party membership because I didn't see the point when even the Lib Dems stopped acknowledging the validity of the left. I am one of those who wonders why I bothered getting out of bed to march against the war when it made no difference and didn't stop any one dying. I am one of those who faded into become a "well meaning Guardian reader". I am one of those who gave up hope. However, this campaign (together with Stop the Traffik) are giving me hope. There are even in the darkest of times shoots of green.
Don't get me wrong, I don't think that all we ask for will be achieved..... but in the end some of it may well be. In the end things do change. I am getting to an age when I see the reasons for hope:
As a teenager, I read New Consumerist magazine and supported Fair Trade. If you had asked me then if we would have seen the growth in this we have done I would have smiled and said I hoped so but not believed. Also as a teenager I got my dad to take me to Molesworth to protest against US nuclear weapons on British soil. The bases are now gone. I know the weapons remain, but progress of a kind was made. I marched against the Poll Tax, something so unpopular it was replaced. Sometimes, just occassionally, we do make a difference.
Additionally, and it may be one of the reasons so many faith based NGO's are involved in this campaign, I have a faith based on hope.... a ressurection hope. To give in to cynicism is to deny our faith.
Oh and one final action you might want to take, which is tied in......."Earth Hour is this Saturday 28th March 8.30pm-9.30pm. The below link is a 3 minute video clip explaining the successes of previous years and the desire to make this year even bigger: http://earthhour.wwf.org.uk/ Iconic buildings all over the world will be switching off their lights to demonstrate their commitment to tackling climate change, including the Tyne Bridge, Sydney Opera House, the Eiffel Tower, Niagra Falls, Edinburgh Castle, Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro,The Houses of Parliament and Cardiff's Millennium Stadium"