Restoration 10:10

"I think that in retrospect I could have used a different tone, a different rhetoric" said President George Bush. The US leader is regretting the choice of words he used to deal with Osoma Bin Laden and the Iraq situation. Perhaps he could have spoken differently when challenging Iran over the issue of its uranium enrichment. ‘Bring them on’, ‘dead or alive’, 'all options are on the table' are just some of the phrases fired in the important global debate  about the Middle East problems. George is not the only leader to speak imprudently either. The newly elected Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad coined a phrase that he might regret. "Imam ghoft een rezhim-e ishghalgar-e qods bayad az safheh-ye ruzgar mahv shavad.” This was misunderstood as ‘Israel must be wiped off the map’. But apparently it means ‘this regime occupying Jerusalem must vanish from the page of time". Either way it sounds as though Mahmoud is looking for a final solution to a problem in Jerusalem. Whoops did I say ‘final solution’? Sorry that phrase sends tingles down my spine. It reminds me of another politician who wanted to permanently deal with Jews. His name was Hitler. He was adamant that the European Jewish community vanish from the pages of time. Consequently people were brought alive on trains to concentration camps. And there an unimaginable number of men women and children ended up dead. Of course George Bush didn’t really mean bring them on dead or alive. The USA has been misunderstood that’s all. And Mahmoud Ahmadinejad wouldn’t dream of wiping Israel off the map. Iran’s nuclear ambitions are only for domestic purposes. We believe them; don’t we?

This Britain

Sir Alan Sugar recently expressed his feelings about Broken Britain. ‘It’s gone bloody mad out there’ he told a Sun news reporter. So how can we stop Britain falling apart?

I would suggest that we could fix Britain by,

Setting clear guidelines

Establishing what is and isn’t acceptable in society helps everyone. But unfortunately we don’t always know the perimeters in which to live.

I might use the subject of drugs for an example. In January 2004 Cannabis was reclassified from a class B to a class C drug. But by May 2008 Jacqui Smith confirmed that cannabis in the UK would be reclassified from class C to B again. It’s not such a big issue as to whether cannabis is a class B or C drug. Cannabis and its increasing strains have been illegally circulated for years. What matters here is to state the bottom line about the drug in a straight forward unambiguous way. Then enforce the law if it’s broken.

Our leaders need to concentrate on establishing very clear boundaries on the many issues that affect our country. Otherwise the situation will become more absurd. Like the North London council which illegally painted two yellow junction boxes either side of the road and ticketed drivers in Tottenham. No matter what side of the road the people were on, they were wrong. They couldn’t fail to be wrong. Not because they were incompetent drivers. Rather because the council had not established proper guidelines for the road users. And so it is with all our practical, moral, and social matters. Clearer guidelines will help straighten out some of the mess which the UK is presently in.

There are of course a lot of grey areas in a democracy like Britain. But equally there are many things that could be put in plain words so everyone can understand. Review policies; adapt principles, advance technology and change laws according to the times in which we live. But don’t keep moving the goal posts otherwise we don’t know what to aim for. I appreciate that there must be consultation. But consultation shouldn’t be confused with never ending debates or meaningless talk. A democracy has to know what it stands for and what it does not stand for. Otherwise we’ll fall for anything. Our leaders must simplify our lives. We’ve become such a special nation that we have to rely on specialists to deal with everything. We need specialists for financial issues, data protection issues, human rights issues, scientific research, health and safety, and we have leaflets to explain all events. We have NVQ’s for everything, personal trainers for everyone and life coaches to inspire us to fulfil our potential. Why is it with all of these professionals our nation is still in such a mess? Of course we need trained and skilled people to do a proper job. But I think we’ve specialised to the point of overkill. Most of us are just plebs; give us stuff that works in every day life.

But even then I wouldn’t be fooled into thinking that people will automatically follow crystal clear guidelines. Take alcohol for example. As a parent I do welcome the government guide book on how to teach our kids to drink alcohol. But good guidance doesn’t guarantee good conduct. Education about binge drinking may not change people’s attitude towards binge drinking. What starts out as a happy drinking session can end up in drunken chaos no matter what the guide book on drinking states. People fail to do what’s right even though they know what’s right to do. We know it’s illegal to speed on the highway but how many of us have done so? A person will only do what he or she wants to. Therefore it will take more than clear guidelines to fix Broken Britain. We must also determine to make a difference as individuals.

Doing what you can

It’s recorded that ten percent of school children have committed burglary. A quarter of 15-16 year olds admit to carrying a weapon. A report states that 382,000 incidents of mugging occurred in 2005/6. We can’t instantly change these statistics or pretend that crime never happens in our nation. The challenge is huge. We are like an ant wrestling with an elephant. But as individuals we can influence a tiny part of the big picture.

Carol Saldinack's sons Luke Newman, 27, and Oliver Clark, 24 recently attacked a man and blinded him in one eye. But their mother did not let them get away with the crime. She reported them to the police and they were sentenced to two years in prison. By doing this Carol has not solved the problem of crime in the UK. But she did fix a little part of Britain which she had control over. And so it is with all of us. If Britain is a broken nation its citizens must be personally responsible for rebuilding its character. We must have the courage to do what’s right, not what’s easy. We must not give in to a corrupt status quo but work hard towards a common goal of civility. There is no safe Britain and at times it may be wrought with danger like a jungle. But we can deal with the issues that arise by focusing on the job in hand. Sir Morton Stanley was asked if he'd been frightened of the incredible horrifying jungle that had daunted previous explorers. He said 'I did not see the whole. I only saw this rock ahead of me. I only saw this poisonous snake which I had to kill in order to take the next step. I only saw the problem directly in front of me. If I had seen the whole thing I would have been too overwhelmed to have attempted this'.

Harnessing the power of optimism

One of the absolute resources needed for fixing this nation is the spirit of optimism. We can enjoy some of Britain right now. A happy person is not a person in a certain set of circumstances, but rather a person with a certain set of attitudes.

A counsellor named Rich Bayer has written about the importance of optimism on his website. He explains that during ‘the 1988, Olympic Games, swimmer Matt Biondi was favoured to win all seven events he had entered. Preparing for his first event, the 200-meter freestyle, he shook himself a little to get loose and set his mind on winning. At the gun, he hit the water and gave it his all but when the waves had settled at the end of the race, he had finished a disappointing third. In his second event, the 100-meter butterfly, he led the field until the last two meters where he was caught and he finished second. The commentators speculated that this was such a crushing blow to him that it would break his concentration in the coming events and detract from his performance. Biondi however went on to win gold in all five of his remaining events. How did Biondi do it? Aside from being an outstanding swimmer, he was also an exceptional optimist. He had reassured himself, after the first two losses that he would do better in his upcoming events’.

And so it is with the challenge set before us in Broken Britain. No matter what losses have been inflicted on our nation we can do better in the future. The up and coming months and approaching years will bring with them some great opportunities. Alan Sugar should not despair too much. If a dung beetle can get healthy nutrients out of faeces then we can get something good out of Britain. Now is not the time to give up on our nation. Think positive! Besides, a genuine anticipation of a better future will improve our stress management. It will increase productivity and provide better health. Development in these areas alone will do us all the world of good and help get this nation back on its feet. But if we fail don’t worry too much. Broken Britain is not going to be your problem for ever.

Having a Reality check

You might look like him, think like him, talk like him and feel like him. But you’re still not God; you’re only human. No one person, organisation or government has the ability to make Britain a perfect nation; it will always have its faults because human nature itself is faulty. Some times it’s down right sinful. A leader by the name of Hitler tried to establish a great earthly kingdom that would reign for a thousand years. He convinced some of his people that Germany was a cut above the rest. He ruined his nation within a decade. Modern leaders are still prone to failure or wrong doing, no matter country they regulate.

Technology too has its restrictions. Great inventors or inventions will not be enough to fix our nation. Science is good enough to get man to the moon and land a spacecraft on Mars. But it’s never made a single planet which fills our universe. No matter how hip technology becomes it will always be limited. So too will our leaders in the UK. Politicians walk among us but they don’t walk on water. Parliament makes legislation but it doesn’t have the monopoly on truth. And all the money in the world can’t buy eternal life. So we need to live in this land humbly before God, with a conscience, and be good stewards of our nation. Perhaps it’s worth stating the obvious here. We will all reach a point when the values of Britain won’t bother us anymore. Crime, the rising cost of living, the work in the community and UK ideals will all become obsolete when we’re dead. So, whoever gets into Downing Street next, I wouldn’t try too hard to fix up our nation. Like those gone before you, sooner or later you too will make a ‘balls up’ of things. Our ultimate destiny lies beyond this tiny Island of ours.

"I want to register my deep concern -- and immense frustration -- at the unacceptably slow response to this grave humanitarian crisis”, said U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. He is referring to the negligent Burmese government for their snail paced, creeping effort and loitering response to one of the worst cyclones to hit Asia with nearly 134,000 people dead or missing. Burma's Senior General Than Shwe took two weeks after the disaster to meet victims and see the destruction for himself. The General had declined to take the UN secretary’s phone calls earlier in the recovery effort. Talk about procrastination. There is a law against speeding drivers who endanger people’s lives on the highway. There should also be a law against government leaders who are criminally slow to help their suffering nation. It’s ironic that Russia can wave visas and fast track visiting football fans for the European Cup Final in Moscow. But Burma virtually shuts down its borders to visiting aid workers. Though there has been some improvement on this 34 UN visas have now been issued to aid workers. Well that’s reassuring; NOT. The world community is lining up to help and the Burmese authorities are using loudspeakers on trucks to tell people not to wait at the roadside because "begging from the donors tarnishes the dignity of the nation". Is it just me or is the Burmese junta consistently foolish? Dignity comes through dignified conduct. It is a noble thing to help the disadvantaged and feed the hungry. But it is undignified to let people suffer needlessly.

"Some people counted me out and said to drop out, but the American people don't quit and they deserve a president who doesn't quit either," said Hillary Clinton to her cheering and chanting supporters in Philadelphia. It was an unlikely win against her political opponent Barack Obama. He had out spent her in advertising by more than 2-1. But Hillary didn’t stop campaigning and as a result she came through a winner. You might not agree with Hillary’s politics but you can admire her tenacity.  Perfect role models are not faultless people. But they are people who will hang on in there until they finish their job. We all have tasks in life. And like Hillary some of us may have been told to give up on what we want to do and pursue another course. But that’s not advisable. Hillary might not become president. She might not be selected for the Democratic nominee to face the Republicans. But she ain’t going to quit until her efforts are completed. Just because someone counts you out doesn’t mean that you’re knocked out. So get up off the floor, stop complaining and go fulfil the little purpose you have in life.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Keep on track!

Morgan Tsvangirai is about to become the new President of Zimbabwe. Not a bad achievement considering Tsvangirai failed on three previous occasions. He lost to Robert Mugabe at the ballot box in 2000, 2002 and 2005. Only one year ago Tsvangirai took a savage beating from police which almost killed him. But just because you take a beating doesn’t mean you’re beat. Tsvangirai survived to tell the story. There maybe trouble ahead if Mugabe does not go peacefully. But I’m sure Tsvangirai and the Movement For Democratic Change will overcome. Mugabe once sneered at Tsvangirai’s working-class roots and referred to him as a ‘train driver’ Zimbabwe would never accept as leader. Tsvangirai’s reply was appropriate: “At least the driver keeps the train on the tracks.” That’s the spirit that makes a difference. In spite of setbacks, and unfair criticism be sure to keep on track and finish what you started.