Politics and the media

  When I gazed out of the window of a deserted train sixteen months ago, the sense of anguish and uncertainty I felt was commonplace amongst the majority of the world. The biggest public health crisis in a century was upon us, and no-one truly knew the severity of COVID-19, or how the consequences would shape the world. Perhaps, as the hastily thrashed out blog  I wrote on that train  lamented, we knew it would affect us, but we had no idea what the reality of that would look like. Similar to that mid-March afternoon, I write this on a train. This time though, I don’t sit here with the same degree of uncertainty. For the world has adapted immensely in the last year. Masks, hand sanitizer, social distancing. Things that were unusual have become the norm – though I still haven’t found a way to stop my glasses steaming up under a mask! Credit: www.homelandprepnews.com But the biggest difference to that last train journey, is that last week , I had my COVID-19 vaccine ! V...

Last Monday night, I watched a video . A video which contained the pleas and cries of Indian suffering, cries that had previously reverberated around the world, but now were being ignored. Despite being at the forefront of Western media just a fortnight before, India's COVID-19 crisis has been cut from the news, and become largely sidestepped, in a drastically short space of time.  News cycles are constantly evolving, picking up the latest story that sells newspapers, gets website views, or captures a reader's attention. The constant demand for new, unique stories leads to a jolted inaccurate story of the world's events. Maybe that was somewhat acceptable, when news platforms weren't 24/7. But right now, exacerbated by social media, they are constantly churning out information, stories and content that isn't illustrative of what is happening worldwide. They pick and choose what story they care about - and then discard it when it no longer sells papers. When these is...

Supporting a football club, as many fans will tell you, is about far more than the football itself. Indeed, it is far more than the memories it can create, both on and off the pitch. Because in truth, once you start watching your favourite team, you are transfixed in the ebbs and flows of a beautiful game. For those 90 minutes, nothing else matters.    When the beauty of that is threatened by corporate greed - an ever-powerful part of the modern world - it feels not like an attack on the sport, but an attack on the distraction it gives us. The European Super League has dominated headlines for the past two days, and in that time it has been proposed, and fallen apart. For some context, the ESL wanted to replaced the current Champions League (which teams have to qualify for through their national leagues) and create a "closed shop" whereby 15 teams would play each other every year without the need for qualification.   Some will argue that greed enveloped the football w...

Over the centuries, the creation of money as a universally-accepted payment mechanism has facilitated a huge advancement in what the human race has been able to accomplish. Its development acted as a means of unifying people from different corners of the globe, expediting prosperous trade networks and enriching cultural cohesion. Subsequently, it goes without saying that, like it or not (and I certainly don't), you need money and resources to survive in the modern world.  Sadly, that is a luxury many don't have. For all our advancements since the introduction of capital, financial inequalities that plagued feudal systems in the Middle Ages are still present in 21st century society. In the UK, many people are underpaid and overworked, forced to be dependent on foodbanks, benefits and charity because of inhumane working conditions. The result is that around 23% of the UK population are living in poverty , including 700,000 driven in by the effects of COVID-19 . The negative repe...

Democracy, so it has often been said, showcases the best in society. Its free market control and fair elections place an emphasis on personal choice. The state acts in a supervisory role, encouraging and strengthening us like a schoolteacher would a young child. Authoritarianism on the other hand, is painted as the polar opposite, evoking thoughts of an intimidating Stalinist USSR and in contemporary times, the reticent state of North Korea. But right now, as the major institutions in the UK weaken in front of our eyes and our freedom of speech is threatened, maybe these aren't so mutually exclusive as we have been led to believe. When reading bad news in the media, I often comfort myself with the thought that the notable tragic events making headlines aren't comparable to the unreported positivity that humankind demonstrates every day. And that is true, for it is easy to get lost in a cycle of negativity, focusing on events that illustrate the worst in how people behave. Avoid...

When starting a piece about the past year, COVID-19 needs no more than mentioning, unless you've been living under, not a rock, but an asteroid. It has characterised the world in a way that few problems have the capacity to do.  The development of a vaccine that will define 2021 will not cause anywhere near the same furore, because it heralds a major breakthrough in the biggest challenge of the 21st century. But, and there is a huge but, it will only change the lives of developed nations, whose vaccine nationalism will embody the stark inequality that many a Western liberal will claim they care about addressing.    One would hope that, in times of adversity, the human race comes together as one to act in the good of all (see the narrative behind the two World Wars). Yet history has a way of simultaneously glorifying the unforgettable and erasing the torment it causes.  No doubt in years to come, when life has returned to normalcy, we will look back on the past year, ...

Empathy has become a trait I have wanted this world to embrace more sincerely throughout the past couple of years, especially given the challenges we face are becoming more personal than ever. On a human level, such is the power of feeling understood that it can create positive bonds in even the most bleak situations. Well, now we have the opportunity.  The difficulties faced this year for all, throughout the world, need no mentioning. Spending excess time with your own mind is challenging. Especially when weighed down by negativity - which these blogs definitely haven't helped. Sorry. But not sorry. We had slipped into such a lull as a society that we didn't appreciate the things we had. We needed so much variety in our personal lives, from what film to watch at the weekend to choosing which beer to buy, of the millions that seem to exist. I'll take any but Carling, thanks.  I'm sure the few people that are reading this are instantly thinking "man, I can't wai...