The time seems to be flying by at the moment, and I am not sure that this is necessarily a good thing. The to do list gets longer and my temper shorter at times like this, and I feel like the world is closing in around me at times. Having said all of that, there is still a huge undertow of optimism as well. Contradictory? Well probably, but that's me I suppose. Tomorrow sees a big demonstration by the EDL in Luton, and of course a counter demonstration by an anti fascist organisation. I fear for the people of Luton living in such an atmosphere, and it saddens me to hear young people speaking highly of the EDL. I wonder how much of this nasty rhetoric they pick up from ignorant parents? Probably most of it, but then, I suppose I am guilty if my children become "lefty liberals" as well? It is a difficult one for me. I am, opinionated as this blog amply demonstrates, but I do try my hardest not to tell my kids what to think. We have tried very hard to give them the tools to make up their own minds, and draw their own conclusions, but we must have done it with some kind of bias over the years. What would I do for example, if one of them grew up into Conservative voter? I think I would struggle. If I think back to my adolesence and my constant arguments about politics with my grandfather, it would fill me with horror to think of my kids thinking about me, the way I felt about him. He was a socialist at heart, and I think a lot of my left wing leanings originate from hearing him speak and pontificate, but there was another side to him. He was a racist, plain and simple. His arguments veered from anecdotal; "You should try working with black people, they are all lazy", to the ridiculous "If they are the same as us, why do you never see good black swimmers"? I actually despised him at times for these views, and I hope that my kids will never feel the same about me. It raises the question though, can you ever be a truly close friend with someone who's views are poles apart from your own? Perhaps it is immaturity on my part, but I don't think I could have a close and happy relationship with someone with right wings views. I've not even got onto the subject of football or religion!
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