The democracy of people that shout the loudest

It seems curious to me that the people that call the loudest for democracy are invariably the same ones that that like to shout over the sincerely held views of others. Why is that? And when a legitimately held democratic vote is taken, the loudest voices continue to object to the result.

I absolutely subscribe to taking account of everyone’s views. And I believe that we should do everything in our powers to uncover and understand those views.

But ‘democracy’ does not always , and never has, been the answer to reaching agreement; to delivering positive change. Frequently the democratic process intervenes to clog up the system. We only have our political entities to look at to understand this simple truth.

Which is not to say that I do not believe in democracy; I am a passionate defender of the democratic process in a political environment. It helps to resolve idealogical division – so long as the people that subscribe to the system are willing to accept defeat with the same generosity as they cherish victory.

But the system is undermined when the people that appear to be speaking in favour of democracy do not accept the the result of the democratic process. And when they are openly belligerent because of the result, I begin to doubt both their motives and their integrity.

I look forward to returning to this – and thank you to Tessy for shaming me into commenting on my blog again!

Snow business

Since this winter’s weather cannot be ignored I thought that I’d share a thought about the way that it is introduced, if only as a flimsy excuse for adding some very attractive photos of the snow.

When did weather forecasters start to tell us that temperatures, or the prevailing weather, aren’t ‘what we should expect for this time of year’? I only mention it because of all things, the weather is what it is – for any number of complicated meteorological reasons that I only vaguely understand. But surely, as a part of the human condition we spend our lives learning how to cope with what life throws at us. And life and the conditions that we live in are not that predictable; the presentation of possibility and probability have conspired to have us believe that somehow we can anticipate and be protected from the vagaries of life – to the point where we cannot cope if things are ‘not as they should be.’

When in truth our capacity to cope is in a sense the defining quality of the human condition – or used to be.

The back of what was Bath Academy of Art

A very different game of Tennis

The opportunity to play a game of which there are probably only a hundred players in the world is a privilege. Somehow Stické tennis has not survived – well barely survived- and today there are only three playable courts left and one of those is used for badminton.

Although there are only two courts in this country, one at Hartham Park, the other at Knightshayes Court in Devon, the enjoyment that can be wrought from a game of Stické tennis is exceptional. I played yesterday with the retiring vicar of Corsham, the first time that he had tried his hand at it, and the instant enjoyment of a game that is in equal measure entertaining and infuriating was self evident.

Hopefully the court will find increasing use as people keep the game alive and continue to be infuriated. One thing I guarantee is that everyone who plays has to enjoy a good laugh. The court will get you in the end!

Quantum Community

Somehow, the idea of community means something when you see it working – and fails miserably when authority attempts to manage it.

At the heart of this conundrum is the perspective that you take.

Community works; it shares an interest. Community makes things happen – it has energy and purpose. It has ambition, it knows what it is trying to achieve and the very act of trying holds it together.

But to the outsider – who defines the community, who sees it as a manageable unit – even when the intent is generous or supportive, the concept tends to break down.

It’s a bit like Schrodinger’s Cat, and so, quite unscientifically I am working on a thought I like to think of as Quantum Community.

Quantum Community has momentum, and it has  spin. But try to measure it and you will only get half of the story!

Picture quantum communities on the macro scale and along with the infinitely large array of other quantum communities you get society. There may well be groupings of quantum communities that identifiably share common or overlapping interests and collectively become valuable pressure groups. This is especially well illustrated by the many diverse communities that share an interest in the light of climate change .

Some communities will be more interested in energy conservation, some in alternative energy, some in sustainable ecology, etc etc. The list is huge.

But collectively the power of their work and the passion of their commitment has and is bringing insight, discussion and action to bear.

A renewed commitment to the blog

After a few months, the time has come to return to the blog, inspired by a visit to the Royal Society of Arts on Monday.

There are some people there and throughout the Society working on some tremendous thinking. We, like all of our predecessors, are living through periods of immense change. How we handle it all will be measured by our legacy to future generations – and it’s never too late.

I’m fortunate in having been able to contribute something; through work, on the Council, being a parent. And now I’m fired up to do more. Watch out World!

Added Values

Spending time at a very tranquil mini-festival just outside of Bath, conversations very recently with local farmers (bless their pessimistic cotton socks) and of course the recent local elections, not to mention the focus of attention on Central Government and the economy has led to a lot of thinking about values.

Curiously the catalyst was the conversation with one particular farmer who runs an organic dairy herd. He is now being charged a subsidy by Dairy Crest that in part goes to farmers looking to back out of the organic system because the organic market has declined in favour of local produce.

Which struck me as really interesting, if a bit depressing. What particularly struck me was the ‘values’ that people hold; how they change, and how the world at large deals with them. Once I’d started to think of it the thoughts ranged from how today’s values have developed – to how do we cope with changing values; how do we help deliver  new values; views about the extraordinary lag between those setting out on exploring new sets of values and when they start to touch a very much wider audience.

I was struck by how much today’s emerging values need more than just holding; if you have a strong set of values then you have to act, personally, on them. You have to be prepared to do something about them. Whether reducing your personal use of the automobile and consumption of energy , or making the effort to commit to food that you think has been better produced or is better for you – back to that farmer again.

The financial systems, we now know , rewarded excessive risk – but we continue to glad hand many of the people that both took and approved of that risk.

And finally, in a moment of analagous madness, a ludicrous comparison between the House of Commons and our approach to the battery rearing of chickens. Well, there was a time when we apparently tolerated drug-filled carcasses cramped in unhealthy conditions of gross animal discomfort, cackling inanely without being heard.

But our values have changed. We expect a healthy system that will deliver something of quality and benefit without suffering. 

More importantly, in this particular instance, we did not expect the chickens to have the capability of conducting their own reform. It took, and is taking, the commitment of thought leaders and advocates. It crucially required the understanding and commitment of us. And it meant that we had to make personal choices about the chickens that we wanted!

But the main point is not political.

The values I really want to address are much more pertinent to us and the way we live our lives. 

We are living through an extraordinary time when the values that we all keep are being challenged and questioned. How they are changed, both politically and personally, whether it is the environment, climate change, resource consumption or the political system we expect ,are things that we have to do something about.

I am going to come back to this.

What a way to spend a weekend

Over the weekend I was fortunate to get an invitation to a mini-festival, put on privately a mile or so from the cottage in Corsham. Apart from the fact that the weather pulled out all the stops, and the setting was one of the best in Wiltshire with views down the valley into Bath to the West, I was struck by a general sense of contentment.

From 6 (and younger) to 60 (and older), there was not a person that did not look thrilled to be there, listening to really enjoyable music in thoroughly entertaining company. 

Sunday was particularly chilled, nothing at all to do with excessive consumption the preceding night. We don’t ask much to be happy. Fine weather, good view, the energy of youth and a wonderfully relaxed atmosphere. Would that it were that simple – but many thanks Dave and Caro for all of the effort.

The view to the stage on Saturday afternoon

Democracy, in so far as it is.

Having been consumed by Local Government elections over the last few weeks I’d just like to offer a thought on the results. Party politics aside, in Wiltshire, the unitary authority for which I stood, there was a turn out of 43%. And the average share of the winning vote was in the order of 40%, give or take.

So less than 18% of the total electorate have created a 62% dominance on the new Wiltshire Council.

Over 80% of the electorate have not voted for a controlling majority of that significance.

Neither does it reflect the actual voting share, where in the majority of divisions the voting was much, much closer. Typically the winning candidate was getting between 35% and 50% of the vote, but other major candidates were getting between 23% to 30%. And there is a universal  scratching of heads about why the electorate does not vote, feels disenfranchised and distrusts politics!

This is the case at Local Government and will be the case at a General Election. With all the column inches given to the expenses scandal (all too frequently defended by the ‘that is the way the system works’ excuse) I hope that we do not lose sight of the call for political reform that would result in government that does reflect the popular vote – when hopefully people will decide that their votes count and will want to vote.

Don’t defend a winning majority, especially an excessive majority, by saying, ‘that is how the system works.’ The electorate’s patience has been broken by that argument. The evidence – the turn out, the disillusion and a general sense of bemusement, anger and frustration.