| Topic: | Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Measles outbreak in Hounslow | |
| Posted by: | Sam Hearn | |
| Date/Time: | 18/02/15 12:55:00 |
| "I hate to drag Sam back from the North West Frontier here, but has he got a concrete plan for restoring trust in the UK? Perhaps a vow not to support policies with zero evidence and a bit more public faith in institutions rather than amateurs would help?" In a modern democracy politicians are often put under intolerable pressure by the Media and the general public (via opinion polls and focus groups) to act "quickly and decisively" i.e. without evidence and without mature reflection. Not to do so is portrayed as being indecisive and weak .... In an open society with 24 hour rolling news I am afraid that I do not have a "concrete plan". I fear that most of our national institutions were created in a different era and are just not up to the job they were created to do. Whether they ever were is of course a moot point. Can our existing institutions evolve and adapt quickly and effectively enough to avoid disaster who knows? The House of Bishops' Pastoral Letter contains much on which all of us can usefully reflect. However we should acknowledge that defective as our institutions are we as a Nation have much to pat ourselves on the back for over the last five years. Despite all the dire predictions NONE of the following has come to pass; mass unemployment, double dip recession, a further banking collapse, Japanese style stagnation, a rise in crime, a breakdown of social cohesion and the collapse of a health service free at the point of delivery. Back to the North West Frontier with the Bengal Lancers. |