Ego: September 2003 Archives

I often find myself wondering just how the Democratic party would have dealt with the situations we've faced over the last few years; the United States is a little cursed in that both major political parties are right wing, the aforementioned somewhat less so than the Republicans perhaps, but very conservative nonetheless by most Old World standards.

I love America dearly, but with a government that takes every possible opportunity to make enemies of the planet, I can only look at my passport and feel a measure of disappointment. The optimist inside urges me to look toward better days, but what I feel deep down, is that the walls have long since begun to crack; there's so much distrust, adolescent passion and sheer hatred, whether masked in politics or readily apparent, boiling around me that I feel foolish in my own optimism; what can they do but come crashing down?

Right now would be as appropriate a time as any for some good old deus ex...

As Tony Blair obstinately continues to stand behind his decision to follow the US into a premature attack on Iraq, and citing, gallingly, those of us who walked in the anti-war protest as a vocal minority, it is interesting to note that the Labour Party has lost one of its most dependable constituencies to the Liberal Democrats. Though the party has other reasons for its loss of support, they have done little to gain the confidence of a significant proportion of the voting public. As a Labour supporter, I find this sad, but not at all surprising. For much of this year, I have deliberated voting elsewhere in order to demonstrate my dissatisfaction; perhaps I shall.

If there's one really stupid thing that the US has done in recent news, I'd have to choose the government's decision to veto the UN resolution denouncing Israel's decision to remove Arafat. Whether or not he is popular with the negotiating parties, this license to kill a Muslim leader will only serve to legitimise attacks on US and other Western interests abroad by those who have already chosen to commit them. I don't like that humanitarian aid workers and troops alike should continue to be ambushed and killed, as is now reported daily, but this is really stabbing the peace efforts in the back, and putting our people at even greater risk. Bravo.

Last week's murder of Swedish Foreign Minister, Anna Lindh, in a sad event that has seen a significant outpouring of grief, has resulted in a fair amount of online chatter about how we value each human life on rather relative terms; being devasted when a famous person dies, but only expressing a fleeting sorrow toward the passing of people we just didn't know.

I found myself feeling that same dread when I saw the headline "Williams Sister Shot Dead" on the BBC this evening, only to feel relief when I investigated and found that it was neither Venus, nor Serena that was involved. That sensational title has since been altered, and the fact remains that their family has lost a loved one under awful circumstances. Whereas their pain is undoubtedly profound, the sadness that I might have felt is diminished, much as I regret their loss.

I realise that the psychology behind this mentality is very well documented, but it feels no less crummy to have to acknowledge this capriciousness in whom we're each willing to mourn for.

On my way out to a house warming this evening, I noticed an envelope addressed to me on the entrance hall table. Postmark: Gray's Inn Road; a moment of reckoning. I opened the envelope feeling vaguely like I do when reading acceptance/rejection letters. Before I'd even read past my name, I'd made out the words 'delighted' and 'happy' - in my experience, people aren't typically "delighted and happy" to reject applicants, though I could see that working nicely on my planet - so it was with hope that I read on.

Indeed, it would seem that I now have a conditional place in the Flora London Marathon on April 18th 2004! Happy, happy, joy, joy!. What I have to do now is raise crazy-money through charitable sponsors, a daunting but not impossible task which I'll have to begin soon if I am to hit my target. I am over the Moon!

Now, just to keep fit until I can train on my right leg again; the schedule is there and waiting, the stamina comes in buckets, but what really needs doing is to build the kind of endurance that only women in labour can appreciate. Positive advice is very welcome!