Age of insecurity: Society is all of us
Harry McQuillen
Sensory bombardment isn’t an easy thing to handle. So many changes have taken place recently, both here and abroad.
My intention was to write a short article with themes like Magna Carta (read by me for the first time) democracy (what does it really mean?), improvements seen in our time, hopes for the future, and, of course, our need to work together.
In a very short time our minds have turned to terrorist atrocities, Greek debt and living conditions, and the effects of recent Budget announcements.
So many people live in fear, especially the fear of poverty. I’ve talked to people of all ages, and I’ve found that lots of them fear for their own futures, or the futures of their families and friends.
Management of change is the modern mantra. Rapid change makes all feel uncomfortable and insecure.
Apparently I’m not alone in fearing the break-up of the services we’ve come to rely on over the last 70 years or so.
Change creeps up on us in the most unexpected ways. Perhaps we’ve become complacent, accepting our low level of productivity and the apathy that seems to be widespread nowadays.
I suppose that I’ve been an unreconstructed liberal (of no political allegiance) all of my adult life. Perhaps I became one at the age of 12 when the Green Shoots of improvement began. Now, 70 years later, I can see everybody’s point of view. I’m better off than I’ve ever been, in so many ways.
But when I look at the lives of my grandchildren, and of young people in poor health, I’m not so sure!
I know that a lot of people need a bit of a push to turn their lives round, but I also know that a lot of them need help, and so do their children. Society is all of us, and we all have to try to make it work.
A recent article in the “i” the other day reminded us all that “American levels of taxation and European levels of Services are incompatible.
As I’ve said many times, I like the changes in our town. I’ve heard very many positive comments by visitors, not least from members of groups that I took for history walks.
My hope is that people will be just as enthusiastic when they talk about Amble in another 70 years!!
Enjoy the rest of the summer.
Harry McQuillen
