Life is beginning to seem less mysterious now that we find ourselves in the middle of spring. The second lockdown has been lifted, and once again, we are allowed to see our family and friends, and have a drink down the pub. We’ve managed to steer away from the road to nowhere, and we are no longer stuck with the feeling of inertia. Day to day life is almost feeling normal again – that is until you read the news…
But look at the news since my spring post, and contradiction and hypocrisy pile upon each other.
Boris Johnson rebuked Iran for moving closer to being able to build a viable nuclear weapon, and on the same day announced that back home we have reversed our plans to reduce our stockpile of nuclear bombs.
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar’s party’s manifesto claimed that independent schools add to social injustice, and then he was outed for sending his own kids to a private school.
Ben and Jerry’s (B&J’s) continue to signal how virtuous they are on social media, declaring themselves against white supremacy and in favour of a “sensible approach to multicultural understanding and thriving communities.” And in the meantime, B&J’s continue to run an Israeli factory in an area that Palestinians say was stolen from them, while benefiting from water redirected away from Palestinians.
Even Greta Thunberg can’t avoid the absurdity. By tweeting that she still “stands with the farmers of India”, she is providing valuable publicity for farmers protesting against the three farm bills passed by the Modi government. And yet stubble burning my many of these farmers is harming the environment that Greta says she wants to protect.
So, while Covid may be soon be counted out, the contradictions continue. In this pandemic of paradox, we appear to still be on a road to nowhere.
