DING
DONG THE RICH ARE NOT DEAD!
On
a previous post I was supposed to talk about sketchbooks but ended up
talking about the political situation in Mali. It was related ( the
sketches were drawn in Mali) but the urgency to talk about what was
happening there (still is) was more pressing than the need to talk
about sketching. In this vain I will talk about Thatcherism as this
is the issue of the day and does relate to my proposed talk about
engagement in culture; engagement is democracy.
Thatcher
championed the free market economy whereby there is no control or
protection in the market, promoting growth or in other words allowing
aggressive strategies and big business to win out. She achieved this
by lowering taxes, privatizing state industries and increasing
restraints on trade unionism at the expense of small businesses,
industry and communities (most famously with the miners) and
ultimately individuals. Profit over people. Large companies paid less
taxes while the poor suffered, the gap between rich and poor grew
considerably (and is still growing at a rate never before witnessed)
and public sector industries were sold off . From heating your house
to getting you from a to b it all became about making money rather
than the issue at hand. In the case of the Hatfield train disaster
privatisation led to negligence on a large and tragic scale (Ian
Jack; The Crash That Stopped Britain, is a small novella on the
subject).
You
could say she helped pave the way for a ruthless, money orientated
world with her, as the sycophantic media puts it, “robust
policies”.
Disenfranchised
from the state the most important thing is making money for a strong
economy. Worry about yourself, forget you're community. Think about
the proliferation of Tesco's locals, what's local about such a large
national empire? What's local about having the same shop on every
corner, of every street, across the country? They have profited form
us by dominating the high street and destroying the competition. One
pound in seven spent on the high street goes to Tesco's yet you or I
don't see any of their profits. So why don't they foot some of the
national bill and prevent some of the cuts?
Small
shops cannot compete with the buying power and reach of the
supermarkets in the same way that artisans cannot compete with
cheaply mass produced products, or local musicians can't compete with
big money music industries. Should we loose the local high street (
sorry it's gone), loose our crafts people, traditions and cultures.
Just let one gigantic mono culture consume us all? Maybe we should
except that money drives and distorts our culture to its own ends?
Thatcher
is not responsible for everything that is wrong in our world but she
is an Icon of conservatism, free market economics, and its global
cousin neoliberalism. Which is why it is important to mark her
passing with a symbol of discontent.
Think
of the world trade centre, nearly 3000 people died that day, yet
since then over 300,000 have died in resultant wars on terrorism (a
conservative estimate that doesn't take in the true destruction
levied on Iraq and Afghanistan). The fall out to the event has been
far, far, greater than the event itself but its the event that will
stick in people minds and remain throughout history as a defining
image of our times. Its said ad nauseam that “the world changed
since 9/11”, it works as a brilliant sick piece of propaganda and
marketing for a global agenda but if you get beneath the surface
gloss, are we not waging much the same pointless wars as we have been
for thousands of years?
Symbolism
has always been important but in a global visual world its impact is
instant and far reaching. Despite the sickening eulogies to Thatcher
in the mainstream media people took to the streets to celebrate and
the Wizard of Oz song Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead,
is set to reach number one!
There
is a strong message being declared by the general public, stating
that we do not want the likes of Thatcher, Thatcherism or any of the
current conservative attacks on the welfare state and the poor in
general. No amount of spin and media cover up will dispel the notion
that she and her ideas were damaging. If she could be written into
history as being a tough but necessary force that strengthened
Britain, then we face a continuation of these policies. The same
blurring of leaders legacies has been attempted with Mao in China and
Reagan in America. To be clear these people were not great, they were
bad. Very bad.
Right
now the BBC is struggling with the issue of trying not to look like
they are censoring the playing of Ding Dong, whilst actually, really
wanting to censor it. As a cultural event, its a clearly felt
political, public expression, a piece of cultural engagement or quite
simply democracy in action. They have said that they will play 5
seconds of it, as it may be offensive to some or be seen in bad
taste. I would say war is much more offensive to right minded
sensibilities but it is the job of the media to report it. We were
going to inform you what is happening in the world but have decided
it is far to upsetting, so for your own sake here is a clip of
kittens playing.
This
is a battlefield for our collective truth, the opponents are the
government, associated media and establishment/rich on one side and
the governed/oppressed poor on the other. The prize is the cultural
record or agreed version of history from which we will inform our
decisions for the future.
The
democracy of the information age has its strength in mass
communication that is not dependent on a less than impartial mass
media.
We
are competing as people with the interests of the banks, big business
and a government infrastructure that supports this “good ole boys
club” . Look at the damage the banks have done and the corruption
of the bosses and yet the banks are still here! They are still
receiving large bonuses at our expense!. The more money you have, the
more influence, regardless of whether you aid or degrade society.
We
face a common challenge to safe guard what we feel is important
against the damaging effects of self serving industries, yet on the
surface shop keepers losing their business, musicians unable to
support themselves or nurses fighting the cuts, may not see much in
common with each other. The chance for a collective voice or impact
to be made is lost.
Perhaps
social media and the internet are great platforms to educate inform
and collaborate both locally, nationally and globally. But is that
enough? Sometimes signing an online petition just feels like too much
of a disembodied gesture. I think the point where virtual action
meets actual action is the most potent and useful. Engage on the
internet but also look at your local culture be it shops and local
produce or local music and art scenes, how can we bring these
together and perhaps creatively support say, nurses and people
working in the rapidly disappearing public sector.
Anyway
the old bag kicked the bucket, her life and death as an individual
(dare I say human being? Perhaps not) is not important but the
camaraderie in nationwide condemnation of her actions and what she
stood for has brought joy in bringing us together against a common
enemy. Much like the community spirit during the 2nd world
war when the enemy was the Nazis, only now the enemy is the rich. So
raise a glass, have a laugh but take a moment to think what comes
next...