Monday 7 November 2016

I Do My Bit (for the US of A)

Last week, I checked the statistics for my blog and discovered, much to my surprise, that my largest audience, by country, is in the USA.  My natural response to this discovery is to think that these 'hits' might not be readers but cyber robots patrolling the web for blogs to do with plumbing.  But just in case you're really reading this, my dear Americans, I want to use my influence.

In his book, 'How to Save the World', John-Paul Flintoff's thesis is that it's so easy to be overwhelmed by the enormity of the big things wrong with our planet that we are inclined to give up trying to make it a better place.  He argues that as a strategy, we can focus on the small things.


This is not a new idea, but he expresses it eloquently.  If you can smile at the person checking out your groceries, or grow your own parsley and then give the excess to a neighbour, he argues, the world becomes a better place by degrees.

Flintoff lists ways in which we can use our influence and advocates political action, on however small a scale.  So in response to him, I'm ditching my usual there's nothing to be done stance and urging you to vote.  And, I'll  make no bones about it, to vote for Hillary.

(There.  That wasn't so difficult.)

We in the UK (everyone, but everyone I know) are watching all agog and with  horror as the land of the free and brave looks in danger of voting in a self-declared racist misogynist to the White House.  Use your vote to make this less likely. 

Please.

5 comments:

  1. Well said. One upside has been the juxtaposition of Trump's venal amorality and Obama's quiet, but assured, dignity.

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  2. Pity you didn't convince the lovely Americans Liz. Can he really be as awful as our media have portrayed him to be, or is there some manipulation behind it? How can we know...

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  3. Undoubtedly there's some manipulation of information we've been given/fed, but Trump has (looking from a safe distance) behaviours which tally with the profile of a psychopath (overblown sense of self, no need to follow the rules unless it suits him, treating people as objects, ridiculing and diminishing others as a way of controlling them, love of risky behaviour, etc): of course, this (sadly) goes for many people in powerful positions in all spheres of life.

    I'm going to grow some parsley.

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  4. The Fox News-type media in the USA have been very much on his side, and the media here have been pretty kind to him, mainly by promoting the ludicrous idea that he is somehow a "man of the people". So depressing. Yes, it's good to do the small things, though the nature of Power is to sweep the small gains away.

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  5. A fabulously pertinent and compelling post. Further remedial action, I can highly recommend is sign up for Hope not Hate:

    http://www.hopenothate.org.uk/

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