Are We Sleepwalking Into a Disaster?

The premise of the parody film Shaun of the Dead was 'dead' on and is more relevant today than ever. For those of you that don't know, in the film, London was being taken over by zombies and nobody noticed because everyone pretty much behaves like zombies anyway. So much has happened since its release, wars against previous allies, a global economic downturn with no end in sight, yet it appears many people, young and old, are still sleepwalking.

The world is changing rapidly and still there are too many people who don't know what's going on around them and frankly don't care. Even those who are aware think there's no point in either voting or protesting against any measures that are cast upon them as 'it won't make a difference'. You will not believe how many times I have heard this and thrown a BF (bitch fit) because of it. If we were all as bloody lazy and cynical as people like that nothing would ever change!!!

We cherish that we live in a democracy but (unlike the French and even now people under tyrants in the Arab world,) we are the most on-lock nation I can think of - whenever something happens that we don't like we just lie down and take it like dogs. The favourite national past time is moaning yet we do not even want to complain at restaurants so why would we dare protest about something that is affecting our entire lives!! We may as well be under a dictator as there is not much which unite the masses in an effective way. AND!! Even when there are large protests people stand at the sidelines and say 'what's the point?' or even worse they moan and complain about people who do protest.

Our Occupy protests are small compared with our cousins across the Atlantic and people just see them as a bunch of hippies who are partying at St Paul's (they are most definitely not all hippies and so what if they are?? and alcohol and drugs are strictly banned). There are many against the public sector striking over their wage and pension reforms because

- How dare they hold the government to account?

- How dare they fight against punitive measures breaking their lawful employment contracts?

- Apparently, because the private sector are even worse off, this means the public sector workers should just count themselves lucky they have jobs and pensions. So because the private sector cannot but actually more significantly WILL NOT do anything about it that means the public sector workers should not do anything also? What kind of absurd logic is that?!

-We are doing exactly what the government want us to do, turn against each other, So the answer is all putting our heads down and doing whatever the authorities tell us to do?

We are the people and we should decide how are lives should be, not stooges in suits. People all over the world are standing up to their rulers, from the students in Chile demanding access to education, the Occupy protests across the world demanding a fairer distribution of wealth, the Israelis unhappy with living standards, the Bahrainis who want reform and democracy in the face of great brutality, even the super rich in the US (including the creator of Ben & Jerry's) are lobbying to pay higher taxes. Why are we, the British, so disunited even when we are theoretically in agreement? This is the one British trait that I hope will change. What will it take for us to stop sleepwalking?

See also http://raraproductions.blogspot.com/ & http://anbarrockny.blogspot.com/