Time changes everything

November 24th, 2007 Written by Biz

Today I spent a freezing cold, but fascinating day out at Old Sarum in Wiltshire. Old Sarum is a giant earthworks and hill fort complex first created by Iron Age people in around 500BC. Subsequent occupiers included the Saxons, the Romans, the Normans and at its apogee, King Henry the II. Whilst standing there in the midst of the wide plains of Wiltshire, surveying the scene before me, I couldn’t help but be aware though, that for all the power and grandeur of its former occupants, time had reduced the site and its previous owners to naught.
 

Reflecting on this theme, I mused that time is utilitarian, after all; time heals, time dims memories and time reduces to aggregates; so I shouldn’t have been as surprised as I was, when I realised that time also changes attitudes. The realisation came upon me whilst reading the paper on my return journey from Wiltshire; featured, was an article about the possibility of the resumption of fuel blockades in the UK and in the midst of a tumult of fulmination I checked myself, realising that my current opinion was the direct opposite of that which it had been during the previous action in the year 2000.
 

Now at this point I would like to make a small confession…but don’t get too excited, I’m far too canny to ‘fess up’ to anything salacious, nonetheless, I have to admit that in 1997, in spite of myself, I truly believed that the newly elected Labour Government was somehow different and that a new era of politics had been ushered in. Little had I realised, that the ‘new’ part of ‘New Labour’ actually indicated an abandonment of all moral principles, a self-serving ethos and a cynical attitude toward the UK population…in other words it became exactly the same as every other political party.
 

My mistaken opinion of the Government at the time, however, did colour my opinion of the petrol blockaders of the year 2000; I felt at the time that they were holding the country and the Government to ransom and that they should all be marched off to the nearest gulag to think things over. For those whose recollection of the blockader’s motivations has faded, here is a brief summary:
 

• Diesel prices had risen to such a level as to cause businesses to teeter on the edge of failure.
• Although the blockaders accepted that prices do rise because of supply & demand or inflationary pressures, the hardship causing price level was due, for the most part, to the exorbitant level of UK fuel taxation.

 

Since those days long past, I have come to realise one vital fact about all Governments and that is: ALL of the Governments, let ALL of the people down, ALL of the time. Furthermore, all of the Governments do what is best for themselves and will chip away at the citizenry with taxes, laws and petty bureaucracy and will push us as far as we let them (which here in the UK seems to be all the way).
 

Using fuel as just one example; In the USA, they seem to be really feeling the pinch of worldwide fuel increases. Pre-increase they used to pay around 50p per GALLON. In the last year and a half, or so, because of global fuel price pressures, they now pay a staggering (I’m being sarcastic!) £1.50 per GALLON. In the USA, fuel attracts very low taxation; here on the other hand because of taxation we pay over £5 per gallon…or put another way; for every litre of fuel priced at 95p, we pay a staggering (this time I’m not being sarcastic), 63.7p in tax!
 

Now as I said previously, Governments (not just this one, but all of them) will tax, legislate and push the citizenry, as far as they are allowed to. But look at France…even now their transport workers are engaged in protests to preserve their pay and pensions…and in every case in France so far, the citizens have triumphed and the Government knows how far it will be allowed to push people.
 

Look at us too…did we not defeat a Government who wanted to impose a Poll Tax on us? Did not the Government for a long time afterwards also know its place?
 

So this time round, I say to the potential fuel blockaders;
 “If your livelihood is threatened then have a go lads…just the same as we all might”.
“I will probably get pi**ed of with you when I run short on fuel, but If you triumph, then maybe it will show this and all Governments that the time has come when we the British people, just as the French, will no longer stand for things we abhor and that maybe, the Government, might once again realise its limits – after all, to misquote Climie Fisher…time changes everything”.
 

BTW…for those who can’t remember Climie Fisher…you haven’t missed much. Have a truly marvellous weekend and I look forward to catching up again on Monday.
 

 

 

 

 
 
 

 

Entry Filed under: Rants & Views