THE MESS WE’RE IN…

“If I were reincarnated I would wish to be returned to earth as a killer virus to lower the population” - Prince Philip 

You really couldn’t make this shit up. From the surreal arrival of Boris’s letter and through the subsequent lock downs, we’ve been a captive audience to a seemingly unravelling world. Each passing day the craziness, anger, outrage, despair was cranked up a notch and that was just the feud between Joe Exotic and Carol Baskin. America became the ultimate tv show as it came undone at the seams and tried to ride the wave of the pandemic, a re-galvanized civil rights movement and then the election. 

This led me down a rabbit hole of discovery of the history, politics and culture of a nation whose influence on our world is second to none. The more I read, the more engrossed and perplexed I become. Make America Great Again? When did it reach the pinnacle of greatness? Many would argue it still has a long way to go but as long as there’s optimism by the gun load, a good slogan, cash to hand and an unwavering sense of patriotism, I’m sure everything will pan out fine? 

Closer to home we’ve had the word “Great” tied to our idea of national identity for centuries yet the “United Kingdom” has never seemed so fragile and divided. I get the sense we’re heading for a full blown identity crisis. This is despite a concerted effort to gee up the nation by self-serving politicians with a penchant for flag shagging, xenophobia and nostalgia. Not to mention a casual disregard for the law and human rights. A land of hope and glory is a difficult thing to imagine. 

We’re coming towards the end of the second Elizabethan age, which began with an empire and will end in a post Brexit / pandemic swamp. Ideas of monarchy, nationalism and democracy will no doubt be dragged through the dirt before a world increasingly under the thumb of authoritarianism.

“You should learn from the tragedy of earlier ugly deaths that you can be in danger of getting shot in the head and back” - Myanmar Military Statement

On the 3rd March 2021, 19 year old Kyal Sin was shot and killed on the streets of Mandalay whilst wearing a t-shirt with the slogan “Everything will be OK” She was one of the first protesters to be killed whilst protesting against the military coup. Countless others have died or disappeared since. This quote was the military juntas chilling warning to those on the streets demanding the restoration of their democracy.