Am I alone in being surprised at what surprises other people? Some weeks ago, newspapers and TV led with the story that the Charity Commissioners had received a complaint from Dr. Sophie Chandauka CEO of Sentebale that its founder, the Duke of Sussex, is a Bully who is trying to use the Charity as an ‘extension of the Sussex PR machine.”
Whilst reading an account, an impish mental ‘chain’ formed in my brain. I could not stop myself chuckling as I recalled that Harry’s autobiography revealed that, he had himself been bullied by his brother William. The second link being that his father, King Charles, was also bullied whilst a boarder at Gordonstoun School.
No doubt his grandfather Prince Philip was bullied by his Greek family and whilst training as a Royal Naval Officer. So, as the chain grew longer I unsurprisingly surmised that, like Harry and the rest, all of us must come from a long chain of bullies.
There are examples in the Bible such as when Joseph in Genesis, (37:4) was bullied, and sold as a slave into Egypt by his older brothers because they thought he was the favourite of their father Jacob.
Our forebears knew from history that people quickly adjust their behaviour to suit circumstances, and so they didn’t try to legally ban bullying. Instead, they used the language of our Judaic/Christian theology and Greko/Christian Philosophy to determine what is acceptable harmonic behaviour.
However, many leaders of society today know little of our Civilising roots and have replaced the iron chain linking concepts such as absolutes of truth, value, and behaviour with, “ cotton string links of relative truths, relative values, and so relative behaviour’.
My Great Uncle George (The Preacher) used to say, “We had best “Remember to nurture the Tree of our Civilisation. It gives us good fruit so we must not poison its roots.”
But talking of poison, during the ten years I moderated the Farmers Weekly forum, I never saw anything like the spleen, bile, hate, ignorance, and intolerance that is now left by viewers in the comments column of YouTube video’s.
When a viewer leaves an abusive comment on one of my own video’s, I call to mind Proverb’s 15:1. “A soft answer turneth away wrath.” But I also question their blood pressure level at the time of writing.’
Blood pressure reminds me that I am putting up a fruit cage in the back garden. To reduce my irritation when the shoots of peas, beans, cucumbers etc, peeping through are immediately devastated by assorted creatures including our own chickens.
Even the damage done by a few pigeons makes me realise how tenuous the growing of crops can be, and of how crucial it is that our nation retains the knowledge and the people already involved in producing our food.
My generation knows about food shortages and rationing during 1939 to 1949+, and I suspect recent generations are soon likely to learn what it is like. Especially as the people now involved in horticulture and agriculture are a tiny minority group.
Something needs to be done to ensure that Britain has the right people with the right knowledge, equipment, fuel, capital, and backup; to allow us to grow the 60% of the food it is possible to grow in our maritime climate.
This must involve our political academic and media class. However, they will only be important insofar as they enable and facilitate the people. No more analysis that leads to paralysis.
They are not useful when “stopping’ ‘slowing’ or ‘retarding’ the freedoms of speech and actions of the British People. Their role is leadership by virtuous purpose and example, not by diktat or part truths.
Unless they show they trust the people and speak the truth, they will not be trusted by the people.
‘Trust and Truth’ is one of those short rhythmic patterns that form Virtuous Circles of thought similar to the virtuous circles we get throughout the New Testament. Such as, when we give love and then receive mercy we become grateful and so then give our love as mercy to others. To close: Readers may want to ruminate on how ..
“ The Love of God the Father, The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Fellowship of the Holy Spirit,” can be portrayed as chain links to create a Virtuous Circle:
There is a surprise every time we figure one out and then act on it.
View from the Pew 