TERRIBLE EVIL LEFT-WING SOCIALISTS.

 

I am tired of hearing, seeing reading about how awful these left-wing socialists are. I guess I should acknowledge that a lot of it comes from the Right Wing Press.

I began to think about some of these terrible people. Particularly those who have been leaders of parties in the UK and now no longer are. It would be better to assess people's actions rather than just what they say.

So thinking about those people, I wondered what they did after their leadership stint. Well, now Margaret Thatcher, reportedly after her stint, went off to do public speaking, and it was reported that she was earning £1,000 per minute. What about those who followed her? How are they doing? I heard that Gorden Brown had to spend his Christmas day assembling bunk beds for refugees as no one else was around to do it that day. I hear that the terrible left-winger Jeremy Corban was as often down at the food bank helping out as often as possible. Not sure about many of the others, but don't you think it is worth asking the question?

Then I began to think about where I stand. What do I feel about Equality? I would like to see more of it. I must be a left winger.

I respect all nationalities and do not think I am better than everyone else because I was born in the UK. Oh dear, I must be a socialist.

Giving a significant tax break to the rich and making sure that the poor pay an outstanding share by reducing their income is terrible; I must be a socialist.

Trickel down is not something I believe in so bad; I must be left-wing. I  did hear someone say that he knew it worked; he was sure. Being so upset when seeing a homeless person driving straight to the nearest expensive estate, finding the best house on the Road and putting £10.00 through the letterbox, he was sure that it would soon trickle down to that poor homeless person.

I guess the story told by Jesus of the Rich man and the poor man (Luke 16: 19 to 26) must undoubtedly be a story of trickle-down economics. Then there is that other story about the man who had a visitor. Rather than taking a sheep from his large flock, he went around and took a sheep from the man who only had one so that he could entertain his visitor. Was he a good example of a rich person's tax system? (Second Samual 12: 1 to 5) At this point, I should quote Jim Wallis in his book Gods Politics; he said governments should remember that a budget is a moral document.

Nationalisation is a big one, but why should we create a competitive market in water, energy and the like? Is that cost-effective, and does it benefit the user, i.e.that, is all of us?

By the way, does this opinion of evil left-wing socialists have anything to do with the media? How much of that media is owned by right-wing people? How much are they persuading us that my opinions are so evil?

So what else makes for a terrible socialist? I want Equality of pay, whatever gender, definitely Equality for women. Such things must undoubtedly come from those terrible evil left-wing socialists.

www.adrianhawkes.blogspot

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Adrian Hawkes.

 PRIVATE LIVES ARE SEPARATE FROM PUBLIC LIVES?

For many years I have been puzzled as to why people think high profile public personalities will be different at home than in the workplace. So, I hear things like, “Oh yes, he lies to his family, but that is different. They will be an excellent public officer, MP, Prime ministers, Director etc..”

I have had people say to me, “We need so and so to come and clean for us.” My answer has been, “But their house is so dirty!” “Ah yes”, comes the reply, “but they will do an excellent job for us.” Why do people think like that?

So, a particular person is unfaithful and lies to his wife and family … but that is their private life? Now we are referring to their public workaday life, and this, and they are different. Really? Why do we think any human being can compartmentalise life that way?  They are a single human being, not two characters. It happens to me in the current workaday world. People say “so and so has had a difficult time at home, but that is their private life now they are at work.”

Do you not think that home will not affect your performance at the workplace? Of course, It does. I can usually tell with my fellow workers when things are challenging outside of the office. Why? because it impinges on their work performance and attitude.

A particular PM was unfaithful to his erstwhile wives. I am sure he had to tell lies to cover his activities before the infidelities were made public. However, never mind, we are only interested in his public life. Of course, in time, it seems he has been telling lies to his work partners also, as well as the country at large. What a surprise?

Oh, and I wonder whether he and/or others told us lies about Brexit.

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Adrianhawkes.blogspot.co.uk

8^th July 2022

 

 Back to Babylon

It is interesting to look at history and track our political developments. If you look back to the old-world empires, Assyria, and Babylon, it is evident from a law point of view that the ruler, King (or whatever) had absolute power. Not only did he make the law, but they were also the law, and if you like, above the law.

When you move to the next world empire, the Medo Persians, you note that the rulers say things like, “We make the law, but we must also obey the law, and when the law is created, we cannot change it.”

However, now, in the UK, we are in that strange position where those who make the law feel that it is not for “special” people like them but only for the proletariat. So, if you want to do something and the law says you cannot, then, of course, change the law. Or better still, say that the high court's ruling must be wrong because it is not what you want to do, so we will organise things so that the courts - the judiciary no longer have any power over our decisions. 

Then again, if we are in that privileged position of making law, and the enforcers of the Law come and advise us to stop what we are doing because we are breaking the Law, we can laugh at them. “Don't you know who we are? Go away. We are the lawmakers.”

And when our judiciary system is an adversarial one (i.e., there is a prosecutor and a defender), either a barrister and or solicitor is used by the people, because that is our system, and they find a defender for themselves, we dismiss that defender as “just too left-wing.” It seems now in modern political parlance that anything of the “left” must be wrong, communist, or even worse. Strange, eh? I wonder if birds could manage with just one right-wing.  

Another thing! it seems now that in the UK, we must only have left-wing lawyers. Or is it that same syndrome whereby if you disagree with what I (the lawmaker) want to do, you must be wrong (by default), and we need to find a way of cutting you out of the equation so we can do what we want to do, right, or wrong, legal, or illegal?

Let's be honest. If we want to party, prorogue parliament, put people on planes to Rwanda, push boats out to sea, promise stuff to another government while I am on holiday, plan to change an international agreement that I have signed and break international law -if I want to do these things and make these laws, anyone who opposes me must be wrong - or at least they must be left-wing.

Again, let us be honest; we want to go back to Babylon, where 'I' am the law and can do just what I want when I want, and leave the law I make for the simple prols.

 

And if you disagree with me that would be Scandalous!

 

www.adrianhawkes.blogspot.co.uk

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17/06/22

 PCC EVENT July 2021 – Almost out of Lockdown.

 

Phoenix Community Care has for many years sponsored and created social events. These events have been for its staff, Foster Carers, those cared for, our Unaccompanied Minors, and the team supporting them.

During 2020, because of CV19, almost all that we have done has had to be online, although we have continued to have face-to-face meetings with our UAMs (Unaccompanied minors) as language is often an issue, and if one has a government form to complete, extremely hard to help with that online.  On top of that, if the boiler breaks down, one cannot fix it remotely. We have tried to protect our staff as well as we could with protective equipment, and we have only recorded one mild case amongst our young people during the whole period.

We have all missed that personal interaction with every one of our placed people. Staff and friends of PCC organised this “Almost Out of Lockdown” event in July.  Hiring school grounds in London, with football facilities, bouncy castles, boxed food etc.  A big thanks to Sunny and Talitha (one of our Foster Carers), who put in all the nuts and bolts to make this a successful day.

The Weather was kind. The food was great. The music was loud. The conversations and catchups were too numerous to count. The younger children bounced. The older children had catchups and made new friends. The UAM’s soccer team took great delight in beating the PCC staff team at football, for which they received actual medals.

All in all, some eighty-plus people came for the day. Thank you for all the positive comments about our time together. We are looking forward to the next year-end event.

 

Adrian

13.07.21

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DAFFODILS, ROLLING FIELDS, SHEEP … AND CITIES.

 

I have designed a course on the subject of Culture. I have had the privilege of delivering the course to those taking degrees in theology, to students who have completed advanced training in Counselling, social workers, foster carers, and sixth form students.

For many who have a church background, I usually ask the question: “What it is you might see on what may be called, a “Christian Calendar”, Christian Magazine, Daily devotional books, or other such literature?” Most students give me the common answer, being the first part of my heading—daffodils, rolling fields, and perhaps even nice clean white sheep grazing in total serenity.

When I ask if readers have ever seen a city in such literature, I often see the lines on people's faces as they think on it.  Usually, the answer is, “No! Never!”

I was a regular visitor to churches in the USA for many years, and what surprised me was the venom I found in many countryside churches concerning cities. People almost want such places to explode or slip in the sea and never be seen again.

Our company office is in Tottenham in the heart of London, and somehow, Tottenham has a bad name for Knife crime. There is a lot of it. Yet there is also a great deal of community care. I noted during the days of CV19 the many community-organised groups that got together to deliver food, do shopping for locked-in people, cook meals for free and provide them for those in need. So much of that kind of behaviour. So, sure, Cities can be dangerous. However, let me tell you what I see as the positives of Cities.

•      They can be places of protection and safety.

•      They can be places where people skills can be best deployed, as in industry.

•      They can be where organisations can be most usefully designated, giving great opportunities to many.

•      They can be places where individual people-skills are best developed - specialisation.

•      A place of a wonderful community and co-operation (unity).

•      A place of wealth creation.

•      A place of resource.

•      A place of influence beyond its borders and often is.

In other words:

It should be good.

•      A place of richness, in terms of creativity, how about, 'Silicone Valley”?

•      A place of vision - Where there isn't vision people perish

So be careful what you think about Cities. They are actually great places to be.

Sadly, people who move to the countryside look at me with sympathy when I tell them where I live. “How sad for you!” they say. “What a shame! I would hate to live in the City.” Usually, I am too polite to respond, - but, do you know how insulting it is to say derogatory things about where people live? Do you know that more people live in cities than anywhere else in today's world?

For my Christian readers, those of you are used to seeing Christian literature with fields, flowers, and cottages with flowers around the door planted by a flowing stream with lambs jumping in rolling hills outside your living room window. Have you ever looked at what God promised us at the end of the age?

The New Testament Apostles went to the biggest and most influential cities, not country villages. Epistles are written to the likes of huge cities like Rome, Ephesus, Corinth Philippi, and Thessalonica.

Revelation Chapter 21 verse 2 is striking, isn't it country lovers? What God promises us at the end of the age is a city, how amazing is that?

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Adrian BlogSpot

 www.adrianhawkes.blogspot.co.uk

 

 

 FAMILY / COMMUNITY

 

Isn’t it interesting how much talk about community and family there is at present? I thought I ought to get in on the act and give my two pennies worth. It’s an important subject. One that I think is somewhat misunderstood and often misused. It is interesting to note that lots of the politicians are jumping on the family values, the “back to basics” bandwagon, giving us various versions, and being careful of the slippage - or is it sleaze?

 

And what do you mean by “family”? The tragedy of the UK is that these values have come to mean “nuclear family”, which being interpreted equals Dad, Mum, 2.4 kids and a family car, living in their own castle (house). This, we are strongly led to believe, is “normal family life”. Sadly, many Christians have adopted this version of family, and seek to make it sacrosanct. Worse is to come. We are now on the pathway, and unfortunately, many are already there, to be part of the “micro family.” Again, this is being interpreted as equalling one parent and, usually, one child. Is this the next pathway to normality?

 

The great tragedy of the nonsense of the micro and nuclear family syndrome is that even those that follow Jesus proclaim this as normal. Recently, I heard it pushed forward as a sign of maturity. “Leave your father and mother. Cut all ties. Then you will be grown-up”. Sounds a bit like, “Taste the forbidden fruit and you will be just like God, having the knowledge of good and evil.”  Recently, having spoken at a meeting, a gentleman shared with me that, as part of some training course he recently attended, he had been taught that “divorce is a sign of growing maturity!!!”

 

Sadly. As followers of Jesus, we are very often unable to see clearly through our cultural mist. We fail to know that what we have inculcated is neither from the Bible or Jesus, but simply secular philosophy that is permeating our culture, and it is imbibed by us with our mother’s milk.

 

So, we hear people say things like, “An English man’s home is his castle”. People say it as if they were quoting scripture, along with such things as, “leaving your parents is a sign of maturity”. Hey! These are not the words of Jesus!

 

There are many right signals to healthy development, such as good attitudes. The fruit of the Spirit is a good starter too, along with loyalty and faithfulness. Sure, the Bible tells us that people leave home to cleave to a wife or a husband. In such a circumstance the Bible surely says to “leave home”, but it does not say, “discard.”  I know too that it says, “children obey your parents”, and having left the childhood state “obey” definitely needs to be replaced by “respect.”

 

Now, I do not want to be all negative, for, if there is a wrong way to do life, it presupposes that the right way may also be available. However, if we are to reach it amid our British culture, we will need to press hard to get there.

 

I believe in extended families. There. I have put my cards on the table right at the start. This is a hard one to argue in “Nuclear Family Britain”. Even the architects, planners and city designers conspired in the 60’s and 70’s to make it hard. They pulled down the pre-war and wartime slums, and rightly so, but then they built tower blocks, dispersing the old communities/extended families to the four winds. Better housing was needed for some, but at what cost? Perhaps it was the cost of destroying extended family/community that was socially just too expensive. More than we could afford.

 

I lived in the late 1960’s in the North of England, in a place called Grangetown. It was a small town on the edge of Middlesbrough. I was there to see the last stage of the local slum clearance. The planners were in the throes of demolishing the last of the back-to-back, one toilet for four houses streets, at the bottom of town.  They were moving people into the up-market council estates in lower and upper Eston. I was granted one of these houses, and very nice it was too. It had modern amenities like central heating. I thought it was well done. Imagine then my surprise when I watched the protests of the tenants of lower Grangetown. They protested long and hard. They tried to resist the demolition. They petitioned the council. They refused to move. They got in the way of the bulldozers. They argued with the workmen sent to do the job. They clung for as long as possible to their back-to-back shared loos. As far as I can remember, Aunt Ethel took the “Custer’s last stand” posture. I looked on with amazement. Why? The houses had had it. Upper Eston was so much better.

 

Well, so they were. But then, I didn’t understand what was really going on. Now I see it better. It wasn’t just the destruction of bad housing. Yes! That really needed to go. However, it was also the destruction of the community and the displacement of extended families. Aunts and Uncles, Grandfathers and Grandmothers, cousins and even those that were twice removed, family adoptees who had earned the title of honorary aunt or uncle, and sometimes even honorary gran or grandad, and on occasions a secondary mom or dad were all to be separated in different estates. In badly housed Grangetown they all lived within hailing distance. They were all there to help, to advise. To lend a hand, to babysit, to arbitrate on discipline, to be a second opinion on important events and even to council and correction. Yes! They would also take part in the squabble and arguments of course – but that is all part of life. However, to leave, to demonstrate maturity, to become a micro or nuclear family – perish the thought. That idea never entered their heads. That would have been disloyal or unfaithful, and who in their right mind would ever want to do such a terrible thing.

 

Who would want to diminish community, or dismantle extended family by such foolish action? Well, the planners did. They probably only saw the bad housing and did not think through all the social implications. They failed to see great communities and/or extended families. The bulldozers and diggers, ball and chain cranes and demolition teams moved in, and the bad housing was suddenly there no more. Now, we could all get on and do life in our “graffiti-ised” tower blocks and our sensible nuclear/micro family’s boxes. We have come of age, become mature and grown-up. How sad! How untrue! How lonely!

 

We need to reverse the trend. Hard but necessary. It will probably be uphill. We will need to fight the mindset that has pervaded the culture. We will need to push towards housing that accommodates more than 2.5 children. We need to change the crazy thinking that creates such unrestrained loneliness in people. We need to affect that change in the planners, the politicians, the children, the social services, the church, as well as in you and I, in families and singles.

 

We need to re-sell such things as loyalty, stability, faithfulness, being there for each other, and other outmoded things like that. That does mean no arguments, no squabbling, or disagreements. It should mean that we produce community and extended family for the long haul. It does not mean that nobody goes away, moves house, or goes international. That’s silly! What it does mean, is that there is always that sense of community, real family and extended family belonging.

 

Community and extended family are important, for it is there we get our functions sorted, corrections stated, and where we activate our usefulness. We improve our skills, both relational and otherwise. We are wisely connected to the wider world, not drifting independent islands in a sea of independent micro nonsense. In a community extended home, we have personhood, we are needed, valued, wanted, and we belong.

 

So, how do we start? Well, there are lots of ways really. Buy a larger house for starters! “Oh! That is economically impossible”, I hear you say. “I cannot afford a bigger mortgage”. Yes! I know that. But what if you shared the mortgage and shared the running costs. What then? Would that be so damaging? So awful? “But it wouldn’t be just mine, would it?” you say again. No! That could be the first problem. However, if you did it, then you could take in one of those students that just moved into your area or one of the new followers of Christ that doesn’t have anywhere to live. You could even help homeless immigrants. You could foster. You could adopt. The opportunities and the needs are almost endless.

 

Forty-five years ago, many of the new churches started in house groups. Often the need caused them to move into extended homes. Sadly, many who pioneered that way have now reversed the trend and have gone back to the “castle”, “siege” mentality. “I need my privacy”, we cry. Do we? Why? As Christine Nobel said, “The problem with the English castle and its privacy is that it is often in that privacy that many things happen that should not happen.” We can see that is true in our child abuse statistics. We can see it in the figures on the English and Welsh child protection Register, some 90,000 at the time of writing. We can see it in the battered women’s hostels and the sad need of an oversubscribed, yet necessary Child Line.

 

Maybe extending the family could bring greater community protection. Protection being also on the lips of Politicians these days. The so-called, “maturing process” of the nuclear and micro family certainly has not worked. It is time for followers of Jesus to extend their family and help recreate community!

 

(Usually, these Biblical references to family are used in the sense of extended family or household. Here are some of those references.   Genesis 18:19. Exodus 12:4.  Leviticus 25:41.  Numbers 3:22.  1 Chronicles 4:27. Judges 6:15.  Judges 9:2.  Judges 18:19.  Amos 3:1.  Acts 10:7. Acts 16:15.  Acts 16:31.  Ephesians 3:15.

Philippians 4:21.)

 

 

 

Originally published May 1997

 At Pioneers City Zone Event.

Slightly adjusted for the now

adrianhawkes.blogspot.co.uk

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