Stories which matter

Maybe these should be from the "and finally" section of the news as there seems to be no place for such stuff in the headlines.

Liberia cease-fire in effect.
DR Congo town faces 'disaster'.
Asean calls for Suu Kyi release

These and many other headlines are obviously of so little importance in the face of the world shattering news that some celebrity and his wife are moving house. Maybe we could create a special new section of the news called "real stories" or "stories which matter - but not much".

Seriously, ALL news seems to have reversed its importance - Big Brother is more reported than Zimbabwe - The Beckhams' move to the scorching heart of Spain. I am always telling my wife that it is not necessary to worry about everything in the world. You would go mad if you did but I consider it censorship to ignore the suffering and injustice in the world at all costs. We seem to be going the way of the US. When I was there on holiday in 1988, the only mention of Europe I saw on the news was something about Ian Paisley saying "NO" and walking out of the European parliament. The main story seemed to be about the Whales trapped in the Ice in Alaska laudable though such a story is (and topical as well - see Japan's threat to leave the IWC). My point is that it appears dangerously insular to ignore the rest of the world especially in these days of mass and instant communication. An off-the-cuff remark by a US politician can cause riots in the Middle East that same afternoon. Having seen the dismal performance of our own politicians on University Challenge the other week I begin to wonder how intelligent our Governors actually are. It seems that desire for power does not always (or even often) go hand-in-hand with a basic level of knowledge and awareness of the world. I know all this sounds stupid and arrogant but I don't pretend at any level to be able to govern anyone. I would not want to. But is it not annoying to be governed (and to have been governed over the last 30 years) by politicians who, when you examine their records closely are not as bright as one would hope? All this may of course just be the avoidance of cliché. Politicians will always rely on glib statements which make good soundbites but which are the public-speaking equivalent of the verses inside greeting cards. Unfortunately, these soundbites are often peppered with newspeak - words which are designed to lead you down a particular path with no way to voice dissent in any meaningful way. Maybe they are not so stupid after all. It seems that acts and pronouncements, which make me, balk, go unnoticed by everyone else. I get the feeling that I am increasingly at odds with "normal" attitudes. I mentioned this to my wife yesterday and she said I was basically conventional which riled for a few minutes but now I don't know whether I am reactionary of dangerously conventional. Secular Humanism is not exactly a hotbed of radical thought is it but now that it seems normal to accept a certain level of cheating in society, am I not the radical for thinking otherwise? Cheat at a low level and you turn a blind eye to cheating by public figures and whole Governments. Governments and in this country it seems, especially LOCAL government is a storm of bed-feathering. Maybe it is just that Central Government people have learnt how to cover all that up. At least it seems that our esteemed leader is just after his place in history rather than his place in the Sun. After all, we always seem to hate our current leaders more than the 'statesmen' from the past.

Of course, none of this applies to the daughters of certain Lincolnshire grocers.