The Politics of Dancing

The battle over Brexit is over, however this battle, which is really a battle over Britain’s place in the world, represents only the first battle in a long struggle. It is a struggle over whether we remain a Liberal democracy or take a much darker route into intolerance, nationalism, and xenophobia. I. I have often thought the categories optimist or pessimist as a typology suspect, certainly in my own case what mood predominates is dependent on a whole range of factors, not least being the subject at hand. I suspect this is true of a great many people. One of the primary factors being trends, the direction of travel. In politics over the last few years for anyone of a progressive disposition there has been little to inspire optimism. From Brexit to the 2019 election result the cause of progressive left of centre politics has received setback after setback. Reasons to be cheerful have been thin on the ground, pessimism seems an appropriate response. Though in such circumstance’s pe...

WHERE WE ARE NOW A discursive look at our current predicament  The bleak relentlessly beating heart of this period, is a cocktail of populism, fascism and the corruption that is never far from flawed democracies and all by their nature are flawed. We swirl around this black hole, that devours journalists, doctors, scientists, judges, and those enemies of the people, the ‘ experts.’   In the night people wake afraid, invisible, and everywhere the plague. Morning brings no relief only the stark clarity of daylight an extra five minutes in bed, listening to what the stale voice on the radio says. Then coffee, a laptop life in which we isolate. Still better than the crab commute, the fearful juggling of hot coffee umbrella and business bag, sweaty, cramped, and struggling to breath, chest tight with an animal anxiety. Across the city the room is vacuumed and disinfected for the press conference at noon. The insomniac stare of the politician at the lectern as he reads his car...