In her declining years, my mother frequently uttered the phrase ‘This world has gone mad!’. I always found it amusing and used to put it down to the effects of Alzheimer’s; but since she passed away three years ago, I’ve realised that I often find myself quoting the same phrase after watching some atrocity or other on TV.
It is not hard to feel hopelessly bewildered in a world that has lost its way. I believe humanity is literally floundering, making righteous allowances for those that don’t deserve them and blatantly ignoring those that most need our help.
I don’t want to sound hypocritical – I love space exploration but I feel that such advancement in technology in some parts of the world doesn’t quite match the complete destitution in other areas. There is a definite lack in balance.
We used to have a little cardboard money box at home, brought in by kindly UNICEF charity workers. Every time one of us had a little spare change left over, we would pop it into the box. After a month or so, the kind workers returned to collect the box, which was usually very heavy and bursting at the seams by then.
You really felt you were doing your bit for the starving children in Africa. Nowadays, however, one gets bombarded by one advert after another in between TV programmes.
They all present you with distressing footage of a particular little girl or boy and they tell you it’s your exclusive responsibility to ensure this poor little child and her family get the water or food they so desperately need. The extremely cliché catchphrase “Give just £3.00 a month” is repeated continually from advert to advert. It is very upsetting as the scenes are generally quite graphic and explicit and I inevitably end up turning down the volume and looking away.
It’s really sad to think that, no matter how many people get drawn in by these companies’ marketing strategies, the stark truth may be that these unfortunate children possibly receive a ridiculously small percentage of the money collected. The majority, I suspect, goes under the heading of ‘admin’ and ‘wages’.
Don’t misunderstand me, I have various carefully chosen charities that I dutifully donate to every month, but I just don’t believe that ALL charities out there are honest and noble.
For instance, take hypothetical Mr & Mrs Taylor, a couple in their 60s who have already paid their mortgage in full and are enjoying a debt-free retirement. Along comes hypothetical nice guy Paul from an equity release company and convinces the couple that they need an expensive round the world cruise, a Jaguar (Mr Taylor, now you can get that Jag you always wanted!) and a brand new kitchen with all the latest appliances.
The couple agree with the agent and go ahead with the plan to release equity on their home, say £40,000. Now they are in debt again – in a big way; but they are no longer newly married and in their 20s. They are retired, their income is obviously limited and they are now the proud owners of a new mortgage! No prizes for guessing what happens next.
This kind of unfair offer did subside and die off for a while. However, the wolves are back – with a new tactic. Now they don’t ask you to remortgage the house with repayments straight off the bat. The latest carrot on a stick is that you can release the equity on your home BUT you don’t have to repay anything till you’re living in a retirement home or have passed away.
These vultures are patient. They have thought it through and realised that the original strategy wasn’t working. So now all they do is lie in wait. When their victim is sent to a retirement home or dies, they swoop down and take over the property; and these vulnerable people have now been swindled. Fait accompli! They have worked hard all their lives, paying off a hefty mortgage and now the family home goes to the vultures, instead of being rightfully inherited by their children. How tragic.
I have nothing against equality and fairness. I believe all living things on this planet have rights and my favourite motto has always been “Live and let live”.
However, I hate to admit it but equality has lost its way too. It forgot about respect. You cannot have equality without respect. I will respect your opinion as long as you respect mine. That is not happening.
The episode tells the story of a young girl who became pregnant after being raped by her stepfather. The team at SVU are seen to support and even encourage the young girl to have an abortion. Up to that point, I’m still respecting their point of view and their decision, even though it clashes harshly with mine. I am an advocate of life – I believe that all life on this planet has a right to LIVE; and if a tiny insect has my full support and respect, it is understandable that an unborn baby would rank pretty high on my list.
However, the programme sadly portrayed him as an arrogant backwater lawyer, with archaic and chauvinistic views. When he walked out of the courthouse, the “Pro Choice” mob crucified him; and what really did it for me was the newest member of SVU - a highly strung feminist with a chip on her shoulder; she had an argument with another team member because she incorrectly assumed her colleague was insinuating that ‘a group of white-haired old men would be allowed to decide what she could do with her own body’.
The episode ends with Olivia and Amanda accompanying the young girl to have her abortion. Conclusion? It was evident which side of the fence this programme was sitting on; and I find it disgusting that they should show such a strong bias.
Don’t get me wrong – I don’t mind that the episode covered this very delicate and controversial subject. However, I’m surprised that a programme of that calibre would stoop so low as to take sides, and subsequently make the ‘enemy’ look stupid and unreasonable. Needless to say, I can’t have been very far off the track because, when the programme ended, the channel actually invited offended and disturbed viewers to visit their website where they could talk to someone if they needed help.
So yes, this world of ours is certainly mad … and selfish, inconsiderate and narcissistic. I usually choose to turn a blind eye to all the depravity around me, if only to keep my wits together. There is not much I can do on my own against the flood of decadence.
All I can do is hope that, one day, sanity, respect for others and basic goodness will return to this beautiful world.
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