Positive Change

When my daughter-in-law, Cass, said that she’d create a website for me, I had no idea that it would turn out like this. I’m stunned, and I can only hope that I do her work justice.

Although essentially an avenue through which I can rage against the evils of greed and stupidity and the foibles of human nature (especially my own), “The Rant”, inspired by the website design skills of Cassandra, will also contain positive elements which spring from my experiences. I trust that these will bring some balance to what might otherwise become a depressing reading.

Any reader who proceeds past this point and actually consumes enough of the forthcoming rants to make an informed judgement will probably fall into one of three very broad categories.

Some readers will undoubtedly consider my writing to be utterly self-serving, tedious bullshit, with a strong flavour of paranoia, and they’ll be right to think so. They’ll be entitled to that opinion because they’ve read and considered ideas which they then believe to be complete crap. Some of them may care to say so and, if they can justify a point of view contrary to mine, their thoughts will be published.

I hope that most readers will, at least, not believe that reading a rant is a waste of time because they may find ideas which are interesting, thought-provoking and even confronting. They may agree or disagree with what is written, with varying degrees of feeling and, hopefully, without being bored senseless. Their comments will also be greatly appreciated.

There may also be people who strongly support the views expressed. If so, they will probably be people who have, over time, become disenchanted with numerous aspects of contemporary life but who, like me, often feel powerless to contribute to positive change. Perhaps participation in this site will provide them with an opportunity to rant as well.

Like most armchair experts I have many questions but few practical solutions. Ultimately, any significant change to the status quo, local and international, would need to result from loud and intense protest by informed people who have a strong commitment to social justice. There are historical examples of meaningful action – the anti-Vietnam War demonstrations, the anti-racism action in America and South Africa, environmental protection rallies – but these are relatively few  and far between.

Little of my thinking has been supported by research. I’m not an academic. My opinions have been formed during more than sixty years of life experiences and it won’t be difficult for a discerning reader to identify my biases and name my prejudices. In my professional life I spent more than four decades as a would-be educator. I am a husband, a father and a grandfather and I mark my participation as a member of a successful extended family as my life’s most worthwhile achievement.

Rant One follows. It is quite long and more than a little involved, so I’m going to deliver it in parts. I hope that part one will be sufficiently entertaining as to encourage readers to continue reading each additional piece.