No Comment...?

Let me start this post by getting my excuses in early: I am a fully paid up member of the Dawkins & Hitchens fan club. I believe organised religion is, for the most part, an unnecessary and divisive phenomenon based more on self-interest and self-preservation than anything else. But then, I’ve always had a bit of an issue with authority, especially when it is claimed to be moral. 

The last few days have seen a number of stories covered by the press in relation to Holocaust Memorial day. From the publication of an ‘offensive’ cartoon by Gerald Scarfe in the Sunday Times to comments from a Lib-Dem MP regarding the treatment of Palestinians in the occupied territories, the casual observer might feel that it’s completely off-limits to articulate a viewpoint that might possibly be deemed critical of, or offensive by, anyone of Jewish faith at this time of year.

I’ve personally never felt that religion should be a ‘no go’ subject. Despite some very obvious quirks in relation to diet and genital-mutilation, Judaism is a religion characterised by much warmth and humour and so it saddens me to see religious leaders pulling out the holocaust trump card when anyone dares to criticise the actions of contemporary Jews in the Middle East. And it’s a shame because it really is a trump card – a nuclear option to which there simply is no answer. Without any shadow of doubt, the holocaust was an appalling event and there are no words to describe the horrors experienced by its victims, be they Jews, homosexuals, ethnic minorities or any of the other groups who were deemed undesirable by the Nazi regime. However, and I draw a deep breath as I say this, no religion (or political regime based on a religious doctrine, for that matter) should be beyond scrutiny or criticism and it is most regrettable when anyone in a position of political or religious authority attempts to claim otherwise.

Of course, timing is everything. The timing of the cartoon and MP David Ward’s comments were both spectacularly bad, but does that make either anti-Semitic? Would the outcry have been less vociferous at any other time of the year? I can’t say, but I am deeply troubled by the way in which any supposed criticism of Israel is branded anti-Semitic in the same way as I object to how small numbers of Islamist radicals took the cartoons published by Danish newspapers and altered them in order to spread violence in the region. Of course the Middle East conflict is an incredibly complex issue but I often think it’s a little too easy for both sides to turn on anyone who dares to comment on it and claim their views to be simplistic or naïve. Maybe a healthy dose of naivety is actually just what the situation requires.

No one should deny the holocaust nor attempt to belittle its effect on the Jewish people or psyche. In the same breath, however, freedom of speech is an incredibly important human right and no government or religion should think its conduct is beyond reproach or analysis. People of all faiths (or of none) should have paused last Sunday to reflect on the holocaust as one of the greatest examples of man’s inhumanity to man. In future, Jewish leaders should also draw a more distinct line between the events of the past and present, and avoid the kind of intolerances and careless labelling that they themselves have so frequently derided.

Older and Wiser?

Idealism is a terrible thing. 

With age comes an increasing sense of perspective; an improved understanding of one’s place in the world and a greater sense of the absurdity that is 90% of our daily lives. The young may be blessed with great energy and enthusiasm but they rarely have either the financial means, the nouse or the patience to really change the world. Want idealism? Speak to the late-30 and early-40-something parents of young kids. They usually have an incisive and insightful view of the world they currently live in and the world they wish to leave behind for their children.

Age also sharpens rather than blunts the moral compass. With age comes an increasing sense of wanting to do business with people and companies who are in business for the right reasons. Profit is by no means a dirty word, and we do not begrudge any company the right to grow and enjoy success, but not at any cost. And certainly not with disdain for those consumers who helped create that growth in the first place. Excessive profit or profit that is harmful to the environment or the wider society ceases to be viewed as either palatable or acceptable, and we scrutinise much more closely the motives of those who claim to have our best interests at heart.

This brings me to banking. 4 years on from the financial crisis I am still utterly astonished at the lack of public outrage over this issue. Maybe it’s just financial fatigue but each new quarter has seemed to bring with it a new twist in the tale (Fred Goodwin, High Street banks rigging Libor, Bob Diamond, massive fines for RBS and so on…), leaving me scratching my chin wondering why people are not marching towards Canary Wharf en masse with a portable set of gallows. I exaggerate for effect, of course, but there are a few universal truths that need to be articulated when discussing the subject:

• Most investment banks have consistently behaved like Grade-A shits for the last 30 years with only minimal regulation or scrutiny, gambling with your money in ways that would make a croupier blush
• Any recent expressions of contrition have only been uttered because those concerned have been caught out, with nowhere to run 
• NOTHING HAS CHANGED! The investment banking sector is still run by people who perpetuate a culture of machismo, high risk, high reward and wafer-thin ethics. 

Seriously: just look at the number of banks advertising at the moment for marketing people to run Corporate Responsibility programmes. Can you imagine the boardroom conversations..? "Seriously, boss, I know we've been having it away for years but they don't trust us any more so we need to sponsor a few primary school football teams and paint a few playgrounds. That'll do it...". Cue massive charm offensive as they try to convince us all that they are actually good corporate citizens. Albeit driving BMW M5s. Quite frankly, I think we are all fully justified in telling them to go and fuck themselves. Would make a pleasant change from them fucking us. So, in the absence of public outrage or portable gallows, and without even the faintest hint of a criminal prosecution or increase in regulation via the FSA or any other body, vote with your feet. Close your bank account and move to an institution that will not take liberties with your money and will use it in a responsible and ethical manner. 

Otherwise they'll never listen and keep on taking us for a ride.