Daddy can I grow up to be anything I want?

No, not under our current system.

Most right-thinking people would agree that all people are born equal and have the right to choose their leaders. What you would expect to see in a real democracy is the head of state chosen on merit by the public. So why, in the UK, should we tolerate an unelected head of state? The only requirement to become our head of state is to be the child of the existing head of state. The opinion of the public does not matter. They do not elect the head of state and neither can they get rid of them. Sure, our head of state has little actual power but they still receive huge amounts of money from the taxpayers. Why does one family get to be head of state? If the public want to crown a succession of decedents from one line why does it have to be the same one? Why can't another family be become monarchs? Why not mine? Or are we not all born equal?

Why do the public want it this way? They clearly do or something would have been done about it. Why don't they want to be free citizens? Why do they want to remain subjects of the crown?

Albert Einstein knew why when he said, “The minority, the ruling class at present, has the schools and press, usually the Church as well, under its thumb. This enables it to organize and sway the emotions of the masses, and make its tool of them.”

Prince Charles showed that he understood this very clearly when he said, "Something as curious as the monarchy won't survive unless you take account of people's attitudes. After all, if people don't want it, they won't have it."

btw have you ever read the British constitution? You haven't. It hasn't been written.

Goodbye Facebook

I've deleted the data from my Facebook account in preparation for deactivating my account, probably within the next few weeks but definitely by the end of this year.

My life already seems less noisy.

Blogging

I've had a blog for seven years now but posted nothing for the past eight months because of my interest in using Facebook. Initially I was still blogging and auto-importing my posts into Facebook but soon started to post directly into Facebook. Recently I have decided that I don't need to see everything that everyone on my Friends list posts and have been steadily removing people from the list of posts I see although I haven't removed anyone from my Friends list. The more I think about it, the more I realise that I need to start using my blog again. Facebook is immediate and short term and anything I post will disappear into the archives in a very short space of time whereas my blog posts stay around a lot longer and the archives seem simpler to access. If I do start blogging more often I suspect they will be more likely to be of the cathartic rants that I used to post. These may not be the sort of things I feel comfortable revealing to everyone on my Facebook list so I may stop importing them into Facebook.

Captain Cook monument

Today we to a trip to the nearby monument to the localy born Captain James Cook. The walk in the sunshine was very pleasant and the view were spectacular. But what stuck me the most was the inscription on the monument:

In memory of the celebrated circumnavigator Captain James Cook F.R.S. A man of nautical knowledge inferior to none, in zeal prudence and energy, superior to most. Regardless of danger he opened an intercourse with the Friendly Isles and other parts of the Southern Hemisphere. He was born at Marton Oct. 27th 1728 and massacred at Owythee Feb. 14th 1779 to the inexpressible grief of his countrymen. While the art of navigation shall be cultivated among men, whilst the spirit of enterprise, commerce and philanthropy shall animate the sons of Britain, while it shall be deemed the honour of a Christian Nation to spread civilisation and the blessings of the Christian faith among pagan and savage tribes, so long will the name of Captain Cook stand out amongst the most celebrated and most admired benefactors of the human race.

Marvelous.

My funny kids

Last week I was driving home with our two 12 year olds in the car and overheard the following:

E: Did you know that cows are being blamed for global warming because of the amount of methane they produce?
O: Yes, that's why there's so many cows with low self-esteem.
E: No wonder there's been a big increase in cow suicides.

How I met your mother.

In December 1980 I had just turned 19 and was at home after my first term at University. I was invited by one of my friends keep him company whilst he supervised his younger sister's 16th birthday party. The party was very boring until I bumped into a couple of girls who were in the school year below mine. One of them I knew quite well and had flirted with occasionally, kissed once but failed to read the signals she was giving me. Her friend I knew by sight as our circle of friends overlapped but I had never actually spoken to her. I found myself chatting with this scarily intelligent, beautiful, funny and friendly girl and before I knew it four hours had passed and the party was ending. We said goodbye and she hugged me saying "I won't kiss you because I have a cold". I went home in a daze, reliving every moment of the evening. For the first time ever I had felt so comfortable in a girl's company I hadn't tried to be charming or funny or clever. I was myself, the real me, no mask, no armour, exposed. The next my friend phoned me saying "You really clicked with Tui last night, are you going to see her again?". That was when I realised I hadn't even known her name. I told him "I don't know". I was still stunned by the experience. Five minutes later she phoned me. A girl phoned ME! She invited me to one of her friend's party that night. I almost jumped onto my motorbike and rode over right then.
That night we talked and talked for hours and made plans to meet again. The next time we met we talked and talked again and we walked and we kissed and that's how it went for weeks. In February she told me she loved me and damn me if I couldn't say it back. Of course I loved her but "love" was a big scary thing and I knew that if I was in love it would mean forever. By valentine's day I'd stopped beating myself up for missing the right moment and told her that I was in love with her. I knew we'd be together forever.

Three years later I finished University and got a job. We got engaged and we married a year later. I've shared my life with Tui for 28 years and we've been married for 25. It's been wonderful. The more we are together, the more we enjoy it. To be in love and to be loved is a great way to live.