Anger is rarely a helpful emotion. Particularly when it comes to politics. I have always preferred to give some respect to people who hold different opinions to me and to be prepared to talk out differences and try to learn something from open minded discussion. I also think that anger is rarely constructive and usually damages anyone who holds onto it far more than it damages the person who has provoked it. Yet there comes a point when anger is the only rational reaction to what is happening. A time when the only healthy reaction to events is utter and complete fury. That point has been reached. Nationally and internationally.
I am angry
I am angry that the incredible outpouring of community spirit that saw us through the pandemic was so badly betrayed by a government that cynically ignored its own rules.
I am angry that Vladimir Putin’s agents have been allowed to pour money into far-right nationalist causes that have undermined democracy and helped saddle the world with Donald Trump, Marine Le Pen and Brexit.
I am annoyed that Brexit has proved such a disaster but no one in either of the two largest political parties in Britain is prepared to stand up and say so.
I am angry that the planet has been covered in a thin layer of microplastic that can never be removed from the environment. I am even more angry that more plastic is being produced each year than ever before.
It makes me ashamed and angry that every day unique species that have taken millions of years to evolve are being casually eliminated across our planet in return for a little temporary profit for a few.
I am cross that 66% of British voters want a government to the left of the Conservatives and yet the public is being told it must accept a prime minister from the right of that party selected by a tiny minority of political fanatics who have successfully infiltrated and taken over that party.
I am angry that the BBC can no longer be trusted to provide impartial news coverage because friends of the government have been appointed to run it and it has been bullied into compliance by funding cuts.
Look around and see why people are angry
I am apoplectic that Britain’s rivers and coastlines are being treated as routine dumping grounds for sewage by water companies that have no respect for the public they claim to serve.
It enrages me that fracking is being spoken of as a way of dealing with dependence on expensive fossil fuels by someone who is expected to be our next prime minister.
It infuriates me that fuel companies have deliberately pushed up prices and pocketed billions from the misery of those who can’t afford to heat their homes. It disgusts me that the government that failed to help people insulate those homes now tries to put the blame for price rises on so-called ‘green’ levies.
I get really annoyed when rail workers and even barristers go on strike. Because they shouldn’t have to. No one should be expected to take a real-terms pay cut and then have to lose pay to try and defend their standard of living.
I am furious about the way this government has treated doctors, nurses, teachers and care workers as if they are an expense and a problem instead of a huge asset.
I am incensed that it has become impossible for young people to buy a home relying on an average salary and that decent council rented homes are still being sold off at a discount in the middle of a severe shortage.
I am appalled that we live in a culture where women who peacefully demonstrated about the death of Sarah Everard were pursued through the courts for months instead of being helped by the police to make the streets safer.
Justified anger
I cannot be anything but justifiably furious when children cannot get a dentist and sick people are expected to battle for hours to get a doctor’s appointment with someone who doesn’t know their medical history and has 15 minutes to read the notes and make a diagnosis.
I am beyond angry that the climate has already been seriously destabilised and governments are planning to carry on pumping out CO2 and methane for another 28 years. I get mad as hell when those who ask for urgent action are told they are wasting money and exaggerating the need for urgent action.
It enrages me when Jacob Rees-Mogg lolls about on the benches of the House of Commons and then sneeringly lectures public servants about being lazy.
I am beyond myself with rage when I hear far-right Americans Donald Trump to exploit their trust and cheer on their own exploitation.
I am every bit as angry when I hear Putin exploits Russian nationalism as he disgraces and weakens his own country and sacrifices the lives of thousands in a calculated act of aggression towards a peaceful neighbour.
I can scarcely contain my fury when I realise that a prime minister who was forced out of office because of constant lying and cheating is to be replaced by someone even further to the right and even further out of touch with the needs of the country.
Am I just old and bitter?
Does this mean that I have become old and bitter and need to lighten up? Or does this mean that we are being led in the wrong direction by the wrong people and that the only way to retain our sanity and save our civilisation is to fight back hard and fast?
I leave it to the reader’s judgement as to whether I need therapy or whether we need a new government!
