Could the sun shine again over the UK? [Ar putea străluci soarele din nou peste UK?]

This blog makes no secret that I consider the New Labour rule of the UK a complete mess, a moral catastrophe degrading many things which were once decent, civil, and pleasant in Britain, and made this country a good example to other nations.

It’s just the opinion of a foreigner, therefore subjective, biased, exaggerated. Let alone ungrateful, as it was a Labour government in charge when I was awarded a Chevening Fellowship, lived in the country for a while, met so many people…

And also, started this MunteanUK blogging project – I avoid calling it simply a blog, because it is not a typical diary, and I keep dreaming of the day when more people, apart from my few constant readers, will bring their contribution to it.

Now, I would be pretty naive to believe that David Cameron & Nick Clegg will deliver the ‘big change’ they promised, nevertheless, after their first 100 days in power I choose to remain rather optimistic.

Any little change (such as this one) for the UK was better than what the New Labour had become, as any change would have been better for Romania in December 2009, had Traian Băsescu not been reelected.

As this article puts it, “the coalition is neither a Tory government nor a Lib Dem government”; both parties have managed to push through some dear measures, both scrapped others, and Clegg plays down the fears of a coalition break-up.

While the British economy remains in dire straits – a threat that could jeopardize any reform – maybe even the mostly cordial relations between Cameron & Clegg are but a similar situation to the Phoney war of September 1939 – March 1940, some calm before the storm.

What’s wrong with merely hoping that things could go well? On paper, this Big Society that Cameron envisions looks attractive enough. He wants some fairly decent things that I’d personally like to see in any society:

[1] more powers to communities, but critics say that it only means the cease of funding from London, so that many local structures could be left to distintegrate on their own, unassisted; :-(

[2] people encouraged to take an active role in their communities;

[3] transfer of power from central to local government (weren’t Labour promising the same thing back in 1997?!);

[4] support co-operatives, mutuals, charities and social enterprises;

[5] the release of government data.

Having no problem with these ideals per se, I believe that today’s British society lacks the moral backbone neeeded to put them into practice. How could people be encouraged to take an active role, as long as they have been hardwired to live on state handouts?

Will such a Big Society make up for the loss of personality of the perfect politically correct citizen meant to be ruled by Big Brother? Apart from a few NGOs, how many ordinary British citizens care about government data?

There are many similar doubts I could raise; the most serious one is that no society can redeem itself, unless people have changed their hearts and views of the world. For the time being, thank God that New Labour is gone.

However, the moral climate in the country is as degraded as T. Bliar & G. Clown have left it; people don’t know where they are coming from, nor where they are going to, and rare are those who have a meaning of life other than having fun, here and now.

Like those fooled by Băsescu in Romania, over 95% of the Brits probably want nothing else apart from “living well,” ignorant of the fact that what they call life is but a passing shadow compared to the true afterlife.

Can any substantial change – influencing not only the economic situation of people, here and now, but their salvation – occur in any human society, be it British or Romanian, from where the Maker of all things visible and invisible has been banished?

No, I’m afraid no such change is possible. Cameron & Clegg may want to safeguard the economic comfort of their citizens, and save some money for this heavily-indebted British State, yet they cannot save souls, as no other government can.

[For all the posts on this blog go to/Pentru toate postările de pe acest blog mergi la: Contents/Cuprins]