Get out of bed? If I wasn't basically optimistic I'd be DEAD.

[avevale_intelligencer]

It takes a stronger stomach than mine to look at things like this and not believe that things must get better.

This is going to affect us badly. I don't know when, and I don't know how badly, but worst case (if all our benefits get stopped and I haven't found some kind of paid job I can do by then) it will reduce our monthly income by more than half. That's house, car, everything, gone.

This government--this governmental system--has got to go. It is irretrievably corrupted, and no election is going to fix it in the foreseeable future. I don't see any way fairness and decency can be restored short of a complete restart. And that, any way you look at it, would be horrific.

I believe that one day, the people of Earth, united in true equality and freedom, will reach out for the stars together. I believe we'll heal our wounded biosphere, overcome the greed and power-hunger of the old guard and make a new future for ourselves. But I think Britain will be long dead before that happens, and that makes me sad. And I know we will be.

Comments

[melodyclark.livejournal.com]

There has been a whole lot of fear propaganda (such as the articles I've posted) and I'm afraid this writer has fallen for some of it. It's the same concept as a lawsuit -- ask for massive damages but be willing to accept substantially less. The government is NOT going to allow the kind of civil unrest that would occur after such a situation. Rich people's nice houses and lawns would be trampled. They'd be dragging in the Widow Maker. lol It's not going to happen. If the North American population saw this happening in the UK, it would cause a lot of panic and unrest over here too.

Every liberal blog I've ever read had a doomsday component to it -- so have conservative blogs. For his whole adult life, my father was utterly certainly that, at any moment, Rockefeller was going to overthrow the government, suspend the US constitution and make himself permanent ruler. I'm not joking.

These doomsday scenarios never happen. They're just the conflated fears of a certain segment of people who feel helpless. I don't blame them, but those things aren't going to happen to the extent they are saying. Relax. We get this kind of stuff all the time over hyar.

[tig-b.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately some of it has already happened. And the rest are formal proposals for changes to be agreed next month.

The govt changes have been backed by misused data, stories exaggerating the amount of fraud and large headlines for every 'benefit scrounger' caught.

[melodyclark.livejournal.com]

Some of it has happened, yes. But they always signal more drastic cuts than those that are eventually carried out. That way, no one screams too loudly because they think they missed a bullet.

We've had this crap here in the States for a generation.

[thatcrazycajun.livejournal.com]

My friend, I understand your feelings and sympathize with the effect this will have on you and yours. I also wish you all the luck in the world in finding a paid job to prevent that "worst case" scenario, and quickly. Do NOT lose hope and know that you have friends who will help you in any way we can.

But having several dear British friends (yourself very much included) and being familiar with the mother country's history of surviving many things that should have destroyed it, I think you underestimate the tremendous basic decency, strength and will of your countrymen and -women in thinking that Britain will not be there on the day we do reach out for the stars together. Since those who founded my country were descended from colonists of yours, you all passed on at least some of that strength to us; we survived a civil war that should have torn our country in half permanently, and helped yours and many others save the world from even greater threats in not one, but two later world wars, among other accomplishments.

There are people in the US who feel just as fatalistic about our government as you do about yours, and think a similar solution is in order. There are others who are working very hard to bring real change about here and prevent the need for a drastic "restart", and I can't believe there aren't enough in your country doing the same to eventually save Britain.

I believe it was your own most famous non-royal leader of modern times, Winston Churchill, who once said: "Democracy is the worst form of government known to man...except for all the others which have been tried."

[keristor.livejournal.com]

The problem with "has got to go" (with which I agree) is -- how? Since the next election is 4 years away (as if that will solve anything), and I doubt that you or other people can wait that long, what's the alternative? I can only see one, and you don't like blowing people up even if I do think that nice Mr. Fawkes had the right idea (but unless we could get rid of the Met at the same time it would just turn into even more of a police state).

My feeling is that it will need to get a lot worse, until we get actual riots. And then it will probably cary on getting worse a lot until it gets batter...