Two Everyday Narratives

English students are generally quite in to narrative. It is kind of our thing.

As I have previously mentioned, English students are also prone to over-analysis of mundane patterns. That said, two contemporary, popular narratives have garnered my attention both in the long term and short. These are, of course, sports and politics.

The narratives of sport are absolutely amazing. They can be adversarial between two or more people or teams or competitive against a form of measurement, or indeed both. The sub plots, detail and spin on these events has become big business for media and betting outlets. With good reason too, as I believe that some of the most fascinating and sincerely compelling narratives can be found in sport. This is partially, I believe, due to the involvement of the person actually watching the sport and due to the unknowability of the outcome. Fans wish to watch every match of their chosen sport, as they are very aware that any match could create a classic narrative.

Politics has a more obvious narrative, with political parties contending with each other and socio-economic issues. I have consistently found that my interest in political narratives in countries has waxed and waned depending on my proximity to the political system. At times, I feel too close to the political system in the country that I occupy. At these times, political decisions have direct ramifications for the lives of people that I know and as such, cannot be taken lightly. Indeed, politics should never be taken lightly. Despite, or indeed because of the serious of these issues I find the political wrangling of parties to be an extremely fruitful source of narrative.

Perhaps if I spent more time studying literature than sporting and political narratives then I would be more worthy of my name!

-Then English Student

Poisonous Debating Societies

The chances are that if you rose to prominence in a college debating society then you will become a politician.

I was a passive member of some of these societies and went along to view a debate or two on subjects that interested me. As anyone that has every gone to a college debate knows, it is a frankly bizarre situation. Practically everyone in the room will know each other and will already have rivalries and strategies for derailing an opponent. Added to the air of self-importance and complete lack of humour, this all equates to an unusual and fairly depressing environment.

The most bizarre thing for me however, is the format of the debates. A debating team will be given a position on a subject and have to argue it, regardless of their personal opinions. Why on earth should anyone want to argue a perspective that they do not believe? What sense of accomplishment can be achieved when you have successfully convinced someone of a point of view that you do not share?

The advantage of debating societies for potential politicians is obvious. They get a chance to network, form opinions and place themselves in the political mentality. However, it also conditions them for putting across opinions that they do not believe. This naturally creates a huge amount of insincerity in the budding politician. This is obvious in countless countries, where politicians hold a contrary view, not because of their believes, but because of their career.

If we want sincere politicians, we should train them in a sincere way.

-The English Student

Hollow Statistics

With unemployment hitting a record high percentage it is very easy to become blinded by these statistics.

The number of job losses hitting this country are dilligently reported by the papers and the figures relating to unemployment are frequently changing and always provided. The rate of unemployment benefit has become a subject of much political debate as politicians attempt to curb the massive economic crisis the country faces. But do any of these politicians actually understand the reality behind these statistics?

I faced a relatively short term of unemployment. For approximately 2 months I was without a job and even for that brief period I was hit by the debilitating effects of unemployment. It is extremely difficult to motivate yourself when you have no job. Your self worth plummets and you question your value as a person. Shame sets in and it becomes extremely difficult to face the world. This especially hurts when on public transport, surrounded by working people that have an opportunity to contribute to society. It truly is terrible.

Trying to summarise these emotions with statistics and figures is also terrible. Obviously governments cannot practically review every individual circumstance and must try to gain an overall understanding of a situation in order to make an overall decision. But the vast majority of these politicians have no idea what unemployment is really like. These statistics are meaningful for the person affected by them but are hollow for the people who have the power to affect the situation.

Until politicians find empathy behind statistics there will be a massive rift between them and the unemployed and struggling voters.

-The English Student

Rising and Underlying Tension I

World politics is constantly driven by tension.

A quick look at any newspaper will give the most casual follower of world events an insight into the current tension gripping the international community. Riots in Iran continue and have widened the gap between the Iranian government and the UK and US. North Korea continues to defy United Nations sanctions. The Honduras crisis continues, the African Union has pulled out of the International Criminal Court and the Israeli and Palestinian conflict continues. In addition to this, tension and fighting remains a constant in Georgia, Iraq and Afghanistan. So the obvious question is, are we heading for another world war?

These types of patterns have occurred many times before. World wide tension came to a head in the early twentieth century with two world wars and countless smaller conflicts. What was the result of these wars? Utter destruction and desolation is an obvious answer but if we look at the modern state of these countries another result is apparent. There is no whisper of tension remaining between former world war enemies in Europe. France and Germany have become strong allies and the UK continues to engage with the mainland. These wars were awful, but they were cathartic.

Compare this situation to the Cold War of the late twentieth century. There was a huge level of tension between these countries with a constant threat of war hanging over the heads of every citizen across the world. However, war between Russia and America never broke out and tension between these countries has never been fully dissipated. The "cult of the leader" remains strong in both countries and this is often founded on governments defining themselves in contrast to the old enemy.

Make no mistake, I am a committed pacifist but it seems that rising and underlying tension very rarely is solved by anything except war.

-The English Student

In Search of an Opposition

People are very dissatisfied with our government recently, but I am far more dissatisfied with our opposition.

This week the national newspapers rang out an alarm across the political corridors of the city. The government has apparently become deeply unpopular and lost many percentage points through informal polling. This is especially worrying for the government now as they face numerous votes and electoral challenges in the coming months. In fact, many people believe this government to be practically finished.

But what alternative is there? The main opposition party has comparatively low numbers in similar polls and many would reject a government lead by the party's figurehead. It really would seem that the people of this country do not know what they want in a government. People could easily link this to a growing level of political apathy, but not all parties lost so badly in these polls.

The most quiet, inoffensive and downright cowardly party has gained a marked boost in popularity. I do not wish to engage in a tirade against this party but it is deeply worrying that the electorate deems them a good alternative without seeing any real definition of policy. The current government have set the agenda, this party simply opposes it without any self-declaration of intent. People are entitled to deride the government for their shortcomings but this certainly should not result in success for an untested and vague political party.

We need strong leaders and representation in this country but without a strong and well-defined opposition we will not get them.

-The English Student

A New Era?

In the past two years we have seen the end of many political eras in various countries. This timing is not a coincidence.

The retirement of Tony Blair, the apparent (or pending) fall of Mugabe, Bertie Ahern's notice of resignation, the newly founded presidency of Medvedev and Sarkozy and the upcoming U.S. elections all coincide with each other in a relatively small time period. This pattern can tell us many things about current societal trends.

People are dissatisfied with their current leaders of government. Every culture is now influenced by the diversity prevalent in neighbouring areas. This range is expressed by societal contrasts and comparisons. Our more "open" age of information and technology has effectively changed the political focus of the world. Citizens seems to be looking for a political structure that can adequately address the issues of trade, identity, security and culture that are inherent in this development.

However, can these new regimes be confidently seen to encompass these issues? It is problematic to place all new political entities in one camp or the other. At best, one can say that some of these new leaders understand this diversity, while others do not. Crucially, the success of these administrations will depend on their acceptance of this more transnational doctrine.

"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold" and the movement from the centre to an all encompassing political backdrop can only be beneficial.

-The English Student