Britons really have taken a hammering at home and abroad these last few weeks. There's been an air traffic control computer failure, snow in the Alps (wasn't that predictable), disruption on some railways due to over running engineering work (ditto). It's amazing that we've pulled through to January 4th.
As we know there are set givens in our world of entitlements and rights. These include:
- The state is our Father, Mother and Nursemaid.
- When things don't go quite as expected someone (else) is always to blame.
-It is wrong that anything should go wrong. (Other people's) Heads must roll.
-There is no such thing as an accident. Any adverse event must be actionable.
- "Not for profit" is how the world should be. It is immoral that however much anyone has risked or endured to create new products, services and jobs that they should in any way gain from their efforts.
-We have a right to cheap rail fares subsidised by the taxpayer. (Who?- That's not us, not really).
-The only acceptable way to make money is by winning or taking part in a TV reality show,playing football or scooping the lottery or being an imagined national treasure. These people should not be challenged. All other forms of self advancement are exploitative and downright wrong.
-The railways should be renationalised. Memories of how things were before privatisation and the enormous post privatisation investments and improvements are very short.
- Also a candidate for nationalisation according to the RMT union should be a failed courier/parcels delivery company so that 2,700 jobs are not lost. Again the taxpayer can fund it .Why the nation should want to add to its debts the costs of keeping a non viable business in an overcrowded market is not explained. Maybe it's an extension of the educationalists view that nothing and nobody should be allowed to fail? No chance of RMT's money following its mouth and buying it themselves.
-"Britons stranded in Alps" went the newspaper headlines. Well, yes, a few but so were Germans Scandinavians, French and many others. "We don't know where we are" wailed one lady at Chambery Airport into which she had just flown. Maybe this was a moment when a New York cop needed to be on hand with the crisp unsmiling reply "Buy a map". "Nobody's telling us what to do " is another frequent wail."Engage brain"would be the best, terribly un-British, retort. Think of the mental scarring that would leave. There must be compensation. Somebody must be sued.
As we know there are set givens in our world of entitlements and rights. These include:
- The state is our Father, Mother and Nursemaid.
- When things don't go quite as expected someone (else) is always to blame.
-It is wrong that anything should go wrong. (Other people's) Heads must roll.
-There is no such thing as an accident. Any adverse event must be actionable.
- "Not for profit" is how the world should be. It is immoral that however much anyone has risked or endured to create new products, services and jobs that they should in any way gain from their efforts.
-We have a right to cheap rail fares subsidised by the taxpayer. (Who?- That's not us, not really).
-The only acceptable way to make money is by winning or taking part in a TV reality show,playing football or scooping the lottery or being an imagined national treasure. These people should not be challenged. All other forms of self advancement are exploitative and downright wrong.
-The railways should be renationalised. Memories of how things were before privatisation and the enormous post privatisation investments and improvements are very short.
- Also a candidate for nationalisation according to the RMT union should be a failed courier/parcels delivery company so that 2,700 jobs are not lost. Again the taxpayer can fund it .Why the nation should want to add to its debts the costs of keeping a non viable business in an overcrowded market is not explained. Maybe it's an extension of the educationalists view that nothing and nobody should be allowed to fail? No chance of RMT's money following its mouth and buying it themselves.
-"Britons stranded in Alps" went the newspaper headlines. Well, yes, a few but so were Germans Scandinavians, French and many others. "We don't know where we are" wailed one lady at Chambery Airport into which she had just flown. Maybe this was a moment when a New York cop needed to be on hand with the crisp unsmiling reply "Buy a map". "Nobody's telling us what to do " is another frequent wail."Engage brain"would be the best, terribly un-British, retort. Think of the mental scarring that would leave. There must be compensation. Somebody must be sued.
