A Walk in the Park

We took a walk in the park on Saturday, along with about 500,000 other families, trade unionists, students, teachers, nurses, public servants and ordinary working folks. I am not a member of a union these days, but my sister walker is. We wanted to walk with our neighbours. Many carried placards decrying the brutal cutting of public services in the United Kingdom. Our communities are losing libraries, hospital services, policing, support for the poor and sick, and many other services. Many of the walkers will feel the pain of the cuts worse than we will. We are okay, actually, though our beloved local library will be closed and replaced with a skeleton service run by volunteers. That's bad enough but let's hope they don't want to run hospitals or police services like that. I wouldn't put it past them. The coalition government seems to think it is payback time. They want to turn services like hospitals and schools over to their corporate friends who have been supporting the Lib Dem and Conservative parties for a long time. I kid you not. They say we have too much debt. I say any debt is too much but if my family was in debt I wouldn't cut it all at once and starve the kids. Wouldn you? And they ignore the fact that much of the debt comes from stupid wars, unpaid taxes by the elite and big corporations and the banks, which set off the current spate of depressing economic woes. They call all these cuts and favours to business the Big Society. They say we are all in it together and everyone has to feel the pain. The shameless right-wing media in this country supports the big lie. We took a walk in the park on Saturday to remind them we know they are lying. They think we're done now, we've had our walk. They're wrong. Pay heed. The Big Society Library doors shut so Blackheath Village mourns the Big Society.

An Open Letter to Caroline Lucas, Leader, UK Green Party

Dear Caroline Lucas:

Please vote against the United Kingdom's involvement in the attacks on Libya in Parliament today. I know that it is difficult to resist the rhetoric out of Downing Street, Washington, Paris and even Ottawa, as well as the cheerleading from the media and the so-called experts. I am a pacifist and oppose war as a solution to any problem. I know most people are not and I understand that reality. But it is already clear that the so-called no fly zone is just an excuse to bring regime change and protect Libyan oil for our use. Already ordinary Libyans have been hit by the coalition's brutal assaults. Soon the coalition will find a way to rationalize ground troops, and while we know the situation is different from Iraq or Afghanistan, there are dangers of a similar long and bloody campaign. Gaddafi needs to be opposed in every way possible (arms embargoes, economic embargoes, tough diplomacy) up to the point of violence. Instead, we are helping to re-create a martyr and hero. There are many places in the world that need intervention (Congo, Bahrain, Yemen) and it is therefore curious to me that the UK has so quickly jumped into this already horrific fray, which we will only make worse. I would love to think it is our great humanitarian concern for the Libyan people that motivates us. But I fear it has more to do with the oil we lust after and the need for Mr. Cameron and Mr. Clegg to divert attention from the disastrous programme of privatising the social welfare system in this country, which is the envy of much of the world. You have a mandate as head of the Green Party to say and do something different. Please oppose the war in Libya in Parliament today.

John P. Asling