Television of the future, now?

A couple of days ago, I was watching BBC 4, which was showing the group Slade at the BBC. But I was watching on Freeview and the signal was bad. It kept disappearing or breaking up, with the sound stuttering. It depended on weather conditions and so didn't happen all of the time. When it did, most of the digital channels vanished leaving a No Signal sign on screen.

I commented to the friend I was watching with that when I'd watched Slade back in the 1970s, I didn't think that the televisions then would be better than what I was watching 40 years in the future on digital. I'd thought that the television of the future would be advanced and sophisticated but in reality it was worse.

PILGRIM FATHERS

I have recently learned something about the Pilgrims who left England to sail to America.  They left because of religious persecution but it wasn’t to seek the most obvious sort of religious freedom. Apparently England had too much religious freedom for their liking and they called for less freedom. They were too much for the English people to bear and were persecuted for it. That does explain a lot about the USA, where I have heard that some schools still teach creationism instead of natural selection.

Those Pilgrims could be described as religious fundamentalists. That’s somewhat ironic now, when the USA has so much trouble with other religious fundamentalists from other parts of the world.

HOMELESS

I heard about the number of humans being made homeless has increased as more of them lose their homes, being unable to repay their mortgage.

This again shows how money is more important than humans. The money lenders are quick to remind everyone that they will lose their homes if they can’t keep up the repayments. If they can’t, they are chucked out on the street and the property is sold to get the money back. The money lenders couldn’t care less about those who have ended up sleeping rough on the street. The government cares even less about them.

This is a ridiculous situation, in a ridiculous society. Why do humans put up with this? Could it be because those who are still able to pay would rather ignore the plight of strangers? They don’t want to be reminded that it could be them if their circumstances change.

PROPERTY LADDER

This expression really makes me cringe. Homes are to live in and should be cheap and easily available. At least that's the theory. But no, it couldn't be that simple. It never is with humans. It seems like humans have a masochistic attitude to life in the way they have to complicate the most simplest and most basic necessities. Money is god and must be obeyed.

Homes are yet another way to make money. That's their primary function. They are to be sold for more than they were bought for, with improvements included to increase the value. The additional value is then used to buy a more expensive property. Hence the ladder humans crawl up.

It doesn't matter to the owners whether anyone can afford to buy somewhere to live. It's all down to greed of the owners and the banks or building societies. Humans have been conditioned to see such a progress as a sign of success and would be unhappy at being labelled as greedy. Some may complain about their property not selling, which obviously could be improved by cutting the asking price but that would be unthinkable to those selling. The property ladder is calling them.

If someone wanted to buy a proprty they can always borrow money and spend much of their lives paying back more than they borrowed. If they later can't pay back, the banks will quickly throw them out of their home and sell it themselves.

 It's the 21st century but there are many who are living in squalor, making a choice whether to use energy to heat their homes or to cook food. When someone manages to get a home, there are ridiculously expensive bills and taxes to pay. The elderly suffer the most.

OPIUM FOR THE PEOPLE. . .

Karl Marx described religion as the opium of the people. He was wrong, it’s money. It’s not just opium but every other recreational drug you could think of.

Like a narcotic drug, the effect depends on how much is taken, with a similar confusion between reality and fantasy. The user becomes convinced that they can do anything, that anything is possible. It numbs the senses, creating a cushioned bubble around them against the difficulties produced by reality.

They become less and less interested in those without money, possibly feeling paranoid about anyone planning to take it from them.

They have allies in governments who have always been on the side of the wealthy. They have created laws to allow them to prosper and to keep away the undesirables.

ARMS TRADING

During the Falklands War, the thing that struck me most was that the Argentineans were using French built Exocet missiles against the British armed forces. No one commented about this, that a supposed ally to Britain was supplying weapons to a country which was then using them to destroy and kill the British forces.

I find the arms trade a strange concept. Because of the resulting wealth they can largely do what they like. Governments become mesmerised by that wealth and the taxes collected from it. That’s more important than human life.

Countries have supplied weaponry all over the world and so it’s highly likely that they could be used to kill humans from those same countries. And no one seems to care.

I couldn’t imagine myself working for a company that produces weapons which were to be used for the taking of human life. Money acts to numb the mind away from such thoughts, to keep reality away.

WHY DO PEOPLE DO THAT?

Why do so many humans copy what others are doing rather than thinking for themselves? That applies in many situations. It can become a pack mentality.

If those who are in the world's military forces were to consider what they were doing instead of blindly obeying orders, there wouldn't be any wars. The same with governments but they are forced to conform to what their party decrees. There are many psychopaths running dictatorships, propped up by the military that follow blindly for their own advantage rather than thinking of others. They are given permission to exercise their basest excesses towards those who are considered a danger to the regime.

World governments are occupied by those who are filled with a sense of their own self importance. They are filled with corruption and greed, getting out it what they can to increase their wealth and fame.

WHEN ADAM DELVED. . .

Years ago, I bought a folder from Boots with a cover of William Morris designs including this print. I hadn't really thought about the print until someone asked me about it and I Googled it. The print was from 1888 and called John Ball's Dream. 

 

John Ball encouraging Wat Tyler rebels.

 

When Adam delved and Eve span, who was then the gentleman? From the beginning all men were created equal by nature, and that servitude had been introduced by the unjust and evil oppression of men, against the will of God, who, if it had pleased Him to create serfs, surely in the beginning of the world would have appointed who should be a serf and who a lord. And therefore I exhort ye to consider that now the time is come, appointed to us by God, in which ye may (if ye will) cast off the yoke of bondage, and recover liberty.

John Ball (c. 1338 – 15 July 1381)

  

How right he was then. How true it is today as it was in the 14th century. Except that those who think of themselves as being in "power" now wouldn't be able to execute anyone who agreed with what John had preached.



REALITY?

When I have visited a friend at her flat, I park in her parking place and in front of me is a lawn bounded on two sides by trees and shrubbery. On the lawn I regularly see rabbits, squirrels and various birds. I have sat there looking at these wild animals and wondered at their lives and the lives of humans. I have wondered about why humans have created a world that is so difficult to live in. This is usually when I am feeling exasperated by something that I’d seen or experienced.

I have thought that those animals live in the true reality of this planet. By comparison, humans have created a world of fantasy. This world created by humans for themselves, exist because it has originated in their minds. They would not have been created without humans, not as it exists now. The poorer humans are, the closer they become to the true reality.

Humans have to do a lot of pretending in their "reality". This planet’s materials and resources have no value and are freely available but they are given an unnecessary monetary value. Money is the biggest pretence humans have created and which has become a source of evil and injustice in the world. When I watch films or television, the problems created by money and its distribution, often leaves me wondering why humans bother with it.

Money appears to be more trouble than it is worth. Of course it all depends on how much an individual has in their possession. Everyone is brainwashed and conditioned from an early age to believe that money has a value other than that of pieces of printed paper and discs of metal. Humans can never seem to have enough of it and there are those who will steal it, swindle for it and even kill to get it. Such is the basis of many films, dramas and documentaries. Humans watch this but have become so conditioned that it doesn't occur to them and, like automatons, they return to the endless round of consuming the earth's resources.

Money is used to represent the value of gold reserves held by a country but gold is itself simply a metal with no intrinsic value. I appear to be the only person on this planet who has broken away from the conditioning. To me diamonds are simply pieces of crystallised carbon, worth nothing.

Humans spend money on objects, becoming very possessive about them. That is until they become outdated by the latest technological novelty or they break or wear out. They are then converted to rubbish. Much of what humans buy was rubbish when it left the manufacturers. I walk past rubbish skips outside the houses of humans and see what they have spent money on in the past revert to their true value when their usefulness ends.

I have sometimes wondered what the world would be like without money. When Gene Roddenbury created Star Trek, his humans have dispensed with the use of money all together. It would mean that everyone would be volunteers and that everything they produced would be free to everyone. There would be no point in crimes such as robbery.

I hear a lot about humans in debt and owing money. There doesn't seem to be anyone who wants to live within their means today. They would attempt anything to get more money, including competitions and game shows. And there are plenty of organisations who are only too willing to help them to purchase what they would like. Gambling seems to be a growth industry and humans buy lottery ticket and scratchcards even though the odds are heavily against them winning anything significant.

For those who owe money, the most obvious way to prevent this happening would be to force those money lenders to reduce their level of greed and usury. But the money lenders have the law on their side, because governments are only interested in wealth. They have no interest in those who can't pay back the loans, except to get them to vote for them when necessary and to be used as industry and work fodder to create wealth for their business friends.

The more wealth a human accumulates, the larger their carbon footprint becomes. They buy larger, fuel consuming cars. They use more air travel, including the use of a private jet, for frequent holidays abroad or for numerous homes in various countries.

ORIGINAL SIN

 

A strange link exists between Lucifer’s tempting Fruit,

And a man who is wearing an expensive business suit.

Or any other clothing that we are forced to wear.

In public our bodies we must never ever bare.

By the Fruit’s temptation, all of Mankind did fall.

From the Tree of Knowledge, he condemned us all.

           

Knowledge and shame of our bodies, such was the Original Sin,

Our continuing foolish behaviour makes Satan’s gloating grin.

Religions and governments, they continue to strive,

Creating laws to help, Satan’s evil work to thrive.

Textile firms need us clothed, we follow them like sheep.

With Mammon’s generous aid, untold millions they reap.

We are born into this World, nude and unashamed.

But soon society makes sure our freedom, it is tamed.

Many would prefer to die rather than to be

Stripped naked, in public, for everyone to see.

Prurient interest in body parts we strive to keep hidden,

Only creates carnal thoughts and acts which are forbidden.

Zealous missionaries travelled from the West,

And soon the naked “savages” were dressed in pants and vest!

Upon the Fruit of Knowledge, reluctantly they feed,

Vanguard of exploitation, hatred, pain and greed.

           

But would it be possible, all humans to expect,

To treat each other’s bodies with reverence and respect?

Equate sex with nudity, you have to divide.

Accept all our bodies and never to deride.

Unclothed it’s sinful, but to be clothed is good.

That’s surely fundamental, easily understood?

But covering our bodies is the symbol of our sin.

God’s beautiful creation, shame concealed within.          

As the Bible rightly tells us, after Armageddon’s fight,

We’ll all be nude together, clothed in raiments of light.

THE AWAKENING

Night’s movement cast aside the sheet,

As prone upon the bed he laid,

To cool him in the summer heat,

To leave his nakedness displayed.

Naked, too, against him pressed,

Emerging from the sheets’ disarray,

An arm lying across his chest,

Her head against his shoulder lay.

Lying just as close as they can be,

A yawning chasm between them screams,

Through endless realms of unreality,

They travel in their lonely dreams.

But the woman’s travels are soon to pass,

Like one emerging from the deep,

Destroying the fragile dreams as glass,

And throwing off the cloak of sleep.

MARCH OF THE CLONES

(6 June 2004)

See the clones walk up and down,

In every city, in every town.

Fashion victims in every way,

“Baseball caps” please go away.

“Baseball caps”, a generic name,

For all of those who dress the same.

You’ll never find one on my head,

Even if you saw me dead!

Whatever happened to rebellious youth?

Punk’s anti-fashion’s look uncouth?

Now whole families look so sad.

Why would a kid dress like his dad?

Lager swilling drunkard, one of the boys,

High decibel racers, cars for toys,

Anti-social yob and the petty crook,

Well, what a surprise, they all have that look!

Adidas, Nike and the rest,

Brand names and logos, buy the best.

But brand names and logos only hide,

Globalisation’s sinister side.

In foreign lands, workers must slave,

So those same brands their profits they save.

For a pittance they work, in sweatshops they toiled,

Capitalists use that sweat, keep their wheels well oiled.

It’s just a sign that this nation,

Is under attack by Americanisation.

As all the world and every land,

Slowly succumbs to American bland.

I DON'T DO POEMS

 (26 April 2004)

Poems? Poems? I don’t do poems,

Especially if you want me to, so

Don’t even think to ask,

Or else I’ll get my coat and go!

Oh no, you’ve gone and tricked me now,

But no you’ll never do again.

If you make me write another rhyme,

I’ll simply have to go insane!

THE CHAIR

(25 April 2004)

I have no chair in which to rest,

No place that I can call my own.

But one day hope to find a place,

A place that I can call a home.

Ah, a home, what could that be?

A thing not known for many a year.

But come it will and with it bills,

Which, alas, fills me with fear.

But what of now, and what of chairs,

The original topic of this piece?

I’m lying on my “chair” right now,

Like a prisoner waiting for release.

A bed for a chair must now suffice

Although best intended for sleep.

A chair would stop an aching back,

And help a better posture keep.

When the time comes for me to choose,

A sofa I’d buy instead of chair.

That extra space to lounge and lie,

And space for visitors to share.

A sofa means welcome, does not reject,

It’s arms outstretched and affable.

And even when singly used you sense,

That potential of sharing is palpable.

A single chair, on the other hand,

Permits one sitter in restraint.

Except for lovers, on each other sitting,

Two sharing a chair would cause complaint.

MODERN CHRISTMAS (2003)

Kerching merrily on high,

Hear the tills a-ringing.

Now’s the time to buy,                     

Of excess food and drinking.

Glor…orious, - just spend your cash this Christmas.

Glor…orious, - the dream of ev’ry business.

So put that Christ child by,

His birthday has no meaning,

And Mammon, hail Him high,

While frazzled nerves are screaming.

Glor…orious, - and stuff the debt this Christmas.

Glor…orious, - and curse the Scrooge, his Christmas.

STRANGE COUPLETS

Four I remembered from a number as I was falling asleep (1998)

If the mighty Woggle falls from your grip,

Into untold anarchy this land will slip.

The ancient Casket opens, reveals the sin,

The tissues may not be square within!

From bright Hyperion he falls to Earth,

But bumped his knee before his birth.

If Guardian Angels should fall from grace,

God raises them to their rightful place.

ANTS

(1 July 1997)

Like puny ants, our teeth we gnash,

And rail against the thunder’s crash.

From pregnant clouds the rain it teams,

To dampen all our fragile schemes.

FACE/MASK (1997)

Start of a diary entry (13 July 1997)

Those slow to judge and those who ask,

Who penetrate beneath the Mask.

Find untold riches lay within.

And those who don’t? Loss is their sin.

I’d considered writing all in rhyme,

But lack the patience or the time.

Instead, I’ll display some restraint,

And tell you of my one complaint.

FACE/MASK (14 July 1997)

Those slow to judge, which dare to ask,

Who penetrate beneath the Mask,

Who enter now my Cerebral Dome,

The place my Soul must call its home.

Cast down their hatred, fear and sin,

Find hidden treasures lay within.

And those who don’t? Away they turn,

Misjudgement in their eyes does burn.

So let them burn, I’ll care no more,

Above their petty minds I’ll soar.

A SHEEP FARMER'S TALE - or - MONEY FOR OLD DRIED LEAVES

 (3 July 2007)

“There’s one of mine,” the farmer said,

“I recognise my brand.”

As a ‘sheep’ walked idly past,

A cigarette packet in his hand.

The farmer's friend laughed out loud,

It really was a joke.

The serious money they could make,

Just by selling smoke!

As long as the taxman took his cut,

They could really make more dough,

With one born every minute,

Too stupid to say no.

“Oh look, there’s rebellious youth,

See them think they’ll not be told,

But see them smoking, unaware

Their very lives are bought and sold.”

“It’s an establishment activity,

And so they pay their way,

So multi-nationals and governments,

Grow richer every day!" 

“That may be so,” the farmer warned,

“But western markets have declined.

Be thankful for new markets, as

The third world keeps our pockets lined.”

“Foreign peasants, a godsend are,

To keep the wolf from the door,

They never bleat about their health.

Hooray for the ignorant poor!"

“As generations before them,

See them join the placid flocks.

We’ll fleece them and fleece them,

Till they’re in their wooden box!”