Thoughts of England

Like many expats away from their home country, I read the newspaper online everyday. Why do I read it? good question. I read because I have hope. Hope for what? hope for change and for something big to happen to make things change. The UK is a bit like a large jar of old stamps that has been left on the shelf in the sun for the last 20 years. The contents will be slightly faded and dusty. Some stamps will be old and worthless and the jar will contain a few dead insects. Its needs to emptied out onto the table and sorted through. Sorry to use such an odd metaphor but its the best I could come up with to try to make my point.

Some die hard Brits will hail the UK as a great country and "not at all bad compared to others". Some Brits will say but "its a democracy", its "developed", its" fair". Anyone who comes down hard on the UK is often called a "Daily Mail" reader or seen as a person living in the past. I do not live in the past or read The Daily Mail, but I do feel that the UK has badly lost its way over the last twenty years. One has to be careful when being political on the Internet and I must chose my words carefully or I could face the wrath of some. I will not go into detail as I am a natural coward when it comes to airing my thoughts of a political nature openly for anyone to read, but I will say that the UK is soft and both parties are so afraid of losing the vote from some of the population, that they show no balls and do nothing to make changes. They do not want to offend the old voters, the gay voters, the business voters, the Muslim voters, the Christan voters, the this voter , the that voter. I think the UK has reached a brick wall, a cul-de-sac where it can not continue on its current path.

I have not seen British TV for six years, so am out of touch, but I do see some shows on "You Tube" and I am guilty like everyone else of downloading some shows of the Internet. However, many shows seem to be all about being unpleasant to other people. Chats shows invite celebrities onto the shows and the celebrity host just takes the piss out of his guest reducing them to nothing. There are shows where the weakest player is voted off, or thrown off. What is this, in the name of entertainment? is it entertainment or cruelty? I think it is defiantly cruelty. The UK seems all about rights, not responsibilities, all about human rights and not about what is right, all about get out of my way while I step over your body in the que to get ahead. Maybe it is just like so many other countries? I don't know. What I do know, is it has changed for the worse.

Politicians seem to be able to do what they like in the UK, while if a bugler enters your home and you defend yourself or your family and accidental harm or kill the burglar you are sent to directly prison. Murderers are released from UK prisons too early and its impossible to deport foreign criminals from the UK, we even hear of illegal immigrants working illegally at national and state institutions. The UK really has become a sad joke. Was the UK ever perfect? of course not, but it certainly has slid further down the sewage pipe than its was 20 years ago. The country is hemorrhaging money in front of its own eyes, and yet nothing is done. My last few posts have been of thoughts of a "saviour" a super hero, thoughts about solving the world of its problems and I do apologise for that dear reader, but we can only hope for change, for hope is all we have.

Do Long to return to my home country? No. Would I return if it was better ? Yes. Maybe one day I will return when I am toothless and homeless. Lets empty out the jar and clean out the contents to put the "great" back into Britain. For now, I'll carry on regardless in my adopted host country of Russia, dreaming of a better, nicer, fairer more intelligent England, dreaming of green hills and Yorkshire pudding, dreaming of better times and a better future.