A Musing About Bread...

Tonight, having worked, played football, watched a movie, and changed for bed, I decided to make a sojourn to that lovely oasis of debauchery more commonly known as the Tesco Metro. Having missed my lunch and having forfeited my customary second serving of vegetables to the wrath of the "vegetable machine" (question: Should vegetables actually be processed in a machine?), I decided to undertake a quest for some form of late-night sustenance.

With my travelling party which included James, Jamie, and Stuart, I walked on through a surprisingly warm night until our destination was overtaken. Going through the bakery, I picked up an approximately 300 gram French baguette and an equally-sized loaf of wholemeal bread. Total cost: 10p (it came to 98p with the peanut butter, though). As I snacked on the baguette (now finished along with a goodly portion of the peanut butter), I walked along South Street and marvelled (aloud) at my good fortune: I had acquired a reasonable helping of bread (enough to constitute a meal) for one minute's wages...

As I think back through history, my limited knowledge of World History reminds me that skyrocketing bread prices was one of the primary catalysts of the French Revolution. In other words, people working twelve hours a day in mills, mines, and marketplaces were finding it difficult or perhaps even impossible to feed themselves on their wages, and this in the richest portion of the world in just the past few centuries. How could so much effort turn offer them so little in return? Thomas Hood, a contemporary poet, wrote (from the perspective of a female mill worker),

My labour never flags;
And what are its wages? A bed of staw,
A crust of bread - and rags.

Her story is not unique: all throughout history, men and women have suffered the scourge of hunger and often have suffered and died simply for want of foodstuffs that I so easily acquire through a minute's worth of stuffing envelopes.

What have I done deserve such affluence? Nothing. If, by some chance, I had been placed in a different part of the world or a different time period, poverty, misery, and hunger would be my constant companions. In his overwhelming generosity, the Almighty saw fit to place me in that narrow window of time, geography, and class that allows me to enjoy the most sumptuous luxuries every minute of my life. Abraham Lincoln, speaking to a nation that did without automobiles, telephones, television, the internet, and millions of pounds worth of spending money, noted that the American people enjoy, "the choicest bounties of heaven". Truly, such is my lot.

How Blessed, How truly Blessed I am...

Praise Be to God.

-Douglas

Talking about the Tories

Conservatives Must Inspire
By: K. Douglas Cochran

Any casual observer of Britain’s political climate will note the terminal decline of the Conservative Party, but few have fully appreciated the mammoth task which faces the Tories this year as they attempt to retake Westminster after two terms out of power. Indeed, trying to unseat a popular government during a time of economic prosperity is difficult enough without the internal squabbling and lack of direction that have plagued the Conservatives since their exile to the Opposition benches nearly eight years ago.

What’s more, nearly all of the major issues in modern politics favor the left by default. Indeed, Labour can automatically win on issues of health, education, the environment, housing, and social spending with the magic words, “more investment.” The Conservatives cannot hope to top the government in a bidding war for public services, so they must look elsewhere for winning issues.

Generally speaking, there are five issues which can deliver elections for the right: moral values, foreign policy, economic management, crime, and taxes. Moral values are not the trump card that they are in America, and Conservatives risk reminding the public of charges of “sleaze” that dogged Major in 1997 if they attempt to raise questions of ethics. Foreign policy usually works well if your party championed a short war against aggression (i.e. The Falklands), but Middle England isn’t so keen on neo-imperialist ventures with no clear end in sight. Gordon Brown’s economic management has been surprisingly prudent, and voters certainly don’t wish to return to the days of Thatcherite “boom and bust”. Crime, too, has become a winning issue for Labour, which has spared no expense in increasing numbers of police. More damaging, as Blair is fond of reminding the British public, the number of police in Britain actually fell during Michael Howard’s term as Home Secretary.

Taxes, however, may yet work for the Tories. While the government has been careful not to increase the top rate of income tax, Labour has raised other taxes sixty-six times and may be forced to go even further if economic growth begins to falter. Michael Howard has done well to bring the government to account for its stealth taxes, but he cannot win on taxation without providing a credible alternative. Simply holding the line on taxes may be prudent, but it is far from inspirational. Only credible promises of meaningful tax relief will give voters a reason to come back to the party of Thatcher and Lawson.

A message of, “New Labour is fine, but we’re marginally better and anti-Europe” simply isn’t the rallying cry that will win back moderate voters, or even turn out the party faithful on polling day. Unless they are content to simply compete with the Liberal Democrats for second place, the Conservatives must strike out with boldness and conviction. They have nothing to lose but their complacency.