The book is gathering pace. Coupla articles to write this week. No time to blog really but thoughts spring up involuntarily. Horrified to hear about developments in the UK - anti-teen 'mosquitos'in city centres, fines for non-school attendance or holidays taken out of term time, fines for incorrect placing or mixing of rubbish, schools promoting Nintendo's Brain Gym, anti-psychotic medication being given to children under 6, entrenched racism, the cost of freedom of speech being riots over China / the Olympic torch ... since I left the UK seven years ago, London in particular seems to be swerving down ever more dangerous spirals of panic.
My main beef with this is that the more we regulate, the less people take personal responsibility. The more rigid and didactic our governing bodies become, the less we interact personally or engage with their message. It becomes simply a format for resentment, breeds anti-social behaviour, turns people away from collaboration and consent.
The process of education for instance. Did you know that you are legally obliged to educate your child, but no law says this must be at a school? Increasingly education has become the responsibility of teachers and governing bodies, and parents are left out of the loop, when in fact their involvement is what makes the difference between a child who goes on to succeed (in relationships, in jobs, in personal development...)
We are failing our kids, neighbours, family and friends when we shut our doors to one another for fear of making a mistake, (cultural or otherwise) or to avoid being ridiculed by our teenagers, punished by our local governors, or fined for inappropriate behaviour by the State.
Oooo, and it's only Monday morning...
