Wednesday 7 June 2017
Monday 5 June 2017
We Need to Talk About Tolerance
This post has been brewing for a while in my drafts folder, but with the announcement of the General Election, I thought it time to air it. The atrocity in Manchester gave me pause for thought but the [ironic] pronouncements by Theresa May of the last few days cannot be ignored.
The UK has always been thought of as a tolerant society. And we are. Or rather we were. To understand why this has changed, we need to explore why we were regarded as a welcoming haven for citizens of the world.
I have worked in many, many organisations both large and small. Just like countries, the culture of a business is influenced by its history, processes, geography, environment and even its products.
But note what is missing: Employees.
Why? Because most of the people in an organisation are led. Founders and leaders all too often recruit in their own image, seeking out those with a shared vision to build a company. While the general culture of an organisation is influenced by many things, including the diversity of employees, the ethical culture is driven from the top.
The same is true for countries. The people of many nations have been duped into following despots, collectively convinced they are on the right side of history.
There are many who would not admit it, but we like being led. Its easy, comfortable, secure. We're part of the 'in' crowd if we follow a popular (or populist) leader. We get to slide the blame to those who don't follow. We no longer have to shoulder the responsibility. And yes, there are parallels in religion too.
UK became a tolerant society because of our choice of leaders. Post war, too many had seen the horrors first hand. We chose leaders who offered hope, who had the courage to offer something that would benefit all.
We undertook one of the greatest endeavours in history: the creation of the NHS. We created a safety net for the most vulnerable in society, those who dropped out of the bottom would be caught and helped. Equality for (or rather, fair treatment of) all eventually became enshrined in law.
Immigration helped make the UK a very attractive proposition for external investment. Our economy benefited, our society was enhanced.
As memories faded and a majority become collectively more comfortable, we have started voting for leaders who will benefit us individually, rather than society as a whole.
Political, media and business leaders have been quick to seize on this, setting policies that appeal to the low hanging votes - lower taxes, 'efficiency' savings, out group blaming.
We tolerate the appalling treatment of the vulnerable in society because we're told to by political 'leaders' and media. If policies do not (appear to) directly affect us or our families, it's not 'our problem', because we're told it's someone else's fault.
We're told the NHS is 'over budget' and overwhelmed by an immigrant population but NHS funding has been slashed since 2010 and much has been redirected to private profit. Immigrants make up a huge proportion of NHS staff and make a greater financial contribution to the economy per head than native born.
We tolerate 40,000 deaths from air pollution per year as 'a cost of doing business'. Each and every one of those 40,000 people will have suffered for years, even decades, before succumbing. Transport contributes significantly to air pollution, particularly in urban areas, yet we are told it is 'aspirational' to own a highly polluting futility vehicle.
Yet we can't talk about it because we're told it is 'none of our business' how an individual spends their money. It is.
We tolerate the removal of £135 per household 'renewable subsidy' because we're told it will reduce our bills. Conveniently omitted is the £440 per man, woman and child we each pay to subsidise the fossil fuel industry. Why do we quietly tolerate this?
We tolerate the hatemongering of politicians and media because we're told 'all opinions are equal'. UK tabloid media front pages spew bile daily, but we buy them without shame.
On mainstream radio, LBC promote the poisonous rhetoric of Farage. The BBC's Jeremy Vine provides false 'balance' to life long experts in their field with 'the loud man from the pub' ranting unsubstantiated bile over the phone. Each are given equal air time and equal credence.
The most popular media outlets are those that give voice to those who wish to promote their particular target of intolerance. We have normalised the hatred of others with the repeated lies on every front cover or news bulletin. Traffic reports dare not speak of the nature of a progressive march yet we'll invite hatemongers onto prime time TV and radio.
We are being led away from our culturally progressive international partners toward regressive regimes in vain attempt to mitigate the unfolding disaster of Brexit and the Great Repeal Con.
The irony of holding 'liberal values' (really just being kind to those less fortunate) is that we remain all too silent while those who hate are given every platform to spread their vitriol. We often won't talk about our values for fear of offending our friends and colleagues.
To be able to choose leaders that promote tolerance, not those who seek to gain from division, we need to be unafraid to offend those who vote for or promote regressive policies.
"The only thing I can't tolerate is intolerance" is a great maxim, but useless if we're afraid to talk about the things that harm our society.
If you believe that UK should restore its liberal, open values, we need to talk. To friends, neighbours, colleagues, family and strangers. We have to drown out the torrents of hate that flow from the front pages and mouths of weak politicians.
History has proven silence to be a poor choice.
#BeCarefulWhatYouVoteFor
The UK has always been thought of as a tolerant society. And we are. Or rather we were. To understand why this has changed, we need to explore why we were regarded as a welcoming haven for citizens of the world.
I have worked in many, many organisations both large and small. Just like countries, the culture of a business is influenced by its history, processes, geography, environment and even its products.
But note what is missing: Employees.
Why? Because most of the people in an organisation are led. Founders and leaders all too often recruit in their own image, seeking out those with a shared vision to build a company. While the general culture of an organisation is influenced by many things, including the diversity of employees, the ethical culture is driven from the top.
The same is true for countries. The people of many nations have been duped into following despots, collectively convinced they are on the right side of history.
There are many who would not admit it, but we like being led. Its easy, comfortable, secure. We're part of the 'in' crowd if we follow a popular (or populist) leader. We get to slide the blame to those who don't follow. We no longer have to shoulder the responsibility. And yes, there are parallels in religion too.
UK became a tolerant society because of our choice of leaders. Post war, too many had seen the horrors first hand. We chose leaders who offered hope, who had the courage to offer something that would benefit all.
We undertook one of the greatest endeavours in history: the creation of the NHS. We created a safety net for the most vulnerable in society, those who dropped out of the bottom would be caught and helped. Equality for (or rather, fair treatment of) all eventually became enshrined in law.
Immigration helped make the UK a very attractive proposition for external investment. Our economy benefited, our society was enhanced.
As memories faded and a majority become collectively more comfortable, we have started voting for leaders who will benefit us individually, rather than society as a whole.
Political, media and business leaders have been quick to seize on this, setting policies that appeal to the low hanging votes - lower taxes, 'efficiency' savings, out group blaming.
We tolerate the appalling treatment of the vulnerable in society because we're told to by political 'leaders' and media. If policies do not (appear to) directly affect us or our families, it's not 'our problem', because we're told it's someone else's fault.
We're told the NHS is 'over budget' and overwhelmed by an immigrant population but NHS funding has been slashed since 2010 and much has been redirected to private profit. Immigrants make up a huge proportion of NHS staff and make a greater financial contribution to the economy per head than native born.
We tolerate 40,000 deaths from air pollution per year as 'a cost of doing business'. Each and every one of those 40,000 people will have suffered for years, even decades, before succumbing. Transport contributes significantly to air pollution, particularly in urban areas, yet we are told it is 'aspirational' to own a highly polluting futility vehicle.
Yet we can't talk about it because we're told it is 'none of our business' how an individual spends their money. It is.
We tolerate the removal of £135 per household 'renewable subsidy' because we're told it will reduce our bills. Conveniently omitted is the £440 per man, woman and child we each pay to subsidise the fossil fuel industry. Why do we quietly tolerate this?
We tolerate the hatemongering of politicians and media because we're told 'all opinions are equal'. UK tabloid media front pages spew bile daily, but we buy them without shame.
On mainstream radio, LBC promote the poisonous rhetoric of Farage. The BBC's Jeremy Vine provides false 'balance' to life long experts in their field with 'the loud man from the pub' ranting unsubstantiated bile over the phone. Each are given equal air time and equal credence.
The most popular media outlets are those that give voice to those who wish to promote their particular target of intolerance. We have normalised the hatred of others with the repeated lies on every front cover or news bulletin. Traffic reports dare not speak of the nature of a progressive march yet we'll invite hatemongers onto prime time TV and radio.
We are being led away from our culturally progressive international partners toward regressive regimes in vain attempt to mitigate the unfolding disaster of Brexit and the Great Repeal Con.
The irony of holding 'liberal values' (really just being kind to those less fortunate) is that we remain all too silent while those who hate are given every platform to spread their vitriol. We often won't talk about our values for fear of offending our friends and colleagues.
To be able to choose leaders that promote tolerance, not those who seek to gain from division, we need to be unafraid to offend those who vote for or promote regressive policies.
"The only thing I can't tolerate is intolerance" is a great maxim, but useless if we're afraid to talk about the things that harm our society.
If you believe that UK should restore its liberal, open values, we need to talk. To friends, neighbours, colleagues, family and strangers. We have to drown out the torrents of hate that flow from the front pages and mouths of weak politicians.
History has proven silence to be a poor choice.
#BeCarefulWhatYouVoteFor
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