The Musings Of An Opinionated Sod [Help Me Grow!]


Care, Not Control …

At Christmas, I went to the free Winter Wonderland show in London.

I say ‘free’, but it cost me more money than a West End Show,

But for all that, there was one thing that I saw that I truly loved.

This.

Yes, it is from a long time ago.

Yes, it is a pretty small thing.

But my god, how good is it?

The idea that the government paid for small versions of real cars to help kids with disabilities feel they are part of society – when everything around them tended to, and still does to be honest, say otherwise – is brilliant.

An act that lets minorities feel they belong.

Are seen and heard.

Can contribute and become more than they thought they could be.

And while this sort of behavior seems to be something consigned to history, they are happening.

I have written a post that comes out on Friday that does a similar thing.

Except it was done by Otis’ school rather than any government authority … and that pisses me off, because in my opinion, this is exactly the sort of thing the government is for.

To look after the people it represents.

Their health. Their wellbeing. Their education.

And before everyone starts calling me a hippy or a communist, it’s not just because that is their duty but because by doing this, they are literally making the country better. Richer.

Not just in terms of happier, smarter more confident people, but interns of invention … collaboration … industry.

A nation that is healthy and educated is a nation that builds, grows and attracts and yet it appears nowadays … governments are about control, power and self serving.

How the hell did we come to this?


19 Comments so far
Leave a comment

Here in America, Trump wants to offer minorities transportation to feel they belong. He wants to put them on a bus and take then one way to the border because he’s a racist dick.

Comment by DH

I know it’s worse for you but seeing “Otis’ school” shocks me. It seems 2 minutes ago since he was born.

Comment by DH

Oh trust me, it blows my mind.
On the positive, he’s still here which means I might not be as bad a parent as I feared I might be.

Comment by Rob

thats down to jill not you.

Comment by andy@cynic

What a great idea. Especially because of who funded it. Now we can’t even get schools funded properly. Very interested to hear what Otis’ school did for him though I can’t help but feel teachers dedication to their students beyond the call of duty is why governments feel they can cut funding.

Comment by Pete

Sometimes you have to let the system fail to prove your point. Teachers know this but they don’t let it happen because of the duty of care they feel towards their students. Politicians could learn a lot from them.

Comment by George

I agree with you George … but I also remember one year at school being fucked up because the teachers kept going on strike. Not that I complained, we got extra days off which I can now use as my excuse for once getting 2% in my maths exam … despite the fact that happened years before the striking happened.

Comment by Rob

What a thoughtful and valuable thing to do.
Looking forward to reading what Otis school did.

Comment by George

Thank you Robert, I needed this.

Comment by Lee Hill

Me too …

Comment by Rob

Nice post as ever. Totally agree about what the role of government should really be, and how it’s become perverted over time since the war.
To me it looks like the cars were produced with the intention of keeping disabled ex-coal miners in employment, rather than being produced for disabled kids. Both decent things to do, mind.

Comment by Matt Lord

Hi Matt … yeah, that might be the case, but as you say – it’s a decent thing to do, especially as it helped 2 parties not just one.

Comment by Rob

Seems like the idea came from an individual some years before – hardly a surprise because governments are terrible at making the choices you argue they should.

https://www.lakelandmotormuseum.co.uk/collections/featured-collections/austin-junior-40-j40

Comment by John

True … but then the government funded it so there is some positive in there. Though maybe they did it without realizing what they were funding which means I probably like this idea even more.

Comment by Rob

Basically an aristocratic business man got his government mates to pony up.

Comment by John

Great post 😁

Comment by the #1 Itinerary

youre such a hippy fuck campbell.

Comment by andy@cynic

With a love of money like a capitalist bastard.

Comment by DH

a love of other fuckers money. hes reverse robin hood. he can make divorce attorneys look decent.

Comment by andy@cynic




Leave a Reply