Torbay weblog davecathy

Thanks for your responses Jamryn, and I take your points.

I suppose what I am thinking is that total freedom only exists where there is only consideration for your own needs, not others. Before civilisation, we did just as we wished, but civilisation means acting in a way that is for the common good, eg, we agree to drive on the left, to not expose our bodies in public (normally), to not go round taking anything we see that we want.  What society accepts as reasonable restrictions on freedom alter continually. For instance, it was once acceptable to spit in pubs and on buses, but not now. Smoking is going the same way, while swearing in public is now becoming more acceptable, as are displays of homosexuality.

All I am saying is that those who stand up and demand freedom for themselves would not be happy to give me freedom to drive away their car or sleep in their beds.

Keep making me think, your contributions always welcome .

Dave  

I am certain beyond doubt that God exists, but I believe that the Christian concept of God is flawed and inadequate. As a navigator, I have spent countless hours contemplating the boundless oceans, been enveloped by the vast infinity of a sky blacker and more full than any landlubber can envisage. How can I not believe in God?

Throughout history, tyrants have controlled the deeds and actions of man through fear, ultimately the fear of death. But Christianity has ruled with a rod of iron, and sought to control not only our deeds but our unspoken thoughts, not merely by fear of death, but something much worse, fear of everlasting damnation and hellfire, literally the fear of God. That is neither benevolent nor fatherly. When the crops grow, we hold a Thanksgiving Service, but when they fail, we do not hold Him responsible. We are told that God has given mankind freewill. When there is an act of kindness or courage, it is because we have been guided by God, yet when we act cruelly or savagely, that is attributed to man’s inhumanity to man, or the work of the Devil. But surely, if man is capable of inhumanity in his own right, he must also be capable of great humanity? Either God is responsible for everything, or he is responsible for nothing.

The laws of nature are not based on chance. Just the opposite, those laws are strict and unvarying, though infinite in number. There is a law which dictates what will happen if a tonne of lead lands on my head, and another law that governs the life of a mayfly. But the point to realise is that those laws, which are far from random, are based on anything but morality. They do not come about because Mother Nature is pleased or displeased. If a tree falls in the forest, it makes reverberations in the air. Whether there are ears to convert those vibrations into sound matters not. There are natural conditions that have caused that tree to fall; maybe wind, disease, rot, infestation, old age, but when that tree does fall, it is oblivious as to a man standing underneath.

In nature, there is no morality, no punishment, no revenge, no predetermination, no judgement. Events that appear to be random are merely the consequence of unwritten laws. When one tectonic plate subverts under another, once the pressure is sufficient, there will be an earthquake, which may or may not cause great loss of life.

We all understand the concept of Mother Nature, yet we do not attribute false qualities to her, she is blind to the consequences of her actions. Yet if there is a God who encompasses all things, that must also encompass Mother Nature and her works. Such a picture of God is radically different to that accepted for so long by so many.

davecathy@blueyonder.co.uk

 

Back in the days when Tunisia was the latest holiday destination, a friend and I pioneered a new hotel near Sousse, where, because of the novelty, locals and tourists regarded each other with curiosity and not a little suspicion. My partner soon succumbed to a disabling bout of Tunis tummy, so I decided to take a local bus into town to explore the souks and bazaars alone.

At the appointed time, I waited on the empty dusty roadside with a touch of trepidation. The bus, when it arrived, was a large, ancient single decker, with the glass removed from most of the windows, and very few seats. Inside, it resembled a tin of black sardines, being tightly packed with women uniformly clad from head to toe in black, and a hundred pair of dark eyes stared at me over their yashmaks in a most intimidating manner. Dispersed amongst the women were not only babies and children, but assorted small animals as well, chickens, kids, lambs, all I presumed on their way to market.

Having paid my fare, or possibly 10 times my fare, I was pressed against the side of the bus by the throng, and found myself unable to move, or even raise an arm to wipe my perspiring brow. Forget the romance of the East, these ladies were all large, solid, muscular, and unyielding, and reminiscent of brick outhouses.

After a short period of this close, multiple personal contact, I became aware that I was being deliberately groped, and none too gently. Unable, and possibly unwilling to turn away, I decided to try to impress, and stand up for my country, and do my race proud. When I looked into the eyes of the nearest women, they looked demurely away, and I wondered which of them I was impressing. The groping continued until we arrived at the terminus. I decided to stay put until the locals had disembarked, and my knowledge of human nature told me that whoever had been touching me so fiercely would be unable to resist looking back as they departed.

I was correct in my assumption, for as it moved away, a young goat turned and gave me a very knowing look. I had been gobbled by a goat.

davecathy@blueyonder.co.uk

The disadvantage of a weblog is that it is a one sided conversation, which is not what I seek. While I am happy to air my views, I am much more interested in an exchange of views with other open minded  people.

If you would be interested in joining in such a debating forum, send me an e-mail and I will try to organise an appropriate forum

davecathy@blueyonder.co.uk 

The government proudly announce that they have created 2 milllion new jobs, bringing the total to over 28 million full and part time jobs in all, which they say shows that 75% of people of working age are now employed. They then go on to show that less than 1 million are claiming Job Seekers Allowance, but that there are 2.7 million claimants of Incapacity Benefit.

On the face of it, this would seem to indicate that there are a total of some 3.7 million people either too ill to work or unable to find it. Of course, very many of these claimants are genunely sick or suffering some sort of chonic illness, but when you consider that there are reckoned to be in excess of 2 million people working in the black economy, i.e unregisterd, untaxed, cash in hand jobs, then you begin to understand why there are 600,000 unfilled vancancies on offer.

How many people do you know who work in the black, unofficial economy,  maybe in the hotel and catering industry, building trade, painting and decorating, seasonal farm work, cockle -picking or indeed prostitution?  It would seem that the British have never worked so hard, or been so well paid.