That might well be true, you do sound as though you know what you are talking about, but actually there are so many other views pressing in that I fear I may well have to consider the options for the next century or two . . . and then we have the conundrum of democracy. Those speedy f—ks, high on their own narcissistic excitement, the thrill of possibility, the I want, the I must have now – look, somehow or other the idiots have elected us, so let’s not let the opportunity slip by, what wheezes can we dream up, sketch them out on the back of a fag packet, yes, of course I’m drunk!! The only criterion is that the super-rich get richer. The middle can be squeezed (they are so masochistic) and the range of the impoverished is spread ever wider. And when we say we’ve got to cut public spending, they believe us. It’s amazing what we can get away with.
Let’s be clear, democracy is hard work. Perhaps the demand is too high. Perhaps we would prefer a benign dictatorship. But the evidence for the existence of benign dictatorships would appear to be, well, non-existent. It’s the usual story of corruption and abuse. Democracy is the way forward but how do I as an individual engage in it beyond what can seem like an impotent act – voting. So the demand is for ‘the real’. But how do we find the real in the lying world, the hall of mirrors of politics; a politics that is further confused by the dissemination of lies by powerful media moguls.
What comes to mind is the fight in the 19th century for education and health; the combination of science and commitment and pressure to force change, to force money hungry factory owners to change their ways. Health and education now take up huge amounts of money – taxes – to maintain and improve. Life, after all, is not just for the few. One can see the posh boys licking their lips in anticipation in reducing even if they can’t get rid of these imagined costly burdens on their super-wealthy friends . . . just in case they might be inhibited, even for one minute, from making ever more money beyond one’s wildest dreams.
Yes, and we grow old, too. Yes, there is this strange journey across the pampas, mountains forever in the distance. What does it matter, providing I can write another poem, the next blog, paint – I glance across at my most recent painting with that shock of ‘did I do that!’ – and who knows, maybe I’ll have enough money to get by.
And yes, there is an aesthetic, a sense of being pleased with an arrangement of words on the page, colours on the canvas. No doubt to do with balance in composition, the way this bit works with that bit, leading the eye/mind on and into other feelings, states, meanings, possibilities. Is it ever good enough? Probably not – it’s like democracy: always in need of greater effort, vigilance and commitment, plus a sufficient number of us who believe in it.
What about the importance of doing nothing? Dear God, remind me to spend some time doing nothing.