In a week when the self proclaimed "greatest Country oin the World" seems to be fulfilling the predictions laid out in "The Handsmaid's Tale", I am applauding myself for my prescience last week in appreciating the country we call home.
For all of it's faults (and in my experience, there is nowhere perfect, before anyone starts getting overly jingoistic), we do not appear to be succumbing to the rose tinted glasses that other places in the globe seem to think so fashionable.
The same effect was notable just before the Brexit vote when algorhythms were used to send spurious, bullsh*t, stories to people outlining the terrors of the European Union via the medium of facebook (another reason I hate it). People were convinced that the glory days of the past could be resurrected, that the great British Empire would rise again, phoenix like, in colmplete contrast to the ongoing globalisation taking place everywhere else
Of course, the effects of that partticular con job are yet to be fully felt, but suffice to say that the vast majority of the woes you may have heard about have their source in the country leaving their biggest trading partner - for example, the travel chaos is largely down to a lack of staff - this shortage caused as the staff who used to work there being Europeans who went home for Covid and can't come back, or who don't want to come back because they have new jobs and/or don't feel that welcome anymore - fair enough in my opinion
In the States meanwhile, it is apparently the land of the Free, so long as you are rich, white, and male - to quote George Orwell, "Everyone is equal, but some are more equal than others"
In the golfing world, the ethics of dealing with a bunch of megalomaniacal psychopaths is being hotly debated. My question is why the hell is this being debated?
Ok, professional golfers do not see the game in the same way we do, our weekly frustrating search for perfection is their daily grind. They don't play for fun, it is a job and career for them that will, if they work hard enough, have the talent and the mental fortitude, earn them a fortune. The Saudi LIV golf experiment is merely the next crystallisation of that ongoing capitalist development, the search for more cash, or just the search for "more"
In a world of growing inflation, growing costs, and an ever growing difference in the lives of the rich compared to the poor, the sight of a bunch of wealthy guys cashing out to get even richer, is unsurprisingly hard to swallow.
It is up to us to decide whether or not to support it
Stay safe, stay sane, and I think I am going to stay away from the news for a bit!
Steve
PS - Why does no-one seem to be mentioning the cricket at the moment?
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