The never ending story
I have for some time thought that this "government" is having a laugh at our expense.
They have steadily been introducing more and more ludicrously invasive legislation, and every time I think to myself,"they've gone too far this time", they get away with it !
There must be some kind of bet going on in the cabinet to see who can be the first to cause a public uprising. ID cards, DNA databases, banning legal activities, restricting free speech, blatant bribery and corruption within government - the list goes on and on.
We are constantly fed reports about how there is a looming pensions crisis, while at the same time we are being forced to live ever longer lives. The pensionable age is set to rise, but we don't have enough work for those under the current pension age. Maybe if the government were to spend less on focus groups and advertising and more on pensions, then there wouldn't be a crisis.
As regarding drinking, they should remember where the impetus comes from. How many TV soaps are based in or around pubs/bars ? Coronation Street, Eastenders, Emmerdale (Farm), Hollyoaks, Neighbours, Home and Away ....
What kind of lives do young people today aspire to lead ? Mostly pop stars or footballers. Errr, George Best, Paul Gascoine, Amy Winehouse, Britney Spears, etc etc.
The reason most younger people go out and get pissed up, is because, deep down inside they know they are never going to be rich or famous, and they have no reason to think they are going to enjoy life being anything else. The tv shouts at us to spend more, get more credit, HAVE IT NOW ! while all the time we produce less, become fatter and less intelligent and get taken advantage of by big business. Suicide rates are higher amongst younger people because they do not see themselves having a future.
Being forced to get into debt, to attend university, to gain a worthless degree, to end up on a production line on minimum wage is not most peoples idea of a rosy future. Even office work is low grade monkey stuff these days. This is how the government is reducing unemployment - make lots of bureaucratic paperwork, then employ overskilled monkeys to do it. These days you are a nobody unless you "own" your own home, drive a BMW, or at least a no more than 3 years old car, have the latest plasma tv and entertainment centre, and get out with your mates 4 times a week to piss it up.
Increasing expectations has backfired for this government, because not everybody can participate. Not everybody can be middle class with high incomes and comfortable lifestyles. Unfortunately for those on a lower scale, the modern media treats you as wasters and scroungers. Consequently no-one wants to do that kind of work, and we have to get foreign labour to fill the gaps, which we then complain about !
I make more as a lorry driver than most so called skilled office workers make, precisely because no-one wants to do the work. You get dirty, you work long hours, you are away from home a lot. But if I can make £10k a year more by doing that than by working 9 to 5 and commuting on blocked roads for 2 hours a day, then that's a win in my book. The commuting public, no matter what their pay scale, can accurately be described as rats. At certain times of the day, they scurry out, fill the roads with accidents and incivility, all intent on getting to their meaningless destinations before the person in front of them regardless of the cost in raised tempers and blood pressure. Then after an hour or so, it goes quiet again, until the madness starts anew at the end of the day.
I was brought up to believe that humans were more intelligent than animals, but watching this same sad scenario day after day just seems to disprove that.
Just for reference, I once worked in an office when I used to do "IT" for money. I had to leave in the end because the staff were so unbelievably lazy, compared to any manual worker you care to mention, that it gave me high blood pressure just to be in the same room as them. Their sense of entitlement was so artificially high compared to the actual results they achieved, that it was laughable.
And this government is creating more people like that.
Strangely, the term Fascism comes to mind here.
Basically, and in conclusion, we the people of the UK are living one huge lie both financially, and aspirationally. For what reason do most people drink heavily ?
To forget.