Bad guys, butterflies and quiet, unassuming heroes.
2021: A year when the trust recession deepened
Another year, another story.
Our lives are shaped by the stories we tell each other. These are not fixed in time, thank goodness. The more we live. The more we learn. Hopefully.
This axiom was sorely tested in the south London branch of the family this year. Grandson (9) is post-Santa. He argues, not unreasonably, that even if Santa could squeeze his ample frame down their chimney he’d make enough of a racket to wake the dead. Obvs.
His sister (5) on the other hand clings to the dream of a fat man (why is it always a man?) dressed in a gaudy red onesie who delivers gifts to billions of children around the world simultaneously and soundlessly. After delicate negotiations grandson was sworn to secrecy.
Mind you sister may have a point. Scientists at the Exeter University Science of Christmas Festival say that, applying Einstein’s theory of special relativity the miracle of Santa means that he can theoretically reach parts of the globe other courier services can’t reach.
By moving at the speed of light Santa and his reindeer shrinks into a blur of rainbow colours, invisible to the naked eye, never ageing and never caught red-handed.
Personally, I never believed in Father Christmas. I grew up in Egypt. We didn’t have a chimney.
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Trust is in short supply. In fact we are in a trust recession made worse by the pandemic.
This is neither a frivolous nor an academic point. Trust is the grease that keeps the world moving: it is the essence of personal relationships, government, capitalism, even democracy itself.
If we feel neglected, a visit, eye to eye contact and a hug, can reassure us.
But during the pandemic when just living, getting through the day, keeping the kids busy, juggling Zoom meetings, housework and the umpteenth lateral flow test is all we can manage, that becomes harder.
Shouting at each other on Twitter, cancelling each other, raging at those who hold a different point of view rather than sitting down and sharing a pint or a meal and try to reason is a slippery slope with no easy way back up.
We are, after all, primates. We have evolved in colonies, hugga mugga, grooming each other and watching our backs. Trust is built and maintained in the intimacy of the troop.
A recent study of 5,400 Finnish workers (and a similar one in the Netherlands) found that the longer employees were apart during the pandemic the more their trust in colleagues fell. Not being able to wander over to a colleague to check on progress or brainstorm makes us feel less in tune. Physical contact matters. Absence does not necessarily make the heart grow fonder.
One study in America by the Pew Centre for research has found that while 45% of Americans in the mid-1980s believed that ‘most people can be trusted ‘this has now dropped to less than 30 %.
Lack of trust also contributes to slower economic growth. Without it Adam Smith’s invisible hand that regulates economic flows in a free market is stayed. If we don’t trust someone then we will think twice about investing in their project or working with them.
If on the other hand we can build trust a lot of things become possible. Countries where the population has a high level of trust in their governments to do the right thing ( South Korea, New Zealand, Taiwan, Finland) have fared better in dealing with the virus.
The pandemic is forcing us into reassessing how we live. Zoom is the new means of dialogue. This has its advantages. But, like social media, it can be a double edged sword. It emphasises distance and diminishes empathy. The digital world is no substitute for flesh and blood.
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My 2021 person of the year: Richard Ratcliffe
His wife Nazanin has been held by the mullahs in Iran since 2016 on spurious charges of plotting to overthrow the government.
The way in which he held out on hunger strike outside the Foreign Office for 21 days exemplifies the quiet dignity of the unsung hero.
Two years ago he camped outside the Iranian embassy for two weeks. That resulted in getting his daughter home. He was hoping the same would happen this time.
The Iranians have told the family that Nazanin is being held because the UK refuses to pay an outstanding £400m debt it owes to Iran from pre-revolutionary days.
Many years ago I was part of a delegation that went to see Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson to plead for tougher action in the case of Anthony Grey, the Reuters man in Beijing held in the Cultural Revolution by the Red Guards. Don’t rock the boat was the FCO’s advise.
Grey like Nazanin are political hostages. Holding a woman (and child) hostage is despicable. But the British government’s foot-dragging is inexcusable.
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2021 was a good year for the bad guys:
Putin in Russia, Xi in China, Erdogan in Turkey, Lukashenko in Belarus, Orban in Hungary, Maduro in Venezuela – they’re all still in power and gaining.
Ordinary citizens do what they can to stand up for themselves: pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong; protesters in Myanmar; Uyghurs in Xinjiang.
But we don’t have their backs. And they are being crushed. The West has lost the will to defend democracy. Outplayed on the ground and outfoxed on social media whose commanding heights the bad guys now control we look and sound defeatist.
Our ignominious retreat from Afghanistan, Russia’s predatory behaviour pretty much everywhere, the interception of civilian airlines to capture political opponents, the murder in plain sight of journalists who speak out, these small deaths of freedom are going unchallenged.
Totalitarianism is on the verge of being normalised and we are complicit.
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Butterflies are vanishing.
You see fewer of them in fewer places as the destruction of habitat sweeps on. According to Butterfly Conservation nearly 70% of species in Britain are declining.
Milder winters and colder springs have taken their toll. Three of the 14 warmest years in recorded history have taken place this century.
Butterflies, like bees, are vital pollinators. They are crucial to our ecosystem.
So we’ve set out to do our bit. We’re creating a small chalk-rich butterfly bank here in the Chilterns, seeded with butterfly-friendly species like red Vallerian, wild Marjoram and the common Knapweed.
As summer hoves into view we shall await the arrival of the Dark Green Fritillary, the Duke of Burgundy and the Dingy Skipper.
It’s global warming stupid. The operative world being global.
Happy New Year