In the current unhappy climate of political, economic and social unrest, hope is a commodity that seems to be in very short supply. Perhaps we should somehow learn how to make for each one of us individually, something to hope for. Something to be “glad” about. Along with our day to day struggles, our attempts to make sense of the maelstrom of corruption and destruction of our once peaceful and productive Country, hope needs to be brought to the forefront of all our doings.
I wrote the following piece in 2015. I wrote it at a time when my own personal world seemed to be crashing around me. My husband’s illness suddenly erupted into totally unexpected trauma. He was in and out of hospital and nobody seemed to be able to explain exactly why this had happened. His life and mine were in absolute and frightening disarray. Hope was all but drowned out in the fear for his health and anger at the system that seemed unable to explain it all or find a way to deal with it.
However, in the situation in which we find ourselves today, I think that the words I wrote back then have some significance when considered in the light of our present circumstances.
TROUBLES
When times are hard and troubles near
Each day seems like a decade
Awake each night till dark day dawns
With body clenched in fear
Which way to turn when every path
Is beset with thorns and briars
No way to break free from the shackles
Into peace that the soul desires
Resilience worn and eroded
With each new and difficult trial
Hard to chart a fresh course
Through the slough of despond
When the feet drag along through each mile
Where is the strength to continue
And overcome anguish and doubt
To lift up the eyes to the heavens
And remember what faith is about
In these early days of 2025, there is a groundswell of political anger, dismay, resentment and fear. The daily revelations of the degraded state of our politics; our economy; our social cohesion and our continued existence as a Nation seem to cause all of our lives to hang in the balance.
The disconnect between the government and the governed has never been so severe. The realisation that for the last several decades we have been subjected to extreme alterations to the make-up of our Country (to our detriment) has finally become apparent. The denouement that successive governments have been removing our freedoms, subtly but surely, at the same time that they have been changing the demographic fabric of the Nation has bitten deeply into our faith in ourselves and our “leaders”.
The realisation that to our recent governments, we, the people, have been disregarded, scorned and neglected in favour of the new ideological “religions of woke”. It is almost as though we have been “conquered”. But, this time our conquerors have come from within. The realisation that our governments have been ‘captured’ by external forces that have shaped our downfall, through their inimical schemes, has been a long time coming.
The Covid terror seems now to be so obvious in its insanity. Its ability to control most of us so easily and so completely now appears to be like a bad dream from which we have awakened to find ourselves adrift in a World we no longer recognise. In the place of Covid we now have Net Zero. The lunacy that underpins this entire ideology is so heavily propagandised, that a large majority of the population still cannot see beyond its absurdity. Gender and the ability to change our biologically assigned gender at will has been forced down our throats with dogged purpose. To deny that it can be possible to change gender and become anything else that we wish is surely the last bastion of madness.
The Gotterdammerung (dictionary meaning - “the term extended to situations of world altering destruction marked by extreme chaos and violence) would appear to be before us!
I have found myself thinking about other situations where people have been oppressed and silenced, but have overcome their oppression with faith and hope. One of my favourite films is The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. A story of how people on Guernsey coped with the occupation of the Island by the Germans in WWII. One of the main things that was listed as being the worst part of their situation was lack of communication. They were literally cut off from the outside World. No post, no radio, (definitely no internet or TV at that time) and they were also cut off from each other. Strict curfew and lack of general association with one another led them to adopt other means to alleviate their hopeless situation.
They formed this society under the permitted scheme of limited cultural association that was severely monitored to ensure no political scheming was involved. Thus, they were able to meet and exchange views and ideas in order to maintain their own sanity in the madness that surrounded them.
In our own case we have unlimited access to information via the internet. I am not sure whether that wide access to information has made us more or less happy or hopeful. I sometimes feel that information overload is responsible for a certain feeling of hopelessness in the fact of such concentrated and visible corruption of our present political and social situation.
Division has been the means by which our governments have sought to control us and keep us low. The “blame” culture and the insidious smears by which they have managed to convince us all that not accepting their actions and not questioning their motives puts us in the “deplorable” category. Their swiftness to label us “far right” if we disagree or criticise them is another form of oppressiveness.
So, do I think that there is cause for hope? Hope for our future as a Nation. Hope for our future as a free speaking, free thinking people. Hope for the regeneration and restoration of our political process. Hope for the restitution of equal justice and fairness for all people under the law (not Sharia).
Yes, I do. In spite of the perceived unfairness and the injustices that have been meted out by this present government (and those before it), I do see glimmers of hope and confidence returning to ourselves as a Nation. The realisation that we have been severely misled and misinformed by those whose duty it should have been to keep the Nation safe is beginning to dawn now upon so many more people than ever before.
Despite the recent spats breaking out between Elon Musk, Nigel Farage and with the bone of contention between them being Tommy Robinson. I think Katie Hopkins has expressed the point very significantly in this video (that no doubt many of you will have already seen). All parties can “win” and play their part in the liberation of our Country from the grip of Authoritarianism, so long as we realise that each has their part to play, and these parts must be played in parallel rather than in single combat!
Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; Hebrews 6:19