I must admit that I have a very stiff upper lip. So stiff, well actually, so tiny and non-moving, in fact that deaf people trying to lip read me have serious difficulties. Seriously. My wife takes the mickey out of me about it.
But that's not why I post today. If, like me you watched the ITV news on Friday night you'd have been forgiven for thinking that Britain was about to collapse into an apocalytpic doom within days Gas supplies running out, nobody able to get out of their house, half the nation unable to make it to work and almost half the nation's schools closed (probably the reason why half the population can't get to work). What on earth is going on?
Leaving aside the usual media hyperbole (what was to be a further 10 days of solid freezing appears by tonight to have turned into a slow thaw) we appear to have coped miserably with this cold weather. Litigation culture means we have hamstrung ourselves with plainly ridiculous health and safety laws and practices that no-one with responsibility is willing to ignore and say 'get a grip' to those who whine and try to make profit out of genuine accidents. People seem unable to cope with risk unless it involves lane weaving at 90mph on the M1 or drinking too much booze. We've lost our stiff upper lip. Where has it gone?
Wendover Woods 50
6 days ago
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2 comments:
Tge stiff upper lips are all on loan in Afghanistan, mate.
The good 'ole days ;¬)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9fLcwmo8vU
Useful if faced with charging an enemy and group discipline is required.
Not so appropriate in a post industrial mess of a country on the edge of financial collapse.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/jan/11/uk-gas-reserves-imports-fail
Why stay cool when all your leaders are corrupt or fools.
We have nothing to show for the North Sea and will have depleted remaining gas reserves by 20 - 25% by the end of this winter.
Exploitation of smaller fields is not happening due to the financial collapse / peak oil and many will now never by exploited.
Granted much of the world is also on the edge of a collapse, we are in particularly bad shape due to our leaders.
As for personal toughness I see that as just another game we play with ourselves.
I can sit in the full lotus and do press ups using index and middle fingers only, I consider myself to be soft.
In fact softness is the ultimate aim of much martial philosophy.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mindfulness
Granted most people in our society are messed up this is due to our system destroying their natural family units to make efficient units of production, which as the end of growth is here leaves most people in limbo.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twuScTcDP_Q
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