Politics and Junk Mail

Politics: Chancellor Rachel Reeve’s budget has raised taxes to the highest level ever. Labour politicians blame the Tories for the mess the country’s in; the Tories say that this disastrous budget will wreck the economy. There’ll be weaker future growth, higher inflation…

 In the US the election campaign Donald Trump has filed a $10bn lawsuit against CBS News over its Kamala Harris interview… Joe Biden called Donald Trump supporters ‘garbage’ after a controversial joke about Puerto Rico… Kamala Harris mocked Trump’s crowd size obsessions.

From both sides of the Atlantic confrontational politics encourages hate and division. Insults abound. Characters are systematically assassinated.

Junk mail: Charities are making their Christmas appeals. Three arrived yesterday.

‘World Horse Welfare’ informs me that ‘You can give a horse or donkey comfort and joy this Christmas’. Alongside a picture of two donkeys I’m asked ‘Will you make sure there’s room in a stable for rescued donkeys like Mia and Peanut?’  

A catalogue from ‘Concern Worldwide’ is ‘…filled with so many wonderful gifts. From providing helpful school kits for children in Malawi, to giving a milk-making camel in Kenya, no gift is the same, but everyone is jam-packed with magic.’

I pause, comparing the politics with the junk mail. Politicians call each other liars and cheats… The junk mail encourages me to think of others, to be a better person…

The charity ‘Sense’, shows a cute little boy in a Santa outfit. It asks, ‘Will you help give a child who is deafblind, like Luca, the best Christmas gift of all.’ It continues: ‘It’s a difficult time of year for families who have children with complex disabilities. Normal Christmas activities, like going shopping and visiting Santa often aren’t accessible to them, and families can feel lonely and left out…’  

I live in a mixed up world, with mixed-up priorities, I see Donald and Kamala alongside Mia and Peanut, the rescued donkeys; Rachel lives alongside deafblind Luca. Somehow all are put into perspective. My belief in justice, compassion and integrity is restored.