'Important issues facing society' follow-up

[Hope]

A week ago, I started a thread entitled 'Important issues facing society', with a poll including 9 items plus a nil-return option.

Unfortunately, posters seemed to think that they knew better regarding the topics I'd chosen, and one or two seemed to suggest that they knew what I had in mind.

The results so far (it officially closes at 4.16PM today) are

Debt (national)                  2                             Debt (personal)                 1
Education                          4                             Employment                      1
Food accessibility               2                             Fox-hunting                       0
Health                               6                             (A) roof over one's head    2
Sunday Trading                 0                             None of the above             2

Now, I believe that things like food accessibility and a roof over one's head are fundamental to health and educational achievement; potentially, they are fundamental to many of the issues I listed.

I had hoped that there might be a reasonable concensus on 3 or 4 topics, and in a sense we have.  We debate these kinds of thing on a daily basis, but do we do anything beyond debating them?  I wonder how many of us write letters to our MPs/AMs/MSPs about issues that concern us.  What about writing to our Prime/First Ministers?

We come now to the crux of this thread.  I would like to challenge each of us, myself included, to write letters to the appropriate people on at least two issues (not necessarily those listed in my poll) that concern you.  I won't ask you to post those letters here, but would ask you to confirm that you have written to said authority(ies), using this thread (perhaps with a brief summary of what you write), and then report back on whether you get a response and if so, in what vein.

Without trying to fix a topic, I was interested to hear during the week that Cardiff University have unveiled a house that - they claim - will generate more energy than it uses.  This announcement came days, if not hours, after the Government had ditched their proposal that all new-build housing ought to have energy-generating technology built into them.

[Sriram]

Of course I will not be writing to anyone about this.....but there are two areas that I think society in general (including Govt.) should focus on.

1. Family values (including fidelity, staying married, child care, care of elderly, limits to sexual freedom to children)

2. Spiritual regeneration. By this I don't mean only religion but less focus on material aspects and more on finding a deeper meaning to life in general.

Both these IMO will create a better, more satisfied society with less focus on products and gadgets.   

[Rhiannon]

I live in a constituency that has been Tory since the Neolithic, or so it seems. If it is a right-wing policy he agrees with it and if it is left he doesn't. His majority is so vast he can afford to completely ignore any views of his constituents that aren't right-wing or supportive of big business, even with the presence of UKIP.

I might as well write to the Chuckle Brothers.

[Hope]

Of course I will not be writing to anyone about this.....but there are two areas that I think society in general (including Govt.) should focus on.

So why won't you be writing to anyone?  Surely if you believe that society will be 'better, more satisfied' with these developments, surely writing to those whose role is, at least in part, to lead social development is a vital part of your democratic responsibility?

[Shaker]

Of course I will not be writing to anyone about this.....but there are two areas that I think society in general (including Govt.) should focus on.

1. Family values (including fidelity, staying married, child care, care of elderly, limits to sexual freedom to children)

We had a government not so long ago that preached family values - "back to basics" as it was then dubbed by a man, now a knight of the realm, later discovered to have been knobbing a colleague and cabinet minister for an extended period of time.

It was probably one of the sleaziest and most corrupt, certainly most festeringly hypocritical goverments this country has ever seen. So, no thanks. Value your own family; let other people make their own living arrangements that suit them.

[Hope]

I live in a constituency that has been Tory since the Neolithic, or so it seems. If it is a right-wing policy he agrees with it and if it is left he doesn't. His majority is so vast he can afford to completely ignore any views of his constituents that aren't right-wing or supportive of big business, even with the presence of UKIP.

I might as well write to the Chuckle Brothers.

Write to the Prime Minister or Government department concerned direct then.  As I said in my post to Sriram, don't we have a democratic responsibility - and right - to write/talk to our representatives about matters that concern us?  In the past, when our constituency was held by Labour, I wrote to various Labour Ministers expressing my concern about issues from the Iraq War to the economy, and many in between.  I copied them to the MP (who I knew) so that he was aware of what at least one of his constituents felt.

[Hope]

It was probably one of the sleaziest and most corrupt, certainly most pululatingly hypocritical goverments this country has ever seen. So, no thanks. Value your own family; let other people make their own living arrangements that suit them.

This is partly why I didn't include this issue in my original list - instead choosing issues such as housing and food affordability.  I assume that pretty well all of us here would agree that housing needs to be made more available and affordable.  After all, isn't it the foundational aspect of our human right to have a safe home-life?  Article 3 of the UDHR, iirc.

[Gordon]

Moderator:

This thread is clearly intended to be about issues and is not about other members here. As such posts in this vein, and responses to them, have been removed.

Posts removed - unlocked.

 

[Rhiannon]

I live in a constituency that has been Tory since the Neolithic, or so it seems. If it is a right-wing policy he agrees with it and if it is left he doesn't. His majority is so vast he can afford to completely ignore any views of his constituents that aren't right-wing or supportive of big business, even with the presence of UKIP.

I might as well write to the Chuckle Brothers.

Write to the Prime Minister or Government department concerned direct then.  As I said in my post to Sriram, don't we have a democratic responsibility - and right - to write/talk to our representatives about matters that concern us?  In the past, when our constituency was held by Labour, I wrote to various Labour Ministers expressing my concern about issues from the Iraq War to the economy, and many in between.  I copied them to the MP (who I knew) so that he was aware of what at least one of his constituents felt.

When I've done that I've got a 'thank you for your concern' auto-generated thing signed by an intern on the minister/PM's behalf. I kind of agree with Shaker - sort yourself out.

[OH MY WORLD!]

Family breakdown is a very important issue facing society.

What our governments can do.

http://www.centreforsocialjustice.org.uk/publications/fully-committed-how-government-could-reverse-family-breakdown

[Sriram]

We all are products of the culture in which we are born and live. If the culture is individualistic, consumer oriented, celebrity oriented, wealth oriented, pleasure seeking, materialistic in ideology and so on....the people are bound to be like that.   

It is the responsibility of the Govt. to discourage the above tendencies and encourage a more family centric rather than a self centric mindset.

Traditionally, religion played a large role in the above. But...now that in places like UK,  religion seems to be in decline...the Govt. has to take up that role I guess.  It cannot confine itself to the hard issues only but has to focus on the soft ones as well......which IMO  are more important. 

[L.A.]

We come now to the crux of this thread.  I would like to challenge each of us, myself included, to write letters to the appropriate people on at least two issues (not necessarily those listed in my poll) that concern you.  I won't ask you to post those letters here, but would ask you to confirm that you have written to said authority(ies), using this thread (perhaps with a brief summary of what you write), and then report back on whether you get a response and if so, in what vein.

I missed your first thread - but the answer is simple - "It's the economy stupid!"

If the economy is screwed, then you can't tackle any of the other Items.  Perhaps I should write to Mr Osborne and tell him to keep up the good work 

Without trying to fix a topic, I was interested to hear during the week that Cardiff University have unveiled a house that - they claim - will generate more energy than it uses.  This announcement came days, if not hours, after the Government had ditched their proposal that all new-build housing ought to have energy-generating technology built into them.

From what I've heard I'm very sceptical. I doubt that the house would actually be as cheap as they claim or still be functioning as described in a few years time.

[cyberman]

I missed your first thread - but the answer is simple - "It's the economy stupid!"

If the economy is screwed, then you can't tackle any of the other Items.

Well, yes... but is ensuring good health, good housing, good education a luxury you indulge in once the economy is fixed, or are those ways you go about ensuring there's a strong economy? I think they are part of the fixing, not something to be left aside until the economy is fixed.

[Hope]

I kind of agree with Shaker - sort yourself out.

I can understand this individualistic attitude in this modern society we have, and in a way I believe that is one of the problems of our society.  To quote Joan Armatrading, we seem to have  a 'Me, Myself and I' attitude to issues.  As a Christian, that runs against the grain; we have, imo, a responsibility to speak out for the poor, the disenfranchised and the marginalised.

[L.A.]

I missed your first thread - but the answer is simple - "It's the economy stupid!"

If the economy is screwed, then you can't tackle any of the other Items.

Well, yes... but is ensuring good health, good housing, good education a luxury you indulge in once the economy is fixed, or are those ways you go about ensuring there's a strong economy? I think they are part of the fixing, not something to be left aside until the economy is fixed.

That's fine, but if a government get carried away and starts excessive borrowing to spend on health, education and housing - they are likely to suddenly find that the economy has crashed.

[Udayana]

For general concerns, eg. economy, housing, education etc as opposed to specific cases where something can done directly, I'd have thought open discussion in public forums would be more effective in raising awareness than letters to authorities. Isn't that the benefit that social media offers?

[Hope]

For general concerns, eg. economy, housing, education etc as opposed to specific cases where something can done directly, I'd have thought open discussion in public forums would be more effective in raising awareness than letters to authorities. Isn't that the benefit that social media offers?

Discussion is all very well, but translating that to action often requires that the discussions are brought to the attention of our law-makers. Does your MP or whatever view this board, Ud?  Remember that a letter to an MP is generally treated as representative of up to 100 constituents' views.  Not sure about letters to AMs and MSPs.

[Hope]

That's fine, but if a government get carried away and starts excessive borrowing to spend on health, education and housing - they are likely to suddenly find that the economy has crashed.

But spending on these matters will often also lead to increased tax-revenue, so a balance has to be struck often with a long-term thought-process in place.  Most modern politics is based on the 4 or 5-year term of a government which is barely even short-term.

[Jack Knave]

A week ago, I started a thread entitled 'Important issues facing society', with a poll including 9 items plus a nil-return option.

Unfortunately, posters seemed to think that they knew better regarding the topics I'd chosen, and one or two seemed to suggest that they knew what I had in mind.

The results so far (it officially closes at 4.16PM today) are

Debt (national)                  2                             Debt (personal)                 1
Education                          4                             Employment                      1
Food accessibility               2                             Fox-hunting                       0
Health                               6                             (A) roof over one's head    2
Sunday Trading                 0                             None of the above             2

Now, I believe that things like food accessibility and a roof over one's head are fundamental to health and educational achievement; potentially, they are fundamental to many of the issues I listed.

I had hoped that there might be a reasonable concensus on 3 or 4 topics, and in a sense we have.  We debate these kinds of thing on a daily basis, but do we do anything beyond debating them?  I wonder how many of us write letters to our MPs/AMs/MSPs about issues that concern us.  What about writing to our Prime/First Ministers?

We come now to the crux of this thread.  I would like to challenge each of us, myself included, to write letters to the appropriate people on at least two issues (not necessarily those listed in my poll) that concern you.  I won't ask you to post those letters here, but would ask you to confirm that you have written to said authority(ies), using this thread (perhaps with a brief summary of what you write), and then report back on whether you get a response and if so, in what vein.

Without trying to fix a topic, I was interested to hear during the week that Cardiff University have unveiled a house that - they claim - will generate more energy than it uses.  This announcement came days, if not hours, after the Government had ditched their proposal that all new-build housing ought to have energy-generating technology built into them.

I see there is nothing about the EU on your list, Hope!

[Hope]

I see there is nothing about the EU on your list, Hope!

For one thing, JK, I'm not as paranoid about the EU as you clearly are.  Secondly, several of these issues outweigh the importance of the EU - they will still around (if we're not careful) regardless of whether we leave the EU or not.

[Jack Knave]

I see there is nothing about the EU on your list, Hope!

For one thing, JK, I'm not as paranoid about the EU as you clearly are.  Secondly, several of these issues outweigh the importance of the EU - they will still around (if we're not careful) regardless of whether we leave the EU or not.

As the EU has made most of out laws I think it should be at the top of our list. It has affected the price of our food, the employment and health mess we see today, the housing crisis, some of our national debt, and in part our awful education system with it dumbass Leftie PC crap.

[Gonnagle]

Dear Hope,

Well done old son, even little steps can make a difference

Gonnagle.