Occasional Scribbles

I’ve been thinking lately about the propensity for the ‘average man in the street’ to go along with government policies that limit individual freedom in all sorts of ways.  The 42 day detention is a recent example.  When asked, responses range from, “well, if the government think it’s necessary to lock them up for 42 days, then I think they should.” Or, “six weeks –   lock them up for six years if they like, throw away the key!”  And, “The government are only trying to protect us from terrorism.” 

A friend recently mentioned the concept of brainwashing by the television.  This is something that many people casually agree happens but usually have in mind, subtle brainwashing in advertising by companies trying to persuade people to buy their products.   What perhaps they have not considered is other forms of subconscious or even, unconscious manipulation that occurs through television and other media.  The merit for this is usually on the grounds of Health and Safety that seeks to eliminate all risk in our lives.

For example, for a long time now, certain types of programmes are preceded with a standard warning along the lines, “Warning.  Do not try this at home.  Events in this film are performed by fully trained professionals.  Do not attempt to recreate this at home.”

 Warnings also appear tagged onto the end of news items.  So the tragic story about a boy who drowned while canoeing along a fast flowing river will be accompanied by a rescue ‘professional’ telling the public that they should stay away from the dangers of such an action.  “My advice to the public would be, if you are considering going out in a small boat, make sure you only enter water that has clear signs pronouncing it safe and approved by the River Authority.”

And, “if you are thinking of having a bonfire party this year, make sure that you pay attention to instructions on fireworks.  Fireworks are dangerous.  Each year hundreds of people end up in casualty with severe injuries.  Keep children well away from fire and have a bucket of water nearby.  There are plenty of public displays you can go to which may be a safer option.”  And so on.

Even the weather forecasters are happy to tell us what to do and say things like,  “wrap up warmly today, a cold spell is approaching”  or in summer, “and don’t forget to put on plenty of sun screen today, we have a high of around 27 degrees, not much cloud cover so watch out, remember cover up!” 

The news has been thoroughly ‘dumbed’ down and includes items that could not be considered serious news.  For some reason we have regular updates on what is going on in the Big Brother household or Madonna’s marriage troubles, as if, alongside news of murders and torture in Zimbabwe or the Iraq/Afghanistan war, this is really that important or appropriate.  News casters and presenters have adopted a more cosy approach and have become bland in the process, two dimensional almost and language has been overly simplified.

There is also an increasing amount of public service announcements. Many are about drink, drugs and smoking, some are warnings against speeding and the consequences of being caught. These tend to use graphic images of seedy drug takers, smokers glued to oxygen tanks or children being run over.   

In addition to all this we now have a multitude of television programmes that tell us what to wear, what to eat, how to cook, how to decorate our homes until the character is beaten out of them and they all look the same and how to rearrange our gardens. We are told where to go on holiday or where not to and what perils may be lurking abroad.  There are dozens of life changing programs too that show us how to lose weight, take up exercise, cut up our faces and bits we don’t like and generally make ourselves over.  We are given advice about what is good for us, what is not, how much we should drink or not, how to read labels on food and told organic is best until organic proves to be less organic and more of an expensive con.  Even man’s best friend, the dog, has come under fire as we are told that we should not have them on our beds.  They are likely to have fleas and carry diseases we could catch by having them in close proximity.

Almost daily we are reminded that we are too feeble to take any risks in life and anything considered dangerous is frowned on by those that boss us all about.  Newspapers carry stories of things that have been banned on grounds of Health and Safety like the fireman’s pole considered to present a risk to hands (chaffing) or falls.  Hanging baskets came under threat in case old lamp posts should fall under the weight.  Fire extinguishers were deemed dangerous unless used by ‘trained professionals’ as if anyone is going to wait for one of those when a fire breaks out.  Metal bolts holding up Christmas lights must be individually checked.  Conker trees are being felled so as to avoid falling conkers hitting people on the head.  The list is endless. And all the while, we are watched and surveyed by an army of CCTV cameras to keep us all in check and an army of police cum social workers are on hand to rush out should we not do as we are told.  Computers now store increasing amounts of DNA and fingerprints to keep tabs on us all.

A carefree childhood is almost a thing of the past.  Endless Health and safety regulations seek to remove all risk to children.  No longer allowed to climb trees, ride bikes without safety equipment, go into a swimming pool without an adult, play conkers or hop scotch,  throw paper aeroplanes, read books with fire breathing dragons, or anything else deemed dangerously influential. They are missing out on the simple pleasures of being young .  The message by and large is that being outside is fraught with danger, (sun is too hot, paedophiles may get you) so children now spend  at least 20% of their time in front of one screen or another, TV, computers, game consoles and only about 10% walk to school.

Worse, should your child turn up at school with a graze or two and a bruise on her elbow, you could have a visit from a government snoop who may think you are abusing your child. Parents, who carefully and conscientiously  give their child the chance to take reasonable risks and assess what is dangerous in life, like letting them use a penknife, light a fire, ride a bike, swim in a lake, and thereby learn from experience, could find themselves being accused of neglect or worse.

It is not therefore surprising that the population has succumbed and been influenced into an attitude that would have seemed pathetic and weedy not so many years ago. We are being subconsciously trained to do as we are told and seem happy to trot out familiar sound bites picked up by politians with an agenda, without any desire to question them. A continued onslaught of repetitive messages, however innocuous they seem, has changed a generation from the sort of stoicism and bravery that won two world wars to a population that blindly accepts being told how to live their lives from cradle to grave by an almighty nanny state and its lapdog –  the great state broadcaster and brain-washer- television.