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Democracy
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Category: politics
T.O.M.O.R.O.
A great session at CultureTECH was the “Internet as CounterCulture” session held by Paul Moore, Professor of Creative Techniologies at the University of Ulster, Magee Campus. The takeaway message was that we have let the Internet get away from us. In 1991, there was an Internet but there was no Web, there were no ads … Continue reading “T.O.M.O.R.O.”
A great session at CultureTECH was the “Internet as CounterCulture” session held by Paul Moore, Professor of Creative Techniologies at the University of Ulster, Magee Campus.
The takeaway message was that we have let the Internet get away from us. In 1991, there was an Internet but there was no Web, there were no ads and you couldn’t buy anything. As pre-occupied as we have become with the web, it runs on the pipes of the Internet and despite the fact the web has become a shallow, ephemeral and image-obsessed place, the Internet-proper retains (for the most part) the ethos of it’s adolescence (rather than the conception – as a US Department of Defense research project).
The Internet has long had a curious relationship with the government. While much has been made of how they spy upon us, I would counter that our taxes pay for us to be spied upon. And if our security forces were unable to spy, then I would expect them to be replaced with a service that can. After all, Google seems to have a very detailed picture of all of our movements and desires.
I’m not suggesting we should proactively resist the spymasters but really that we should not worry about those things which are inconsequential and instead focus our minds on those things where it becomes important. I am not remotely concerned if the NSA knows how many Internet Cat Videos I watch (it isn’t a lot). However I am concerned that my government is unable to accept my voice using a digital platform. Both of these examples are underpinned by the concept of identity and it is my feeling that “identity management” is a skill that is vital to learn. This differs slightly from the “info literacy” argument made by Professor Moore, or rather, identity management is a subset of “info literacy” theory.
The essential part of the conversation is the choice of whether you are anonymous in an information transaction or whether your identity is verified. We discussed how the new Fingerprint sensor in the iPhone 5S can potentially obviate your 5th Amendment (or similar) rights (if the items you purchase are illegal in the jurisdiction you are in). It invokes a conversation about the right to privacy and the need for identity verification:- these are arguments which are utterly opposed on a certain axis.
e.g. I may want to be securely identified
as a purchaser on Amazon.com
but I don’t necessarily want a
record of what I’m buying to be
known widely.
Identity management is the first pillar of information literacy. The ability to recognise when your identity is being verified or when it is being accessed without permission is essential for an information-literate society. What’s missing is the toolset to be able to manage identity effectively and the mandate that online services must submit to these tools to allow citizens to not only make informed choices but act upon them (and, perhaps most importantly, be able to recover from poor choices).
Consider the Impact of a Politicised Police Force and Rioting on Civic Society
From the Newsletter: NI21 leader Basil McCrea yesterday issued a stark warning that the PSNI do not have the resources to deal with both riots and criminality. Earlier this week Police Federation chairman Terry Spence warned that over 500 officers had been hurt since last summer because of trouble at parades and Union Flag protests. … Continue reading “Consider the Impact of a Politicised Police Force and Rioting on Civic Society”
From the Newsletter:
NI21 leader Basil McCrea yesterday issued a stark warning that the PSNI do not have the resources to deal with both riots and criminality.
Earlier this week Police Federation chairman Terry Spence warned that over 500 officers had been hurt since last summer because of trouble at parades and Union Flag protests.
It’s depends on whether you want a police force to be constantly politicized or whether they are for catching criminals.
When I was in school, the peelers were identified as the baddies because of internment, collusion and sectarian bias. But when I grew up I realised that I had been systematically subjected to sectarian bias and the police force, while it may contain the odd bad egg, are there to catch thieves, murderers, rapists and help keep the majority of civic society safe. That’s actually what we pay them for.
The irony that is the present day has both extremist parties in government accusing the police of collusion with the other. And yet only a small minority seem to call this for what it is.
Yes, there is a right to peaceful protest and in a civic society a single car of policemen could police 1000 peaceful protesters. But we do not live in a civic society. We live in a society where the major parties raise armies of disaffected youth, feed them propaganda about how they are being held back by the others and goad them into illegal and violent acts.
Don’t justify rioting as protest. It’s not protest and it’s not the actions of civic society. Keep the police depoliticized so they can protect civic society. And while you’re at it, question why we have let this shambles of a government go on so long and why there are five parties in there who have succumbed to the baubles and privileges of ministry and yet turn a blind eye to the shredding of the fabric of our society.
The last 14 months have been a black era in our history, easily as dark as when I was growing up. While civil- minded people debate the difference between protest and riots, community “leaders” are organizing weekly “Putsches” for the disaffected.
You have to think forward. What is the end game here and what society will look like in five years.
JK Rowling on Tax and the Welfare State
She should enter politics with an attitude like that. Related posts: The Broadband Blueprint (re DETI Telecoms Consultation) The State of Funding in 2009 in Northern Ireland The State of the Union Oklahoma State University and the iPad pilot
She should enter politics with an attitude like that.
Change is coming…
From ushistory.org: But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. Related posts: Digital Surveillance: why are we surprised? … Continue reading “Change is coming…”
From ushistory.org:
But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.
Wanted: Statesman/Stateswoman
Related posts: Smile Strategies The “booze epidemic” cultureTECH: What I did… Pepsi? I wanted Coke. But if that’s all there is, I suppose I’ll drink it.
The Wages of Sectarian Politics
Related posts: H is for ipocrisy The Broadband Blueprint (re DETI Telecoms Consultation) One Vision for the North of Ireland Politics in Business
An Enduring Shame
The AP piece linked above shows the world our dirty underwear. It shows how much of our civil, shared society is a sham. Whether it’s a housing development that is divided by towering walls or a UK City of Culture so divided they cannot agree on a name for the city. And it is our … Continue reading “An Enduring Shame”
The AP piece linked above shows the world our dirty underwear. It shows how much of our civil, shared society is a sham. Whether it’s a housing development that is divided by towering walls or a UK City of Culture so divided they cannot agree on a name for the city.
And it is our current political leaders who have brought us down this road. As more and more people become disengaged from the process of politics, elections and voting, the only people left engaged are the extremists from both sides whose unreasoning hate of the other propels bigots and demagogues into political power. The elected representatives know how they were elected and, unsurprisingly, they work to foment division and segregation; resisting the removal of peace walls, inciting resentment over flags, demonstrating their bombastic defiance against the other side. And, of course, it’s all a facade. They’re playing to an audience who are blinded by poverty, desperation, fear, uncertainty and doubt.
While we see the theatre of a shared future played out under the threat of an economic pact that would reduce our investment from the UK government, we also see the use of an undemocratic blocker, the Petition of Concern, used to attack minorities, alternative communities and the collective and individual rights of women.
I’m not a politico. I just realised in 2012 that I had left the country in the hands of short-sighted fools and the divided, fragile society we have is a reflection of that. I want a better future and there is no sign we will get it under the existing regime.
Everything we do is forced down a discussion of whether it is green or orange. We are individually defined by this. It’s why a polo shirt bought in Spain can be turned away from a bar in Belfast because it has the pattern of an Irish football team. Or the news headlines because a political party the media have defined as “unionist” dares to tweet in Irish. We are letting others dictate our future and these people have proven for over a decade that their interests are not in our interest.
We deserve better. Our children aspire to better. They are not burdened with the hate of people on the other side of a wall until we teach them to fear.
Everyone thinks of changing the world, no one thinks of changing themselves
When Tolstory penned the line above, I doubt he imagined it would resonate so much in the 21st Century. Similarly, when Mahatma Gandhi said: “Be the change that you wish to see in the world.” he was expressing the same feeling. Margaret Mead, whom I’ve quoted before, gave it ultimate clarity: “Never doubt that a … Continue reading “Everyone thinks of changing the world, no one thinks of changing themselves”
When Tolstory penned the line above, I doubt he imagined it would resonate so much in the 21st Century. Similarly, when Mahatma Gandhi said:
“Be the change that you wish to see in the world.”
he was expressing the same feeling. Margaret Mead, whom I’ve quoted before, gave it ultimate clarity:
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
In all three examples, there is an expressed or implied need for change in the world and while Gandhi may have been passive in his protest, in his words he was describing a need to be anything but passive. When they come at you with sticks and stones, with accusations and name-calling, it’s important to weather it with stoicism and not become involved in the affray. Tolstory described the need to change yourself to fit the world you want. And Mead made it plain – change doesn’t happen because a nation decided that enough was enough. Change happens because a small group of people have a vision of the future and decide to work towards it.
That’s the very essence of #freshpolitics
“Political consensus still has to be spelled out, emphasised and underlined several times before anything is done. Yet despite the territoriality and suspicion that persists in many parts of the city, progress continues to be made.”
The quote above by Julian Dobson after his visit to the “Belfast Future City” conference is preceded by descriptions of how fragile everything is. We are not yet living in the shared future, but there are pockets of people who want to be.
I do not doubt that our politicians mostly want to change the world for the better. But to remain in office means getting votes and to get votes you have to stop other people getting into office. And it’s much easier to incite than it is to inspire. We’ve suffered a stalemate for fifteen years because our political elite have to maintain a status quo.
I am not a political animal by nature. I’ve never joined a political party, I wasn’t interested in politics in University (when most young men seem to be radicalised for good or ill). I was more interested in hard work, hard play and the limits of my imagination (which I have yet to fully plumb). I participated in the Internet then, part of an inevitable global village and spoke daily to people all around the world, from different walks of life. And while I have had the chance to live in other places, I have always considered Northern Ireland my home and I consciously decided not to leave. After all, in 1998, things were going to get better.
As a parent in Northern Ireland, it is our duty to help build the future for our children. It may not be a future that we are able to enjoy, but it should be one within which our children and their children can live fulfilling lives. We tell “little white lies” to children all the time – from “carrots help you see in the dark” to “Santa”, and we lie to ourselves on the same basis.
Greg Fraley reported this gem from IDEO:
We create the future by lying about it first
“Hope” is the biggest and most important lie we tell ourselves.
We have a fragile, divided society, but we talk about a future that is shared by all. We may not have realised the potential of our city, but we can draw you a picture of how we want it to look. We are a small group of committed individuals but we describe ourselves as legion.
That’s what #freshpolitics is about.
Don’t leave. Get involved. Be a new voice.
.@hillisramblings: Don’t leave. Get involved in politics. Be a new voice. 50% of voters have opted out–find ways to get them to opt in. — Alex.Kane (@AlexKane221b) May 31, 2013 Alex Kane knocks it out of the park with this one. From the loyalist riots of last summer to the flags row at Belfast City … Continue reading “Don’t leave. Get involved. Be a new voice.”
.@hillisramblings: Don’t leave. Get involved in politics. Be a new voice. 50% of voters have opted out–find ways to get them to opt in.
— Alex.Kane (@AlexKane221b) May 31, 2013
Alex Kane knocks it out of the park with this one. From the loyalist riots of last summer to the flags row at Belfast City Council, we have let the sectarian forces within our nation dominate. For the last fifteen years they have driven this country back into the arms of extremists. We, the people, live in fear again. And we have to say “Enough!”
Remember that 45% of Northern Ireland are not unionist or nationalist. We are the majority.
Image Copyright: Graham Scobie – https://mobile.twitter.com/GrahamScobie/status/331025037853331456
