I realise that - especially for people who’ve just woken up - the dark cloud hanging over us all seems impenetrable and near-apocalyptic. Five more years of cuts to the NHS, to education, to welfare and benefits and equality and decency - it’s easy to feel like the future is a dark chasm opening up beneath our feet, unavoidable and terminal, with no hope in sight. It’s important to remember that in times like these, true decency stands bright and stark against the darkness. It’s so important that we wake up today and tomorrow, and every day after, and try our absolute best to make this society one that is kind and good and fair.
Give, as much as you can. Give time, if you have it; money, if you can spare it. Soup kitchens, spare change, a kind ear on public transport. For some people, every working day is an example of charity, of doing the right thing in spite of how difficult it can be. The time I’ve spent working in the NHS fills me with awe. The culture of decency and self sacrifice and kindness is one that makes me a better person every day and I know the same can be said for those in teaching, social work, legal work, and all the other areas of public service that are currently under pressure. Lots of people get up every morning and do jobs that are much harder, more time consuming, and less compensated than they would be in the private sector - and they do it with joy, with determination and grit and ferocity - because they love their work, and they love the people in their communities, and they want to be given the opportunity to fight for them. Believe in that spirit of decency - carry it around with you, bring it home with you, take it to work with you. Know that there are still people out there who are fighting for you, every day, and they won’t give up.
Learn about the systems that keep our poorest communities entrenched in powerlessness and poverty. Learn about how the chronic effects of poverty literally kills people, how it can reduce life expectancy by up to a quarter, even if you escape poverty later in life. Learn about communities in poverty, and try to understand why a person who has grown up in a chaotic household with no resources, without emotional or logistical support, might - when asked to study for the exams that they are required to take when they’re still fully reliant on adults in their lives - not achieve the results required to go to college or university - or even if they did, might not have the financial means to do so. Understand that a person without a degree in an area of the UK that has mass unemployment, is statistically deeply unlikely to be able to get hold of a well paying, rewarding job. Get angry about all of it.
Learn to think critically, and examine cognitive biases. Push back against racism and discrimination, think carefully about any line of logic that would have you reason in broad generalisations against groups of powerless people. Make an effort not to be cruel, even when it’s easy. Learn about the manifestos of the political parties available to you, and think about what that could mean for groups of people unlike yourself. Support electoral reform, support green deals, support the political party of your choice - and then go out and educate. Don’t accept ‘everyone is entitled to their opinion’ or ‘it’s just what I believe’. Question people, doggedly: no one is in possession of the inalienable right to cause other people harm, whether directly or indirectly. No one gets to vote for evil and ignore the consequences of their actions - hold them to account.
Fight. March in the streets. Argue on twitter. Make family dinners uncomfortable. Do not turn a blind eye to cruelty or discrimination or ignorance. Challenge people and don’t stop until they’re forced to retreat or surrender. Now is not the time for ‘unity’ - not with racists or those who would commit social violence on the poor, disabled, and powerless. Now isn’t the time for being polite, now is the time to remember that being a member of society means having a duty of care to others in that society. Now is the time to make some noise.
And if you’re one of those who the Tories would target, above all else: survive. Use whatever means at your disposal. Scrape and kick and fight. You deserve your place in the world. You deserve housing, and healthcare, and basic human rights. You deserve compassion and a life free of cruelty or systemic violence. You deserve opportunities, and education, and the means to realise your full potential. You do not deserve to be crushed beneath the cogs of austerity or discrimination. You do not deserve to burn to death in cheap council housing, or be deported while seeking refuge, or have your means of income slashed or obliterated. Ask for help, if you think it’s safe - there are still so many decent people left in the world. Stick together. Don’t give up.
I love every one of you. Lets do better tomorrow.
