Mr Cameron comments, on a regular basis, that British traditions of care for each other are bound in its Christian beliefs. By Christian beliefs I presume he means the orthodoxy of the Church of England - it being the English Crown's established church, a church to which Mr Cameron claims to have 'cleaved' his soul to and yet is at odds with its Archbishop when the Archbishop seeks to points the large moral and 'un-Christian' holes in Cameron's government's legislation with regards immigration, health and welfare.
Cameron's predecessor was a 'Son of the Manse' while Tony Blair is famously Catholic and yet all three were and are unmoved that their policies on welfare and healthcare have reduced the level of support previously given to those in most need or at highest risk in the country;
Cameron's predecessor was a 'Son of the Manse' while Tony Blair is famously Catholic and yet all three were and are unmoved that their policies on welfare and healthcare have reduced the level of support previously given to those in most need or at highest risk in the country;
- The poorest and homeless
- The sick
- The disabled
What happened to 'My father's house has many rooms' anti-immigrant Mr Cameron?
What happened to, 'You are your brother's keeper' self interested Mr Brown?
What happened to, 'Love your neighbour as yourself' warmonger Mr Blair?
To this extent the three stooges are similar - they pay lip service to the faith they claim to be upholding. Maybe this is the point of any religion recognised within the state as the one 'true' religion it is, as described by Karl Marx, the opiate of the masses whether the established Church of England, the disestablished Church of Scotland, Jewish Orthodoxy, Islamic mainstream or the fiefdom of the Bishop of Rome. UK politicians make use of these organisations of faith and belief to justify the unjustifiable, to seek to give some sort of moral fig leaf to their actions and to give their anti-social policies some credence, often just short of claiming it is 'God's will'.
The strange thing, in a UK which is now predominantly secular in its outlook, is folk still seem to buy this nonsense without stopping to consider the dichotomy of who they see themselves as (a mainly Christian Country) against what the core statement of Christian belief is; 'Love you neighbour as yourself' and its other great injunction, 'Be aware of false prophets'. Yet who is more a hater of neighbours and a small time false Messiah than your average UK Westminster political leader?
If the 'God of Abraham' is around and active where is the writing on the wall, the plague of frogs or the smiting of the modern day Sodom and Gomorrah that is the City of London? Why is Mr Cameron not turned into a pillar of salt every time he turns back on his word?
As an atheist the logic of why 'God' does not interfere is clear, it is because 'God' does not exist except to fill an existential 'what are we about' hole in most people's psyche as they seek for a greater purpose for our short lives rather than just a perverse way of keeping our human genome going (or not) by filling in with a side story to explain what we consider unexplainable. After all few of us still believe Earth is carried through space by a giant man, do we?
Politicians also address the same existential 'God' hole in the average psyche then manipulate it for their own, their funders and their supporters best interests with tales of bright moral baubles and the churn of a better future which is never just quite here; but it will be someday, honest; a future heaven on earth, if you will.
The sad thing is time and time again the majority of the UK electorate buy this circular argument, time after time. It is almost as if, just like the idea of the UK being a Christian Country, they are scared to let go and look reality in the face. UK politics is in a state of decay and one good stamp from the UK electorate will see it fall faster than the 'Walls of Jericho'. Yet too many of the UK electorate prefer to kneel in supplication, reading from their UK media prayer books and ignore the reality that nothing happens until you get up off your knees and make it happen.
'God' did not cleanse the Temple in Jerusalem, men did. If we wish to clean up UK politics there is no good waiting on some reforming Godot, we will have to do it for ourselves.
