Last night I joined the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament - 24/10/12
Last night I joined the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and bearing in mind my distaste for politics and distrust of politicians, I thought it was rather interesting to make the decision to join a political movement myself.
Sat in my Daventry kitchen last night, belatedly reading a little more of Saturday’s (20/10/12) Guardian, I came across a full-page advert on page 23 for CND. The advert was placed to coincide with the austerity demonstrations/protests taking place in London over last weekend. The advert dealt with the topic of the Trident missile system replacement costing the UK tax payer £100 billion and that expenditure representing a huge budget cut that could be made without the British public feeling the pain at all.
It is rare for me to read an advert and take action on the spot but last night I found CND’s argument compelling enough to reflect and then visit the organisation’s website to read some more about its activities. And I found that CND’s position on a number of subjects, including nuclear power, resonated with me. I have written about Fukushima and nuclear weapons fears before and last night I decided to put my money where my mouth is (or perhaps where my pen/keyboard is).
Will membership turn me into some kind of banner waving, aggressive, subversive, preacher type determined to convert all to my way of thinking?
No, I can't see it!
As an early 40s, educated, middle class, Guardian reading parent, my personal protest will be limited to funding (£24 so far), letter writing and the occasional rally attendance. Happily CND is committed to peaceful protest, as opposed to rioting, and this definitely suits me.
The reason that I dislike politicians (particularly at cabinet levels) is that there isn’t a shred of altruism amongst any of them. I genuinely don’t believe that our senior politicians have any agenda other than a personal one and no interest in the constituents they have been elected to represent. There is little interest in policies that outlast the next round of elections and senior politicians are rarely even experts of their own portfolios.
To me politics is about egotism, point scoring, blame shifting, sound bites, PR skills, and nest feathering (it’s even worse in the States where it is also about theatre and the size of the election campaign purse). I am clearly cynical but U-turns, apologies, resignations, expenses scandals, fair dodging, extra marital affairs and court cases all fuel my cynicism.
I think that CND is different, it has a limited remit and it is made up of members that genuinely believe what they are standing up for. It’s not fashionable, it’s not cool, it’s not funny, it might not even be that efficient or effective but it has been enduring, has been consistent, has a brand that is immediately recognisable and presents an important viewpoint that must not be ignored. The protest movement is not made up of people with a need for celebrity or financial gain; it is made up of people like me! This is politics that I can support and get involved with and not feel hypocritical!
From a personal perspective, CND is just as relevant now as it was in the 60s, 70s and 80s. It’s a fact that the nuclear threat has been back in the spotlight recently with the anniversary of the Cuban missile crisis, ex UK missile sites getting buildings heritage status, the Spanish pushing the Americans for a more thorough clean up at Palomares, Scottish independence and the UK nuclear arsenal locations, not to mention the chaos at Fukushima.
But don’t worry, I won’t use my website for preaching CND viewpoints because you’d be better served by visiting CND’s own web space and making up your own mind. The materials provided are not over-zealous rants, they are informed, reasoned, well researched/presented and sobering. So with that in mind, I will provide links and occasionally direct my readers to material I think is worth reading.
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Sat in my Daventry kitchen last night, belatedly reading a little more of Saturday’s (20/10/12) Guardian, I came across a full-page advert on page 23 for CND. The advert was placed to coincide with the austerity demonstrations/protests taking place in London over last weekend. The advert dealt with the topic of the Trident missile system replacement costing the UK tax payer £100 billion and that expenditure representing a huge budget cut that could be made without the British public feeling the pain at all.
It is rare for me to read an advert and take action on the spot but last night I found CND’s argument compelling enough to reflect and then visit the organisation’s website to read some more about its activities. And I found that CND’s position on a number of subjects, including nuclear power, resonated with me. I have written about Fukushima and nuclear weapons fears before and last night I decided to put my money where my mouth is (or perhaps where my pen/keyboard is).
Will membership turn me into some kind of banner waving, aggressive, subversive, preacher type determined to convert all to my way of thinking?
No, I can't see it!
As an early 40s, educated, middle class, Guardian reading parent, my personal protest will be limited to funding (£24 so far), letter writing and the occasional rally attendance. Happily CND is committed to peaceful protest, as opposed to rioting, and this definitely suits me.
The reason that I dislike politicians (particularly at cabinet levels) is that there isn’t a shred of altruism amongst any of them. I genuinely don’t believe that our senior politicians have any agenda other than a personal one and no interest in the constituents they have been elected to represent. There is little interest in policies that outlast the next round of elections and senior politicians are rarely even experts of their own portfolios.
To me politics is about egotism, point scoring, blame shifting, sound bites, PR skills, and nest feathering (it’s even worse in the States where it is also about theatre and the size of the election campaign purse). I am clearly cynical but U-turns, apologies, resignations, expenses scandals, fair dodging, extra marital affairs and court cases all fuel my cynicism.
I think that CND is different, it has a limited remit and it is made up of members that genuinely believe what they are standing up for. It’s not fashionable, it’s not cool, it’s not funny, it might not even be that efficient or effective but it has been enduring, has been consistent, has a brand that is immediately recognisable and presents an important viewpoint that must not be ignored. The protest movement is not made up of people with a need for celebrity or financial gain; it is made up of people like me! This is politics that I can support and get involved with and not feel hypocritical!
From a personal perspective, CND is just as relevant now as it was in the 60s, 70s and 80s. It’s a fact that the nuclear threat has been back in the spotlight recently with the anniversary of the Cuban missile crisis, ex UK missile sites getting buildings heritage status, the Spanish pushing the Americans for a more thorough clean up at Palomares, Scottish independence and the UK nuclear arsenal locations, not to mention the chaos at Fukushima.
But don’t worry, I won’t use my website for preaching CND viewpoints because you’d be better served by visiting CND’s own web space and making up your own mind. The materials provided are not over-zealous rants, they are informed, reasoned, well researched/presented and sobering. So with that in mind, I will provide links and occasionally direct my readers to material I think is worth reading.
Home
Return to Observations Home
Visit CND