Apart from the crossword I am finding very little to challenge me when I read the newspapers.
Headline after headline tells me again and again about Trump, Brexit and the woes of this woeful Government.
Trump is of course doing what he has always done. He does deals and on his reality TV show he fires people so there is little new there.
The question of whether he will be impeached is constantly debated.
The links with Russia are implied but whether there are ghosts in the machine only Mr Mueller is placed to discover.
Brexit continues to tease the public mind.
Eurosceptics continue in their attempts to run the debate and therefore the show.
The europhiles continue to argue their case in the hope that the show will stall and a new referendum will ensure that Brexit is kicked into the long grass.
We have it seems a Government which can do nothing well, from the NHS to the Railways and beyond, led by a hapless leader, who, having surrendered a majority continues to Govern, almost but not quite, in absentia.
The BBC clearly has issues also.
The news is not news, neither is it 'fake' news, it is partial reporting of some of the events, filed under Trump. Brexit and a Government which has it in its sights.
So I continue to read fiction.
And currently theology.
The Gods are silent.
The Gods have no view at all on Trump, Brexit or the Government.
So they remain silent, leaving us to ponder as best we can on the meaning of their silence, of course within the churches there are those who claim that they know the mind of God, according to whichever strand of faith the belong to or emerge from, S/HE is for or against Trump, for or against Brexit/ for or against the governments treatment of the poor, the disabled or the homeless, but I am no longer convinced by these arguments.
If the Gods are silent it is because they, S/HE, chooses to remain silent probably thinking to him or herself, another fine mess you got yourselves into!
So the difficult challenge of calling to confession, both proclaiming a word into the mess as well as acknowledging responsibility for the mess, remains.
Somewhere in amongst all the messiness I find myself reflecting that Trump, Brexit and this woeful Government are themselves signs of the times.
It is as though we have moved beyond hope to hopelessness.
The virtues of character were somehow not thought to be so important after all.
The ability of capitalism to deliver a fair and just society was challenged.
The need for a Government to govern with justice and equity was downgraded.
The surging ahead felt little or no need to be concerned about the falling behind.
So we are left with a profound sense of despair.
In America Steve Bannon speaks of a 'global existential war', which will be a fourth turning point and a crisis of huge significance for the nations.
In Europe Brexit has become a symbol for creating a new independence from an institution that is led by unelected eurocrats and technicians who have no genuine political mandate. As Tony Benn said, of anyone in power, the question to be asked is who gave you the power and how can you have that power withdrawn?
So we muddle on amidst the silence of the Gods.
We assume that things will get better. That in three years time Trump will b e trumped by a 'democrat'? The campaign has already started!
That after Brexit the M20 will not become a giant lorry park. That planes will continue to fly and that (for the writer at least) pensions will continue to be paid.
Headline after headline tells me again and again about Trump, Brexit and the woes of this woeful Government.
Trump is of course doing what he has always done. He does deals and on his reality TV show he fires people so there is little new there.
The question of whether he will be impeached is constantly debated.
The links with Russia are implied but whether there are ghosts in the machine only Mr Mueller is placed to discover.
Brexit continues to tease the public mind.
Eurosceptics continue in their attempts to run the debate and therefore the show.
The europhiles continue to argue their case in the hope that the show will stall and a new referendum will ensure that Brexit is kicked into the long grass.
We have it seems a Government which can do nothing well, from the NHS to the Railways and beyond, led by a hapless leader, who, having surrendered a majority continues to Govern, almost but not quite, in absentia.
The BBC clearly has issues also.
The news is not news, neither is it 'fake' news, it is partial reporting of some of the events, filed under Trump. Brexit and a Government which has it in its sights.
So I continue to read fiction.
And currently theology.
The Gods are silent.
The Gods have no view at all on Trump, Brexit or the Government.
So they remain silent, leaving us to ponder as best we can on the meaning of their silence, of course within the churches there are those who claim that they know the mind of God, according to whichever strand of faith the belong to or emerge from, S/HE is for or against Trump, for or against Brexit/ for or against the governments treatment of the poor, the disabled or the homeless, but I am no longer convinced by these arguments.
If the Gods are silent it is because they, S/HE, chooses to remain silent probably thinking to him or herself, another fine mess you got yourselves into!
So the difficult challenge of calling to confession, both proclaiming a word into the mess as well as acknowledging responsibility for the mess, remains.
Somewhere in amongst all the messiness I find myself reflecting that Trump, Brexit and this woeful Government are themselves signs of the times.
It is as though we have moved beyond hope to hopelessness.
The virtues of character were somehow not thought to be so important after all.
The ability of capitalism to deliver a fair and just society was challenged.
The need for a Government to govern with justice and equity was downgraded.
The surging ahead felt little or no need to be concerned about the falling behind.
So we are left with a profound sense of despair.
In America Steve Bannon speaks of a 'global existential war', which will be a fourth turning point and a crisis of huge significance for the nations.
In Europe Brexit has become a symbol for creating a new independence from an institution that is led by unelected eurocrats and technicians who have no genuine political mandate. As Tony Benn said, of anyone in power, the question to be asked is who gave you the power and how can you have that power withdrawn?
So we muddle on amidst the silence of the Gods.
We assume that things will get better. That in three years time Trump will b e trumped by a 'democrat'? The campaign has already started!
That after Brexit the M20 will not become a giant lorry park. That planes will continue to fly and that (for the writer at least) pensions will continue to be paid.
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