Written by Christopher Hyde
As I begin this article, it's hard to put exactly into words how I'm feeling about the current state of the world. It's too easy to compare the Fall of Rome and the events of the 1920's and 30's which led to the Second World War. Yes there are a lot of comparisons and I do agree that we are shifting towards uncomfortable territory. It's strange to think that over eighty years ago we knew the beast we were fighting against. We knew that the ideals of the Axis powers were incompatible with the emerging Western values. But now it feels different. It feels as if what we were fighting against, what our grandfathers fought against has been able to infect our society.
It doesn't help that nowadays the mainstream media is clogged up with pundits throwing their views around as if they mean anything, whilst having such a narrow view of the world they know. I don't know anyone in my generation who truly watches the news anymore because they either don't believe it's true or are just too exhausted by having everything thrown at them since they entered adulthood.
And yet society is deeply divided. We can no longer have productive discussions and debates around political or philosophical issues. They become weaponized as soon as the words get an ounce of oxygen. You are either Left or Right, there's no room to be open to both.
I don't agree with that thought. While it's true that most of my own beliefs stem from left wing ideals, I don't always agree with everything. I do believe in equal rights, I do believe in a more tolerant and inclusive society, I myself am Autistic and have witnessed the vile nature of bigots and ableist people.
But I also believe that the right have some good points on economics, we should have a society that everyone who can work should work.
Does that make me a centrist? If you believe so then it should. But I don't like political labels, I don't think shoehorning people into a binary LEFT or RIGHT perspective helps. That's why when anyone calls me a centrist, a lefty, a communist (which was hilarious), or even a right-wing nutjob I tend to immediately discredit anything further they have to say. They lost the argument the moment they decided to name call me.
So going into 2024 I have an impending sense of trepidation. I can foresee society becoming further divided and as I've predicted, we are close to either a civil war or a third world war. I don't know which is more comforting, or which is worse.
Labour winning in July should have filled me with hope, even though I could see through Starmer's weak pitch to become Prime Minister I expected at least some form of relief. How wrong I was. I didn't vote Labour, as I've never voted for either of the two main parties that strangle our democracy, falsely claiming that they represent us when actually they were bought out ages ago and behind closed doors.
That's what's truly shocked me about Labour's first months in office (since 2010). They presented themselves as for "working people" a term so vague it looks like it was plucked from the politics dictionary on useless buzzwords. They've done the opposite to support anyone and everyone in this country. Going after the elderly, then the disabled and sick, then came the farmers turn to be shafted. It reminded me of the Martin Niemöller poem "First They Came".
It's important not to give up at times like this. I know it's easier read than said and done but I truly believe that instead of giving up, we need to look towards the future. What kind of world do we all want to live in? How can we understand our opponents views and them understand ours? In a time of deep division we need to put ideology and footballification of politics (a James O' Brien term) to one side and learn to empathise. I'm not just saying this to right leaning people but left leaning too.
How did we get here? I don't mean in terms of the last fourteen years but in general. We like to think of society as competitive but it isn't. A truly civilised society depends on collaboration.
So going into 2024 that is our mission. We won't bend to "impartiality", we will tell the truth on whatever is going on. Our main mission is to say "to hell with sides, lets just try and correct the mistakes we've made".
It's an ambitious and some may say naive idea but I don't see an alternative. Either we go further into division and create a civil war, or we stand up for everyone (and I truly mean everyone) and hash things out.
So from everyone here at Keziah Hyde Media, thank you for supporting us, thank you for reading our reviews, watching our short films and listening to our podcast. We hope to bring you more of the best in the coming year. If you'd like to support us further please consider donating. We currently have a Patreon type system (which is cheaper than Netflix) where your monthly donations give you exclusive perks to behind the scenes peeks, lessons on making your own media and much, much more!
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year!
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