I recently wrote to my MP. When I say recently, it was about six months ago, but the wheels of government move very slowly and I’ve only just received a response. To be honest, I’d forgotten all about it.
The topic of my letter was the increasing number of faith schools in the UK. I believe, quite passionately, that children should learn about all religions in order that they can make their own informed choices about which, if any, to adopt. I also think that a broader education would help children see that there are far more similarities between those of different religions than there are differences.
I don’t expect everyone to agree with my views and I know that for some religious belief is very much linked to issues of culture. It’s a complex issue and I’m happy for others to challenge my views, which you can now do, since I’ve put my thoughts out there.
The thing is, the response I finally received today from our MP demonstrates an artistry in bland. Mr Cox manages to say almost nothing about his own opinion on the matter.
Modern day politicians have become masters at saying virtually nothing. I imagine one of today’s politicians giving Winston Churchill’s impassioned “We’ll fight them to the beaches” speech would sound something like this:
“Well, we might fight them on the beaches and that is one option available to us. It’s equally quite possible of course that we’d fight them in villages and or in the streets; but it would be quite irresponsible of me to state categorically, with any certainty, here and now that we would or would not take any particular course of action open to us because, clearly, where and how we choose to fight would depend on the circumstances of the time.”
A report from the National Office for Statistics suggests that despite, or perhaps because of all this empty noise, only 21% of us in the UK trust our government and it’s a figure that seems to be falling steadily.
The thing is, it struck me that we’ve all become a little bit political, hiding our opinions in a cloak of meekness. It’s as though stating an opinion is seen as being akin to fixing our flag to an immoveable post – that we’ll be tarred by that opinion forever. But that’s quite wrong – or it should be. Opinions are like flags, not the poles – they can move and change. By sharing them we invite others to challenge our thinking and through that process we learn.
So, my thought for the day is that differences can be constructive, not destructive. And by exploring those differences with respect and honesty, and helping others to do the same, we not only learn to appreciate difference; we open our own minds to the possibility of change too.