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Old Holborn and I will take a walk

It is still wonderful to imagine that you can take a walk in South Shields free from the cares of the world, free from intrusion, free to think what you wish and argue against who you like within the bounds of mutual respect, free to take whatever actions you may so long as they do not impinge upon some other soul’s rights. Yet in Brown’s Britain such things need to be kept within the imagination, the plain truth is that there is much we cannot do without the state knowing about it, or involving itself within our daily discourse.

In London for example one is not allowed to protest, march, display banners or posters within Parliament Square, the very hub of our democratic discourse is out of bounds to those wishing to extend their discussions to our politicians, the very people whom Guy Fawkes intended to carry out the most extreme form of protest against. Nobody would suggest, other than in jest, that a gunpowder plot should be the natural course of action for political protest in the 21st century, but such protest as is reasonable ought to be reasonably allowed. Alas, in modern Britain it is not. Even the act of gathering in a large group will be instantly known to the authorities with their network of CCTV cameras and anti-terrorism legislation.

I sincerely wish I was able to be in London tomorrow to join Old Holborn on his walk, to experience a little libertarian stroll through the streets of the capital, instead I will walk from Chichester in South Shields to our Town Hall counting and enumerating the number and position of each and every CCTV camera along the way. My route is only 0.7 miles from the Metro Station to the Town Hall entrance and I shall only be walking on one side of the road, I shall set off at 11:00 am and note what I see, and no doubt someone will note me too. I suggest you find half an hour and take a similar walk tomorrow, you may be surprised at what you see, when you take a closer look.

It is at times like this that we should seriously think about the reasons why we remember November 5th., and think about the liberties and freedoms that we have held dear for so long in the history of our country, and ponder upon why there are so many determined to remove as much as they can in their efforts to cajole and control a population through fear and a distorted view of how to use modern technology.

Security is the byword and liberty is the forgotten hero in our modern tapestry of life.

V for Vendetta is a wonderful fictional film where our hero is a mysterious man of superhuman strength, reflexes, and guile, and in an ending evocative of Guy Fawkes he removes a future totalitarian British government by blowing up the Houses of Parliament and stirs a nation from it’s slumbers. There is a great speech in the film as V takes over the government’s broadcast network, even as a work of fiction it is not all that far removed from the reality of today, here is the transcript:

“Good evening, London.

Allow me first to apologize, for this interruption. I do, like many of you, appreciate the comforts of everyday routine, the security, the familiar, the tranquillity, repetition… I enjoy them as much as any bloke. But in the spirit of commemoration, whereby those important events of the past, usually associated with someone’s death or the end of some awful, bloody struggle, are celebrated with a nice holiday, I thought we could mark this November the 5th, a day that is certainly no longer remembered, by taking some time out of our daily lives to sit down and have a little chat.

There are, of course, those who do not want us to speak. I think that even now orders are been shouted into telephones and men with guns will soon be on their way. Why? Because when the truncheon maybe used in lieu of conversation, words will always retain their power. Words offer the means to meaning, and for those who would listen, the enunciation of the truth. And the truth is, there is something terribly wrong with this country, isn’t there?

Cruelty and injustice, intolerance and oppression, and where once you had the freedom to object, to think and speak as you saw fit, you now have censors and systems of surveillance coercing your conformity and soliciting your submission? How did this happen? Who’s to blame? Well certainly there are those who are more responsible than others, and they will be held accountable, but again, truth be told, if you’re looking for the guilty, you need only look into a mirror.

I know why you did it. I know you were afraid! Who wouldn’t be? War, terror, disease… There were a myriad problems that conspired to corrupt your reason and rob you of your common sense. Fear got the best of you, and in your panic, you turned to the now High Chancellor, Adam Suttler. He promised you order, he promised you peace, and all he demanded in return was your silent, obedient, consent.

Last night, I sought to end that silence. Last night, I destroyed the Old Bailey to remind this country of what it has forgotten. More than 400 years ago, a great citizen wished to embed the 5th of November forever in our memory. His hope was to remind the world that fairness, justice and freedom are more than words, they are perspectives. So if you’ve seen nothing, if the crimes of this government remain unknown to you, then, I would suggest you allow the 5th of November to pass unmarked. But if you see what I see, if you feel as I feel, and if you would seek as I seek, then I ask you to stand beside me, one year from tonight, outside the gates of Parliament, and together we shall give them a 5th of November that shall never, ever, be forgot.”

Replace Adam Suttler’s name with Gordon Brown’s and NuLabour’s dystopian views and you won’t go too wrong.

Here’s a video reminder of the film.

[YouTube=http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=W2ty3b4EBMg]

People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people.

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