Same Sex Marriage

Rainbow flag. Symbol of gay pride. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Now I know that this is ‘old news’ but it is something that is very important to me, so much so that even a month after the Same Sex Marriage Bill passed Parliament and became legislation, I thought I should still quickly write and say Thank You! A lot of people made this bill pass through Parliament, firstly (and this feels VERY odd, and I wish to be corrected if they were not the introducers) the government, then all the MPs including all the Sheffield MPs (even Nick) who voted in favor and all the Lords who voted in favor. And mostly to all the charities who have raised this issue long before the bill.

I suppose that the day I heard the bill had passed will stick with me, and many other LGBT people, for the rest of their lives, as the moment they were granted another form of equality. But don’t get me wrong, the LGBT movement, just like any minority movement, still has a long way too go.

Thank You,

Ben

Related articles

• Gay marriage moves step towards becoming law after bill clears Parliament (express.co.uk)
• Queen Gives Her Blessing; Same-Sex Marriages to Begin in UK (advocate.com)
• Gay Couple To Sue Church Of England For Marriage Rights (albanytribune.com)
• Same Sex Marriage is a must, but it doesn’t go far enough (theupandcomingwriters.wordpress.com)
• Same-sex marriage set to clear final hurdle in UK House of Commons (cnn.com)
• UK’s Gay Marriage Law Clears Parliament (abcnews.go.com)

Hmmm…TV versus Books?

Evening Readers! I would like to pose a question, do you prefer books or do you prefer TV? I decided to write about this topic because of the massive changes in technology over the last few decades, in fact over the last few years, which are changing our lives beyond recognition. My generation (don’t forget I am only 18) is the first generation to grow up with the Internet, TV and mobile phones to name a few. Technology is practically ingrained into our lives now. Whereas my parents and even my older sister (25) has see the development of technology which is getting faster and faster.

Even though I could say a lot more about this topic, I’m focusing on books because of the threat to them. In answer to my own question I posed at the beginning of this post, I love books and I love to read. TV doesn’t even compare to the power and wonder books can bring. One of my earliest memories is of my dad reading books to me every night and I fell in love with how books and stories can capture your imagination. Due to reading a lot when I was younger, I can now read very fast (several books in a day when I’m not busy) and by the age of 11 I was reading adult fiction books. I’m probably making you think I’m a nerd or whatever; I didn’t just read, don’t worry. However I think this has set me apart from quite a few members of my generation, I know many people my age who don’t read at all, they much prefer TV.

Don’t get me wrong, I do like well made TV (yes, soaps do not class as well made) and sometimes it’s nice when you don’t want to do anything but just relax. Most of the time I find it incredibly boring though, I imagine plenty of people disagree and find reading boring too. However I find it boring because it’s not very active in the same ways reading is. When your reading, you can let your imagination take over and you can put yourself in the story. With TV you just can’t do that.

I am probably being slightly harsh on TV here but with one in five adult Americans unable to read, scary considerings its one of the most developed countries in the world. We have a reading epidemic. However there is some great TV like Doctor Who, Sherlock Holmes, Broadchurch, Game of Thrones etc which I could happily watch and do. Plus don’t forget all the great documentaries on the TV as well. All in all, books will always have a special place in my heart and we should encourage more people to read books (even if it’s on a e-reader device or borrowed from a library) but TV can be a nice addition to our lives; depending on what you watch. Socialist Number 1 signing off. 🙂

Is Activism Dead?

Last week Socialist No. 2 and I went to a lecture on this very topic – is activism dead? Now I’m only a college student but was able to go because nobody checks your name or age. You know your at a university lecture when people are making jokes about dissertations. Socialist No. 2 and I were the only non-university students there (as always); which was quite intimidating especially when they’re asking very complicated questions about people and groups you’ve never heard of. However i really enjoyed it. I thought it’s a really interesting question especially in the day and age of the Internet, 24 hour news and instant communication.

The lecture consisted of a panel of four, two were activists or ran activist organisations and the other two were academics from the university of Sheffield, it was obviously quite academical and even though all the panelists said activism wasn’t dead, I think that they missed important points. So I have decided to write my own view.

I think that when people talk about activism, they often mean the people participating in democracy in the fullest extent that they can. For example protests and petitions. The Ian Duncan Smith petition is a major example of that over 460,000 people signed that petition for Ian Duncan Smith to live on £53 a week in less than 5 days, it is one of the fastest growing petitions or the fastest growing petition in the UK ever. I would class this as activism, people obviously care enough about an issue to let there feelings be known and try to make a change (though this petition just shows the obvious distaste for politicians by the public, I think). And in counties like Egypt, the world has seen a new revolutionary spirit in the Arab spring; spread by the Internet and the power of the people’s voice.

But is there something more? Activism is about change, changing or trying to change something usually using democratic means. The world isn’t perfect, there are always things that people are trying to change so in that sense activism can never die (though don’t get me wrong unfortunately it can be restricted). However I think a society needs more than activism, it needs engagement. Activism is a part of engagement but it ignores the importance of having community bonds and doing things not because you want to change it but only for the sake of keeping society going. As Aristotle once said when people are no longer taking part in democracy (or society), it will wither and die.

I think we could learn an important lesson from that. Engagement is the simple things like talking to your neighbours and helping out at your local schools and charities. Things we do everyday like using public roads and parks with the decency of not littering etc. Activism is important but we shouldn’t forget that pure engagement at a everyday level is often a lot more valuable.
Socialist number one signing off. 🙂

Related articles

• 450,000 sign IDS ‘£53’ petition (standard.co.uk)
• Don’t Forget the #wowpetition! (neitshade.wordpress.com)

BBC’s The Village! Does it has resonance?