Keeping a perspective

As the country prepares to remember those who have made the ultimate sacrifice, the news today contains a familiar mix of the serious, the scandalous and the pointless. Because so much time has now elapsed since the Great War and the Second World War, it is all too easy to lose sight of the sheer waste of human life. I often struggle to understand the true legacy of such pointless sacrifice.

The current situation in Syria is a timely reminder of what happens to real people when war happens. Nobody ever wins and the human cost is tragic. It isn't just war either as evidenced by the recent events in the Philippines. I heard a marvellous quotation yesterday which was attributed to no less a person than the Dalai Lama. He is reputed to have said that "to be born and given life is the greatest miracle of all and the challenge is to decide how to make the most of that gift". Although this is so obvious in so many ways, it's not always apparent when we look around us.

In Wales, two thirds of men and women over the age of 40 are now obese. This is marginally worse than Scotland. To compromise our health in such a way doesn't suggest an appreciation of the gift of life. Instead, it speaks of a life of futility lived with little hope or aspiration beyond the next calorie laden feast. If our lives really were so precious, we would surely want to live them for as long as possible in the best possible health. Why is it then that so many engage in consumption harmful to their health?

Our government has this week fallen in to a very dangerous trap. If the Tories are to have any chance of being the next government in their own right, their best chance is for Alex Salmond to win the vote for Scottish Independence. Should the latter happen, and I believe it is becoming more and more likely, a Cameron led Tory government would be left with enough egg on it's face to make a rather large omelette. Their decision this week to end ship building in Portsmouth after half a millenium has left all their ship building options North of the Border. This smacks of an ill thought out move to try and scupper the SNP gaining independence. If they fail to gain independence, Milliband is as good as home and dry and I shudder to think where that will leave us. If they gain independence, the Union will be gone and divided we will fall.

It was this morning announced that BT has been awarded a huge contract to screen live football matches from the Premier League. As this has become the nearest thing we now have to a religion, it is at least pleasing to see Mr Murdoch having lost out for a change. That doesn't follow that the new devil will be an improvement on the old though as the whole process is being driven by vast amounts of money. Whenever that is the case, the customer usually comes off second best. Watch this space.

So how much have we learned since those two world wars? This week saw the publicity seeking Russell Brand calling for people to not bother voting. Such action brought us the likes of Hitler so one would have to question the intellectual basis of such an argument. I hope we remember the war dead tomorrow because that is the bare minimum we can do.