Well, here I am another year older although not necessarily wiser. November the 5th is part of our cultural heritage and continues to inflame Catholics with its blatant portrayals of the Pope being burned in the form of a Guy. Although many assume the Guy to represent Gudio Fawkes, it actually represents the figurehead of the Catholic faith which inspired the plot to blow up Houses of Parliament. As such, November the 5th is forever synonymous with protest.
I was born in 1968 which is forever associated with protest and revolution. The year began with the Czech revolution in the form of the Prague spring. On April 4th, the greatest post war orator, Dr Martin Luther King was assassinated and on June 5th, the brother of John F Kennedy suffered the same fate. Enoch Powell delivered his "Rivers of Blood" speech which continues to cause divisions today. On June 19th, 50,000 people descended on Washington DC in a poor march while their fellow countrymen continued to fight a war in Vietnam which nobody really wanted.
On this very day in 1917, the October Revolution took place in which the Provisional government was overthrown in Estonia. This marked the beginning of the Russian Revolution.
The date and year of my birth are therefore strongly associated with revolution, protest, assassination and war. Although I'm not violent myself, I do identify with the protests. I admire anybody who has the courage to stand up for what they believe in. They often do so in the face of considerable resistance. This just makes them even more impressive in my eyes. Few have impressed me more than Dr. Martin Luther King who continues to inspire people nearly half a century after his tragic death.
In truth, November 5th has fallen victim to the sterility of our times in which large public firework displays predominate in our age of health and safety. You'd be hard pushed to see a Guy but I did hear word of an effigy of the HS2 train being burned in Northamptonshire at the weekend. Perhaps the spirit of protest is alive and kicking after all. I certainly hope so.
In my childhood, Christmas wasn't even spoken of at this time of year. Due to the plague of marketing and our decision to but in to it, it's now difficult to avoid mention of Christmas. When I was little, it meant something and churches were full. It seems now as though a new God has emerged and Nietschze, for all his cynicism, was right. Maybe now is the time of year to fight back with a new revolution. Not a revolution of anarchy as recently espoused by Russel Brand, but a revolution in morality and humanity. I'd fight for that.
I remember going to the operating theatre for my kidney transplant in 2005 and wondering what the future might hold for me. I have been lucky beyond my wildest expectations and thank God for my good fortune.
Heigh ho! It's back to work I go...
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