Reviews and Decisions, and great Opportunity

This week, here in the UK, decisions resulting from reviews of national security, defence and national spending are being announced, and the decisions arising will change the image, structure and behaviour of the country more fundamentally than anything we have experienced since the 1920s.

It is a great opportunity to strip away the illusion of nostalgia for a bygone age and to accept ourselves for who and what we are now. We can look at how our society operates, how much of it is fair, where there is imbalance, what we really need and how to achieve it. For example, this is a small country which is no longer an empire, so why should we try to be a major world presence militarily? Perhaps a smaller force sufficient to defend our interests and help others where we can is enough now.

By the end of this week there will be heated and divided opinion on what has been announced. If we can look at the reaction with discernment, seeing what is subjectively driven, what is driven by memory of what was in the good old days, and what is realistic and well-judged, it will help to see the changes with wisdom and perspective and to assist the ultimate aim of moving the country forward into a new era of equality and altruism.