The Old Gaffer

A big mistake
In fact, a gigantic one. I was fool enough to believe that advertising garbage, probably because I wanted to. I have always been interested in having high quality sound in audio equipment, and as my hearing deteriorated with time, the thought of having all the television programmes in high-definition, was irresistible. It must be remembered that I was a radar technician 60 years ago, and have, to some extent, kept up with developments in technology, a voyeur on the sidelines. It seemed to me when I heard of HD, that some form of filter would be quite reasonable to iron out the problems in speech patterns and excessive noise, the latter in the electronic sense. Recently I had a problem with my computer produced by a faulty download, which seriously wrecked some parts of the equipment. I got in touch with the programmers who had obviously had this problem before, they proceeded to control the cursor on my computer as it whisked around the screen deleting changing or adding as it saw fit.

It is not surprising then that realising that HD is coming relatively soon, that I decided to upgrade my equipment and install HD. It was only when I got it that I realised that I had been suckered and what I really had was high-definition with a relatively few selected programmes over which I had no control. I have found the controls less simple than previously, and the indicator lights are so tiny I can’t see them 10 feet away. Granted, I wear spectacles, but when the indicator lights are essential, one would think that they should not be missed
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I was very happy with my previous Skye system, it did practically all that I wanted, and this new one does things differently, but I believe no better. Today I found that I could not record or play recordings, for some technical reason, I was instructed to telephone, and was then talked to by a young lady, probably on the subcontinent, who spoke very fast and I had difficulty following her. Add to this the fact that I was trying to juggle with a remote control, the telephone, follow these instructions until in the end she had had enough of me and decided that she would arrange for some technician to come and help me, in five days time. When you consider what the technician managed with the computer, I’m amazed something along these lines is also possible, so that all fuddy-duddies, like me, who find it difficult to go anywhere, and are really dependent on television to access the outside world, would get some consideration

I believe that I have been taken on, by advertising blurb, where the facts have been subverted, and any advantage highlighted out of all proportion. I regret sincerely ever having exchanged my television set for this new monster

Big mistake!

My response
Reading the comments in the post below, no one could doubt the quality of thought, the determination of ideal, and the sincerity with which those ideals are held. I have taken a census of relatives and friends who have been senior officers in the army and have served in war situations, and it is interesting to find that in general they have the same outlook. They are not prepared to accept that there could be change; is currently every country must spend a vast sum of money just in case someone decides to invade them, or that nations together will act as policeman on any nation that might have reprehensible intentions

To me, this is the mindset of not only the army and the politicians, it is also that of the population at large. This I believe is where some change must be wrought to overcome this mindset, in the face of such carnage, useless expense, and ultimately in down grading the lives of so many for so long. When you consider the way the advertisers can make people believe, in many cases, boasts that are clearly based on a miniscule of fact and blown up to gigantic proportions in order to sell a product, when one thinks of the cost of advertising, manufacture and distribution, it is evidently a paying proposition. I therefore believe that there should be inaugurated World Wide Web sites in every language, and in many guises, showing the futility of war, in all its facets. In particular the waste that is so unproductive. People Power is sometimes mobilised, but never on more than parochial a scale. What I am proposing is that groups of people in every country should form to persuade their countryman that their leaders must find an alternative to war, and combine with other countries to sustain this theory to a level that even the thought of going to war, when other solutions are eminently possible, would be an anathema. . Surely it is the responsibility of the members of every nation to question the validity of the ideal, the mindset, set out above, and insist that their leaders search every avenue to avoid resorting to war. As I have said in my proposal there are unscrupulous people with their own agenda that conflict could well ensue. It is for this reason that I propose a worldwide police force of military capability, subscribed to, in every sense, nationwide.

I fondly believe that although I shan’t see it, the Internet will have such influence in the long run, that what I suggest not only is a possibility, but so obvious it will become a fact.

Authors note. I apologise to my regular readers for not having contributed in recent weeks but I’m afraid that my Sophie is so ill that I have little time and energy to think about political things. However I had a wonderful reply to my proposal which I now propose to post for your information, followed by my reply.

1.. Middle Aged Spread Says: February 2nd, 2010 at 11:12 pm Dear Old Gaffer,
I read parts one and two of your unusual proposition with great interest. Having knocked a few heads together over the past 20 years I’m qualified in a small way to respond - and thanks for the chance to do so.
I agree with your sentiments as to the ultimate futility of war on so many levels; I agree it would be wonderful if war were obsolete. Sadly war has and always will be with us, ususally on about a ten year cycle for the last century or so. And whilst the collective police (UN etc) do exist, politicians cannot agree sufficiently to trust their national fate to the collective (and I dont really blame them). There will always be the irrational and often unpredictable fanatic who will, on either a small or a large scale, seek to enforce their will on others (usually those weaker than them). In my view turning the other cheek doesnt work against these sorts of people.
Therefore having the means to defend against and defeat threats is, in my view, essential for all our wellbeing. Developing a political class who understand the realities of their decisions and trusting in them to only use the military means for the right reason, at the right time and in the right measure is quite another thing! Thank goodness in the UK we have strong military leaders to keep the politicians honest!
Finally I would make the point that military power has proven its worth as a deterrent and as a means of achieving the political ends. Without the military intervention and support to the Police in Ulster I believe the IRA may not have been brought to the negotiating table quite so soon. War is after all, politics by other means - sometimes the only way to move on is to, literally, fight it out. War is not, and never should be, the desired goal but is often a means to a more peaceful and stable end. Soldiers know this. They also share your healthy scepticism of politicians. But as we all know soldiers fight and die for the mates beside them and to make a positive difference in foresaken parts of the world (at home and abroad) when politicians fail; and politicians are always going to fail at some point!