Owning our values
A leading man of letters has written several memoirs that serve as record of the values of folks of my parents’ generation. In at least a couple of those books, he outlined very clearly what it was like to be a child who grew up in the same time and place as my parents.
When I read those books, I realised many attitudes and practices have been retained for most of the last century at least. Some of my contemporaries would probably like to feign unawareness of the values in question, because they would prefer to be associated with another cultural model. Everyone has a choice in the matter.
What does this have to do with politics at Westminster? Some of the members of the current government are probably faced with a situation where they might be unable to be their authentic selves when they participate in meetings and deliberations.
They were selected in order to make a point about being a Brexiteer. Photographs and video clips can be circulated to give the impression that the Leavers are not insular in their thinking. Since the proof of the pudding is in the eating, it was interesting to observe the way matters were handled when someone who occupies a leading office of state was disregarded about a choice made to fire one of his aides, by those who pull the strings.
Will there be a time when we’ll all feel comfortable enough to fully be ourselves in the public arena? The jury is still out in this regard.
