'The United Kingdom Has Gone Mad' is the title of the article.
The problem with holding out for a perfect Brexit plan is that you can’t fix stupid.
Here are the last two paragraphs of the article. They could easily be written about the current state of the Irish Dominicans.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/0
The problem with holding out for a perfect Brexit plan is that you can’t fix stupid.
Here are the last two paragraphs of the article. They could easily be written about the current state of the Irish Dominicans.
"Sorry to be so despondent, but I went to graduate school here on a Marshall scholarship from the British government, was married here and started as a journalist on Fleet Street in London. I like the place. But this is not the reasonably competent British government I grew up with.
"It’s being led by a ship of fools — a Conservative Party bloc that is now radical in its obsession with leaving Europe and a Labour Party that has gone Marxist. If the people here can’t force their politicians to compromise with one another and with reality (there’s still a glimmer of hope that this might happen), there is going to be a crackup of the British political system and some serious economic pain. This is scary."
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/0
Rheinhard Mey is a German songmaker born in 1942. He released in 1998 his song 'Das Narrenschiff' which was his very personal "Report on the State of the Nation". It made sense at the time and it makes even more sense nowadays!
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Lz_qPvKCsg
Ship of Fools
It's getting cold, all signs indicate a storm
There's only stupid giggling and nagging from the command tower
And a dull grinding sound from the engine.
Rolling and pounding and heavy seas
The band is playing a joyous song
And mad laughter is heard from the latrine.
The cargo is rotten, the papers are fake
The bilge pumps leak and the sheets are blocked
The hatches wide open and all alarm bells are ringing.
The waves are crashing six-foot high into the loading bay
And St Elms fires are seen on the bay deck
Yet nobody on board is able to understand the signs!
The helmsman lies, the captain is drunk
And the machinist is sunk into dull lethargy
The crew are just perjured bandits,
The radio operator is too cowardly to send an SOS
Kobolds are leading the fools' ship
Full steam ahead for the reef!
On the horizon, the signs of the times are signaling
Perfidy, greed, vanity.
On the bridge, idiots are gawking.
Sharp-toothed sharks are fishing in the murky waters
Bringing their prey to tax havens
To the sand bank, the well-known treasure island.
The others, money launderers and pimps, are already waiting
Brothel king and gambling baron
In the bright light, nobody has to sneak around in the dark
In the banana republic, where even the president
Has lost all shame and knows no scruples,
To show himself with the tax thief in public.
The helmsman lies, the captain is drunk
And the machinist is sunk into dull lethargy
The crew are just perjured bandits,
The radio operator is too cowardly to send an SOS
Kobolds are leading the fools' ship
Full steam ahead for the reef!
People have become brown-nosers, have gotten used to it.
All our ideals have drowned
And the great rebel, who never tired of fighting
Became a servile, poisonous gnome
And tamely sings songs to the bad old man in Rome
It's true: times change!
Formerly wild young men are now submissive, devout and tame
Bought out, anesthetized and unable to fly
With little velvet paws in exchange for their once so sharp claws.
And vain old men arrogantly present themselves
With far too young women on the upper deck
They warm their flaccid limbs and pre-chew their food.
The helmsman lies, the captain is drunk
And the machinist is sunk into dull lethargy
The crew are just perjured bandits,
The radio operator is too cowardly to send an SOS
Kobolds are leading the fools' ship
Full steam ahead for the reef!
They are arming themselves against the enemy, but the enemy has long been here.
He has his hand on your throat, he is right behind you.
He shuffles marked cards, protected by law.
Everyone can see it, but all look away
And shady characters emerge from their hiding-places
And deals drugs right in front of the kindergarten.
The lookout shouts from the highest mast: it's the end of times!
But all are petrified and don't hear him.
They move like lemmings, mindless hordes.
It is as if all have lost their mind
Committed themselves to the downfall and decline
And a ghost light has become their beacon.
The helmsman lies, the captain is drunk
And the machinist is sunk into dull lethargy
The crew are just perjured bandits,
The radio operator is too cowardly to send an SOS
Kobolds are leading the fools' ship
Full steam ahead for the reef!
https://lyricstranslate.com/en/das-narrenschiff-ship-fools.html
Thomas L Friedman, the author of this piece, has won the Pulitzer prize three times already in his career. He's not just any other journalist
ReplyDeleteOne of the major causes of the whole Brexit mess is that the great majority of British politicians, including May and Corbyn, are following their own personal or political agendas, rather than doing the jobs they are elected to do, which is to care for the best interests of their country. This is particularly true of Mrs May and her cabinet, who exercise power and thus must take responsibility.
And of course, the same is true for all those who hold positions of authority within the Catholic Church.