Pistis reclaims International Days (weekending August 24th 2019)

‽istis sat and pondered how things might be different if perhaps, possibly, maybe the link between declaring an ‘international day’[i] and action was just a little more obvious. 

If:

‽ perhaps ‘World Humanitarian Day’ (19^th August) saw a little more ‘kind’ from humankind in whatever circle of influence was available

‽ possibly the ’International Day of Remembrance and Tribute to the Victims of Terrorism’ (August 21^st) saw greater transparency in the web of trade in arms (‘legal’ and illegal) and among those who support or benefit - and even an overt discussion about cause as well as what might be symptom

‽ maybe the 'International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief’ saw dogmatists, disciples and proselytes say ‘possibly, perhaps, maybe’ a little more, consider that there may be more than one ‘way’ and both preach and embody the tolerance of difference and the intolerance of violence and religion or belief as any sort of explanation or excuse       

‽ and the ‘International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and Its Abolition’ saw serious debate and realistic action plans to manage reparations (after all they managed to compensate emancipation)

…and then just imagine how united the nations could be.

©Pistis

---

[i] See: https://www.un.org/en/sections/observances/international-days/ for a list of the 165 named international days across 137 different calendar days observed currently by the United Nations.

Pistis reclaims Electricity (weekending August 17th 2019)

‽istis sat in the dark during a power outage and pondered with wonder, appreciation, guilt, regret and shame how different (the world) might be if just perhaps, possibly, maybe electricity was thought about a little more… 

‽ perhaps by way of shining a spotlight (pun intended) on past and present geopolitical arrangements, on equality and inequality, on wealth and poverty, the control of distribution and the distribution of control – of empires old, new and virtual

‽ possibly by the apparent c.84% of the world’s population that does have access as well as the c.16% (1.2 billion people) that does not[i]   

‽ maybe by those with power to influence debates about public good or private profit and shape policies that retain an apparent bias towards fossil fuels (66.8%  v 16.3% hydro, 4.4% wind, 1.8% solar[ii])

‽ by those who turn on the light in the morning; charge their ‘phones, laptops and tablets; who reject the rechargeable batteries as too expensive; who read the timetable at every bus stop; who both drive through and stop at the lights; who give thanks for incubators and wired up medical equipment; who open the fridge, turn on the microwave, watch the TV and finally set the alarm on the clock (Doomsday or otherwise) and turn out the light    

…And, if it didn’t take an absence to appreciate a usually-present, then what else might be different?

©Pistis

---

[i] Source: World Economic Forum https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/08/milagros-rivas-saiz-electricity-access-sdg7/

[ii] Source: IEA: ‘Electricity Information Overview 2019’ free downloadable publication https://webstore.iea.org/electricity-information-2019-overview

Pistis reclaims the Emergency Services (weekending August 10th 2019)

‽istis Reclaims the Emergency Services (weekending August 10th  2019)

‽istis sat and sung the praises of the emergency services and responders who tragically had to recover a body but rescued others from the sea off Clacton and just perhaps, possibly, maybe… 

‽ helped save a Derbyshire town from having to change its name from Whaley to Wailing Bridge

‽ prevented an attack on another - by stopping a van and stopping a machete

‽ fulfilled their duties despite perhaps feeling like a pawn (or apparently 20,000 pledged pawns) being moved around a political chessboard when a strategic, holistic, carefully-considered, evidenced-based review of the resources needed to protect life and property, preserve order, prevent the commission of offences and bring offenders to justice might be a better plan

‽ did a more than decent job with integrity, good faith and compassion despite the hazards of sometime individual, institutional or systemic problems, the challenge of finite resources and public opprobrium.

How different the world would be if, for better or for worse, the ‘thin line’ was drawn more thickly or in a different place?

© Pistis

Pistis reclaims Humility and Caution (weekending August 3rd 2019)

‽istis reclaims Humility and Caution - (weekending August 3^rd 2019)

‽istis sat and pondered how different the world might be if just* perhaps, possibly, maybe integrity, humility and caution were a little more common and naked enthusiasm and hubris were a little less obvious…

‽ if perhaps public figures said what they meant (‘Brexit means…’ more than the repetition of a possibly contrived noun in a soundbite to shame an undressed Emperor) - and meant what they said undisguised by the aphorisms of a ‘dead language’, bluster, distraction, answering a different question altogether or living and thriving clichés and mantras     

‽ if possibly 52:48 was recognised as a small majority of those who voted rather than ‘the country chose…’

‽ maybe experts (including those with expertise from experience) were indeed valued, and if ‘evidence-based’ (with methodology scrutinised rigorously and due caution applied if reliability and validity can be questioned) was a more significant driver in policy-making - for if expertise and evidence don’t matter what else provides the foundation for policy?

‽ if competence and confidence were balanced so that effectiveness was maximised

‽ if ‘sorry’ was not the hardest word; if the mindset revealed by comments that offend was perhaps open to internal reflection and reconsideration and not so much batted away with a ‘taken out of context’

…then what else might be different in public discourse, in policy and practice and in the outcomes for us all?

PS: just*: a million-to-one chance?

© Pistis