‽istis wonders[i]
– if it means the world (weekending August 26th 2023)
“We still think the World of you” proclaimed The Sun newspaper at the
start of the week…
Heartbreak in the final, yet fans full of pride[ii]
for the ‘Lionesses’’ achievement in the FIFA[iii]
Women’s World Cup.
And that got ‽istis wondering
‽ what do
you think the world of‽
…and
‽istis will let you ponder that for a shorter or longer while…
Perhaps,
possibly, maybe some of these came up:
·
partner
·
family: children, parents, siblings
·
friends and friendship
·
home
·
a favourite place, a favourite landscape
·
pets
·
health
·
sport
·
a country, the country
·
a car
·
a singer or band
·
rights
·
freedom
·
security
·
……………………………………………………………………………………
Then
‽istis wondered some more: if and when these things are at risk – what on earth
would you do about it‽ Or should that be what on Earth would you do about it?
‽istis
daydreamed briefly of a new late career in advertising and wondered who or what
organisation might be interested in the slogan:
What do you
think the World of?[iv]
What on
Earth could you do to look after/protect/save it?
Half-formed
snatches of imagined adverts, campaigns and promotions have come and gone all week:
· rainforests unlogged
· landscapes free from wildfires
· habitats rich in flora and fauna
· family members enjoying the warmth of each others’ company not cold and frightened in a small boat or a refugee camp...
· outrageous peace
Well,
the slogan may not be original (and it certainly fails the UK government’s 3 simple
words test[v])
but if just perhaps it proved to be a catchy couple of phrases - then
humanitarian, environmental and wildlife charities, co-operatives and Fairtrade
companies, and political parties espousing a progressive agenda (advocating the
‘most best’ for as many as possible, for the sustainability of the planet and
all life that depends on it) are welcome to use it - with appropriate
acknowledgement of ‽istis and this blog, please.
On
reflection ‽istis is a bit worried that the slogan/phrases could be hijacked
from a very different place of politics and power[vi].
If the answer to the first question is: I/we think the world of: money, profit, power
at any cost, privilege, status, exceptionalism, exclusivity or inequality; then
the answer to the second question might be ‘ensure that nothing changes’, ‘let
us conserve things as they are’.
And
as ever, ‽istis ponders on…
If people of good faith - perhaps, possibly people interested in and committed more to:
· ‘we’ than either ‘me’, or ‘us and them’
· communitarianism and co-operationism than individualism or sectarianism
· globalism than nationalism
· a sustainable and equitable future than an exploitative past and present
- answered both these questions in theory and
practice, well just imagine how different the world may be‽
©‽istis
NB: further reflections and
comments linked to this week’s theme and past blog entries to be found on
Twitter: replies, retweets (which don’t necessarily indicate approval,
sometimes the very opposite!) and ‘likes’: @Pistis_wonders. Twitter ‘follows’
and respectful comment and dialogue welcome...
[i] A
short one this week – perhaps an antidote to the last, unduly lengthy blog‽
[ii]
Pun intended; with apologies…
[iv]
OK, grammarians and linguistic prescriptivists may be bristling at this
point… so here’s a reformulation: of
what or whom do you think the world; not so snappy, eh?! Can ‽istis trademark or copyright this…?
[v] ‘Take
back control’, ‘Get Brexit done’, ‘Hands. Face. Space’, ‘Stop the Boats’ which
all seem to have gone so well…
[vi]
And no, the Conservative Party in the UK, the Wagner Group, Elon Musk, Mark
Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos and the other top ‘richest’/powerful people,
multi-national companies – permission will not be granted…
