Making the World a Better Place

2007-05-15T06:14:00.000-07:00

I am one of life’s lucky people. My name is Glenda Baum. I am 67 and life is great!

To help you know where I am coming from, I will summarise my life in 300 words:

I was brought up in Edinburgh, and lived there until , aged 18, I went to London to study Physiotherapy. I have been working as a physio ever since – but now only very part-time. I was married in 1962 to Harold, who later became a Professor of Biochemistry. We have three grown up and married children of whom we are very proud; a son in the States ( he is a Professor of Evolutionary Biology) and two daughters in London. We have eight wonderful grandchildren, but of the five little London boys, three of them have had problems. Fortunately two are now fine, and their Mum, Ali has just launched a charity to promote breast feeding, but the elder daughter Mandy’s, middle son, Joe, has severe learning difficulties, epilepsy and autism; he is a loveable handful! Somehow Mandy manages to also be a GP!

I was involved in physiotherapy politics for many years, but really just enjoyed the patient contact – hydrotherapy being my particular forte. It is a wonderful privilege to be able to help people and reduce their pain. I have always believed in looking at the whole person and not just the painful bit!
I have written three books on “Aquarobics” – (a term which I coined) and one on “Healthy Flying”.

I like music, theatre, singing, bridge and reading (but usually only have time for the last on our rare holidays!). I enjoy cooking and eating out, and am therefore not as thin as I would wish to be. I’m pro-sport but hate crowd noises on television and therefore dislike spectator sports!

In 2000 I lost me left eye because of cancer – but I consider this to be a minor hiccup in that the cancer had not spread and I did not need any nasty treatment. I just look a little odd!

I am fed up with the way the UK and is run. The driving force is the Media. Successive governments apply short-term reactive measures and not long-term planning. The current system of government could be described as MEDIACROCY. This I will define as a two-way system whereby Media pressure dictates government policy whilst the media is used by Government to influence public opinion.

We need a Common Sense, long-term Approach to solving the important issues facing the world today: global warming, pollution, poverty, disease and how to achieve peace.

Why do I say this? Below are some of the reason. I am composing this Blog in the hope that it may kick-start a new kind of thinking. Perhaps there may be room for a new political party – the Common Sense Party. The first part of this blog is pointing out what I see as the problems of today. The second half outlines some possible solutions. Do please contribute to the Notice Board and say whether you agree or disagree with my philosophy.

I am one of life’s lucky people. My name is Glenda Baum. I am 67 and life is great! Although not really wealthy I have enough means to maintain a frenetic, sociable lifestyle packed with commitments to a little work, which I enjoy, and lots of time with children, grandchildren and friends. Moreover I have the companionship of a doting husband. So where is the snag?

I worry about the sort of world that we are bequeathing to our grandchildren and especially to their grandchildren. We of the post-war generation grew up with a freedom which does not exist today – at least not in the UK. We could come and go, play more freely without today’s fears of violence. We were fed a healthy diet – even during the war. We knew the horrors of War and the Holocaust but were idealists. We wanted to make life better for future generations – but we have failed miserably. What has happened to the values of the generation which saw the founding of the National Health Service and looked forward to a future with no poverty and a better life for all?

Sigmund Freud is frequently cited as someone who revolutionised Western thought, but the true revolutionary was his nephew, Edward L Bernays. (ref 1)) He promulgated the concept that industrial growth depended not on satisfying `need’ but on creating `want’. This sowed the seeds of consumerism, the growth of all associated industries, from the manufacture of motor cars or refrigerators, to cosmetics and the fashion industry. If you needed to travel long distances rapidly (and even that was largely a created need, a black Model T Ford would have sufficed, not a chrome-plated Cadillac.

So this became MARKETING. This is the beast that has changed the way the Western world has gone. Money makes the world go round, but some of this movement is round and round in ever decreasing circles.

Here are six examples, all which have implications on Global Warming and the Environment.

Example 1: The growth of the pet food market. How did the belief develop that pets should not be fed on scraps and left-overs? Marketing. In the 80-‘s I was told by the Public Relations Consultant to one of the two major Pet Food Manufacturer that as that company already had more than 50% of the Market, the way to increase sales was to increase the size of the market. Breeding pairs of birds, rabbits etc were then donated to schools. Hey Presto – an increase in sales for all – but the most increase for the biggest company!

Example 2: Breastfeeding.
All mammals breastfeed their offspring. Evolution equipped each species to produces milk that is purpose designed for that particular animal at that particular time. Moreover the constituents of milk vary, not only from between species, but from one feed to the next, and even but from the beginning to the end of each feed. Nature knows how best to help infants, of all mammal species how to give the baby the best possible chance of thriving. So why then are so many human babies around the world fed on formula?

Was there a Mr Nestle that started the rot? Certainly Nestles has a lot to answer for. The evidence that breast is best, for both mothers and babies, is overwhelming. Bottle fed babies are much more likely than breast fed ones to get gastroenteritis, allergies or infections. Mothers who have breast fed are less likely to develop breast cancer. Mothers’ milk is cheaper and easier. Of course there are many women who would like to have breast fed their babies and cannot – and therefore have to resort to formula, but the UK has the worst breast feeding rates in Europe. The World Health Organisation guidelines say that babies should be breast fed solely for six months. It is particularly amoral of manufacturer of formula to promote bottle feeding in poorer counties, where proper sterilisation is a problem. Thousands of babies die each year, because mothers are seduced by clever marketing to (wrongly) believe that formula is the best start for their children. In the UK. Marketing baby’s formula, is banned on TV. The formula companies have found a loop-hole – they now promote special types of `weaning’ milk, which they can advertise. There is no evidence that this is any better than normal cows’ milk, but there is a lot of money to be made by selling formula!

Example 3: Disposable Nappies: brilliant invention, but badly named. They are far from disposable and mostly definitely not bio-degradable. Quickly used by all who could afford them. Mostly nappies are manufactured by two multinational companies. How has it happened that the age of toilet training is now well over two, when it used to be just over one. Indeed in third world countries, where such nappies are unaffordable, I am told that babies learn to be dry and clean by one. In the 70’s, there grew up a belief that toilet training a child too young might have adverse reactions such as affecting their adult sex life. Could the professional `advisors’ who advocated this idea have been paid, albeit indirectly, by these companies?

Example 4: Personal Hygiene. A little knowledge of social history tells us that in earlier times, people did not bath very often – perhaps only once or twice a year. In my childhood it was two or three times a week. With the onset of instant hot water, we now all wash (bath or shower) once a day – sometimes more. Hair shampooing is also much more frequent – perhaps even daily. This, despite occasional advice from dermatologists, who say that our skin oils provide some natural protection and should be left in place. I am sure that this change in hygiene custom is due to marketing in the form of public relations, from the same two multinational soap and shampoo companies that also make nappies. Allergists are saying that we are too clean and exposure to dirt is needed by our immune system, otherwise this system may keep itself occupied by turning inwards resulting in autoimmune diseases like asthma, diabetes and who knows what else!

Example 5: The change in Laundry Habits. When I was a child it was considered the norm to change one’s underwear once or twice a week – and top clothes only when they looked grubby. Now it is the custom of those I know to throw almost everything in the wash every day. This is great for the sellers of detergent (again the same two multinational companies) but also good for the Fashion industry as clothes do not last nearly so long. Will we really get ill from a little dirt if we cut down on the amount (and the temperature) of laundry, or will so doing help our environment?

Example 6: The current `MUST HAVE`culture. The amount of possessions that most of us have to own in the West, is obscene. The speed that the latest `gizmo’ eg blackberry, games-boy etc is marketed and distributed virtually world-wide through the power of the media, is amazing. The power of `fashion` and the fact that retail therapy (as it is euphemistically called), is a leading leisure time activity – probably more important to teenagers, than sport or exercise. I find it particularly upsetting that children are so showered with possessions. The custom of holding large, and expensive birthday parties, at which the many `child guests` bring substantial gifts but expect to be given, a going-home bag.

There are specific times of year when particular purchasing frenzies occur. Gifts at Christmas time are an old custom – but it has gone crazy in the past few years. People put themselves in debt to buy extravagent, often unwanted presents. Valentine`s Day, Mothers` Day and Halloween have all been contrived to help sell goods.

And do all these gadgets, the labour-saving devices, the household appliances, computers, mobile phones mean that we have more leisure time? They do not. Our society has evolved to one in which everybody of working age works for long hours to pay for all of this. This means having to pay for child care – and this is expensive. Young parents in the UK feel that it is expected of them to go back to work as soon as possible. There are pressures, which start in Downing Street and are disseminated by the countless magazines, TV and radio that even if all of the second parents wages go on child care and `providing’ that children can have the `right’ sneakers, clothes, Games Boy etc, it is still best for society as a whole for both parents to work. The tax structure needs people to be working so that they pay income tax and earning so that they pay VAT and Duty. The hand-backs in terms of Child Care allowances are not much of an incentive.

It is not only actual `things’ that are today’s necessities. Child rearing customs have changed greatly. Most of this is for the better. It is as though Good Parenting has been invented in the last two or three decades. It is great that men are now playing a far larger role in child-rearing and perhaps housekeeping. It is good that children are encouraged rather than punished. But children do still have to learn that they cannot always have their own way. Immediate gratification, the “I want it now” does not make for a happy, secure society, but perhaps accounts for many of the behaviour problems that plague Society in the UK today.

It seems to me that the real breakdown in family life is because of three things:-
Firstly, work pressures, with both parents working, mean that family time is restricted and the business of living, food shopping, laundry, cleaning and the boring stuff, which used to be done by non-working mothers, now eats into prime family time.

Secondly, communication between members of family units in the UK is much less than in much of Europe. The most important reason for this is because families do not sit down and eat together. They do not share everyday experiences with one another. There is a `Generation Gap’.

Thirdly, in the UK, children cannot wait to go on a `Gap ‘ year. They want to go to College as far away from home as possible. In France and Italy, most kids go to University in their home town. Friends are therefore likely to be local, so marriages are also more local. Thus extended families can help with the child care and be around to help the young couples – perhaps this results in a lower marriage breakdown rate, less teenage pregnancies and a less mobile society?

So can we blame Marketing for all the current problems of the world? No – but we can for a lot of them!

Lack of TOLERANCE, RESPECT AND CONSIDERATION FOR OTHER PEOPLE are underlying causes of many of today social problems. If we treated other people as we would like to be treated ourselves, respected their right to lead their lives differently and were more open about giving and receiving help, in the way that small communities used to be, there would be more social cohesion. Looking at other successful communities and recognising that they have learnt from experience which has probably been passed down through generations, ie the old are respected and listened to, and are more equipped to take the long-term view.

I started writing this while on holiday on the island or Borneo, in Sarawak, part of Malaysia. The traditional way of life there is for whole communities to live in one Longhouse. These wooden structures, often built on stilts consists of a large communal area, where some work, such as crafts are done and social interactions happen. Each family unit has its own unit, and as the community grows, they simply add another unit at the back. They are very democratically run, and even though the isolation of some means that the children have to go away to free weekly boarding school at the age of seven. Longhouses do seem to be thriving, even today. The one we visited was only accessible by longboat, as there were no roads in the jungle region, was more or less self-sufficient. It had adapted the stone age way of life selectively: the longboats have engines, they have a generator, there are WC’s and there is radio and TV. This results, incongously, of photos of the Real Madrid football team on the wall. No longer head hunters, the community members are now a peaceful community but are helped by the Government to keep the traditional ways alive. They are true helping communities, in similar lines to a Kibbutz in Israel. This can only work when people are respectful to one another and are happy to work for the group as a whole.

It is interesting how one or two individuals from, perhaps countries with very different political views, can establish a dialogue, and sometimes even intermarry, but Politicians, who feel they have Power and Right on their side can fail to agree. Thus Wars could be said to result from `Wants’ and not usually `Needs’. Moreover, to turn back to the marketing argument, wars are wonderful for the economy – at least for the winning side!

The Media is responsible for a lot of the frenzy that takes place before, and during a war. Would there have been an invasion of Iraq without such media hype? As regards the Irish scenario, that has been helped by individuals getting together when they have felt that `enough (death and hostility) is enough', In the middle East, the ordinary people on both sides want peace. The media do not help. I tried, but not enthusiastically enough, to establish a “Grandmothers for Peace” Group with a few West Bank and other Arab ladies getting to communicate with Jewish Grans from Israel and around the world. After all we Grandmothers just want the World to be a better place for our Grandchildren. We all want peace, no hunger or poverty, education and health . I had tried to start this by email initially, with the hope that it would lead to small `get togethers’ and possibly a larger international movement. My personal Grandparent duties took up too much time and I gave up!

POSITIVE IDEAS

Most of what I have written is commenting on the bad things in life. It is much easier to be critical than to be postively constructive – but the latter is so much more effective.

Here are some ideas, firstly for the UK, then globally,

Here are some ideas:
IN THE UK
Get out of the stalemate of Political thinking in the UK and elsewhere by founding a new, Longterm, Common Sense Party – with the following policies:-
1. Reduce Poverty and the currently growing gap between Rich and Poor. Do this by
a) Improve Education (see below) and by bringing back Grants (not loans) for poor students to give them the opportunities to go to University. (My husband and his brothers would never have become Professors, if there had not been a good state education system in place, with free University for those with need and ability.)
b) Children are our Future. Incentivise good parenting by local community Courses etc and increase Child Benefits so as to allow a parent at the lower socio-economic areas to devote more time to child rearing.
c) Encourage traditional family units. This is controversial, but I believe that the nuclear, extended family evolved for sound sociological reasons. Obviously Society has to cater for those that do not want to have permanent relationships, or who get divorced, or are homosexual, but the most common sociological, and successful model for our species so far has been the family unit. Better communication and caring `values’ in families should help reduce teenage pregnancies, and extended families should help reduce the high current cost of caring for older people.
d) Set in motion a short and long term policy away from the current super-capitalistic society. This means bringing back an appreciation of `things’ for what they are and not what brand name they carry. This is a change of attitude from the “Must Have” to the “Do I really need this?”

2, Improve Standards of Education in schools by drastically reducing class numbers, improving the status and pay of teachers, minimising paperwork, administration and some testing. In some instances, it may be necessary to `double up’ on school space, by having longer morning and afternoon sessions, but for different children with different staff, so as to share the school buildings. This would work better if there were more time in the curriculum for Sports, which could be done at a different facility. (Thereby helping our chances in the Olympics). The aim of this would be to produce a generation of young people with the ability to express themselves as well as literature implies they did one hundred years ago. The average person’s vocabulary in olden days, was far richer than it is today. Let us try to extend our young people, by giving them opportunities to appreciate the Arts.

One way to solve the very real dilemma of there being better, oversubscribed schools in better housing district whilst schools in deprived areas tend to be on a downward spiral is to use selective busing. In the schools in Madison Wisconsin, where three of my eight grandchildren live, this problem was solved by amalgamating two primary schools, one in a good district and one in a deprived district. The schools were then split by age of children, so the first three years were in one neighbourhood school, and the senior years were in the other. By having the schools start at different times, the older children from one area are then bused to school A which starts at 8am, then the youngest ones from that area were taken by bus to School B, to start at 8.45am. This was made more economically viable by using the same fleet of buses. Thus the standard is raised generally in both schools and property values will start to rise in the underprivileged area.

3. At all levels of Society, encourage a Respect and Politeness Agenda. This would mean banning abusive language in the Media, making programmes (drama and documentaries) that are `aspirational’, rather than showing the worst aspects of current life – violence, drugs, extoling crime etc.. which are today’s TV menu. Yes have `Soaps’, but let them depict decent lives, not give the impression that you cannot go out your house without risk of terrible things happening to you. “The Archers” has managed to stay topical, but without using four letter words. Lets try to get away from the "Celebrity" culture when minor actors in TV "soaps" become icons. Let us celebtrate brains, intellect, innovity, culture and talent and not just superficial appearance.

4. Improve the Health Service by thinking `round the clock’. If you needed a CT Scan or an MRI, would you not be willing to have it at any time of the night – rather than wait weeks or months? Not so long ago the problems in the NHS (we were told) were because of manpower shortages, of doctors, nurses, physio, technicians etc. So there was a massive increase in training places. In the meantime a lot of hospitals were shut down, their services being amalgamated to make bigger and better hospitals – but further apart! I suspect that the real reason for this was to capitalise on the land by selling sites off for development. Now, a few years down the line, not only is there no shortage of staff , but last years cohort of new doctors, nurses, physios etc. could not find jobs because there were not enough beds! How about doubling up the beds for day-case patients by having different day (and night case) patients, with different staff. Why use the private sector when we have too many staff already!

5. Reorganise and democratize the Media.
a) Firstly ensure that the media are not owned by a handful of moguls. It is worrying that one or two people, with multimedia connections, can have such a global influence of thought and are the power behind the politics. Find a way to make the running of TV, newspapers, magazines more democratic.
b) Stop the cult of media frenzy hounding, bidding and buying stories.
c) Give more privacy to those in public office and their families.
TV, filmstars and sports celebs are fair game for the Press – it goes with their enhanced wages.
d) Set standards for interviewing people that conform to politeness and respect.

6. Develop a long-term plan to put back a just and logical basis for what people earn. This should take into account the basic skill and intelligence needed to do a job, the years taken to reach those skills and with some weighting for the importance to the nation. I would rate teachers and professors higher, but lawyers and city slickers much lower.

Having a few very high earners who will think nothing of buying a house for, say, £10 million upsets the logic of the property market for everybody else and makes it impossible for young people, especially if they work in hospitals, schools, police or the forces.

7. Restore faith in democracy and politicians. The percentage of people who vote in elections is dropping, and this is particularly so for the young. I used to believe that people stood for election because they wanted to make life better for the community, but the general feeling expounded by the media is that politicians are there for self-advancement. Who would want to stand for election to parliament knowing what a terrible life politicians seem to lead? When one looks at photos of the youthful Tony Blair when he first became Prime Minister and compares them with the haggard, far-from-youthful man of today, one realises the personal cost he has paid in his service to the Government. He has aged prematurely, and I feel some pity and gratitude to him, even though I do not approve of most of his actions!

IN THE WORLD
1. Although sections of the United Nations do a good job, the problem is that each country’s delegates are there to get the best deal for their own country. I have noted that when people get elected to a body, even if they only stood for election as a protest because they did not approve of the way things were run, they seem, before long, to become part of the team. The British MEP’s do seem have the European Community as their main loyalty, rather than the UK Government. How about forming a totally new organisation for individuals of the world, not just the countries. A World Parliament. This would be the body to discuss the global problems facing our grandchildren. The few people from each country elected to this should not be conventional politicians but, rather, wise people, whose careers have brought them international respect. There would have to be a formula worked out as to whether the numbers of representatives from each Country should be related to the population or the economic influence. One would hope that such a body would carry more gravitas than the current United Nations. The World Parliament should not be permanently situated in the USA, or any other major power. Perhaps it venue could rotate, like the Olympics, possibly even following the Olympics around the World, when they were finished – and making use of some of the facilities.

2. The issues that this Global Parliament would cover would be
Global Warming and Climate Change.
a) Famine and water resources. As said by Professor Sacks in the Reith lectures, it is no longer acceptable to have two thirds of the world population living with hunger and disease. Why is it that Coca Cola, toothpaste and baby formula can be marketed and distributed worldwide, but clean water cannot?
b) Global health issues such as preventable diseases (like malaria and polio) and Bird Flu.
c) Democratic health – ie try to ensure human rights and universal suffrage everywhere (although not necessarily in the same way). It would have a power to interfere in instances of gross abuses, genocide etc. (I would count Darfur and Zimbabwe as potential interference sites).
d) A global view on terrorism.
e) In order to do these, it would have to have its own, truly global army. No longer should the USA and its allies be the moral army for the rest of the world.
f) How would this get funded? There is the dilemma! At present there is a World bank. This is supposed to help poor countries have a better economy and they are helped with loans from rich countries. There’s the rub! The rich countries, like the USA and the UK are all in debt. Probably only China and some Gulf countries are not in debt. What happens if China calls in its loans?
g) Insects are the bottom of the food chain but vitally important to the optimal functioning of the planet. Mount a global campaign to increase the numbers of small insects. Not very long ago, a drive in the countryside would necessitate a screen wash, because of all the small flies on the windscreen. No longer does one see vortex clouds of tiny insects in the sun beams. That has to be a factor in why there are fewer birds, and this impacts up the food chain. Lets ban insecticides, unless there is a health risk.

So back to the beginning. Money is needed to make the world go round. However, I long for the day when finance was simple and understandable. You needed, perhaps, two accounts, a savings account and a current account and you aimed never to get into debt. Then along came credit cards. Then along came a whole host of financial products, with whole hosts of city people to invent new ones and run the old ones. This led to the `quick buck’ phenomenon and a lot of paper transactions – which could make people very rich, or very poor, very quickly! Mrs Thatcher started the business of selling off the family silver (ie de-nationalising) and the resultant competition between companies might possibly have led to better service and lower prices. Highly doubtful! It has certainly caused more choice and confusion and less investment in infrastructure. Chancellors of the Exchequer have carried this one stage further, and invented `windfall taxations’ of North Sea Oil, TV and mobile phone licences, selling of hospital and other government land, etc – just for a quick buck to pay for all those promised improvements in public services that win votes but don’t seem to happen. His raid on Pension Funds has resulted in a disaster for some of today’s pensioners and is a potential catastrophe for most of today’s younger workforce. His “stealth” taxes and other direct and indirect taxation mean that we pay considerably more tax than nominal taxation levels. Add basic taxation to VAT to Council Tax to parking to the new environmental taxes and it must add up to about 70% of ones earnings. Making patients, visitors and staff pay to park when attending hospital seems to me to be immoral.

And if life is not tough enough already, they take a cut when we die! It seems to me to be a basic human right and need to try to improve things for the next generation. Without this drive we might still be cave-dwellers! Throughout the ages, it has been the custom to bequeath one’s possessions to children, grandchildren, charity or friends by sensibly distributing your estate when you die. Inheritance tax infringes that right. Although it is only supposed to affect the rich, this is no longer the case as the crazily inflated property prices mean that many more people fall into this tax trap.

There is also the issue that you may not have any estate left to bequeath, as it may all have been used up to pay for the care that was originally meant to come from the State, paid for by a lifetime of payments to National Insurance. (Have you noticed how the word `nurse’ no longer means to care for!)

The whole capitalistic system needs to be re-examined. There are far too many people working on theoretical, non-tangible products in the financial and insurance worlds and not nearly enough, in the UK, actually inventing and manufacturing goods and farming sustainably. We should not have to import food (and bottled water) from around the world if it can be grown here, (without overdosing on the chemicals and fertilisers). It does not make common sense to import food from the other side of the world. You cannot eat silicon chips and fish is now a luxury item, because of massive overfishing.

How can we all live like this? Where is the common sense in all these policies?
Let us have a Common Sense Party that looks at the whole picture, in the short term and the long term and tries to make life better for us all, both here in the UK and in the rest of the world.

References
1."http://www.articlecity.com/articles/politics_and_government/article_348.shtml

Glenda's blog

Making the World a Better Place