01/01/2012
His Royal Highness’ New Year’s Speech 2012
When I look back on 2011, it has been full of historical events marking political changes that have not been seen on such a scale since the fall of communism across Eastern Europe in 1989. However the events of all those years ago are as pertinent today as they were then and of which we seem to have forgotten.
One of the year’s earliest events was the earthquake and tidal wave in Japan. In March many watched in disbelief on live television as the tidal wave rolled across Japan. Of course this wasn’t the first time a tidal wave had been filmed on live television, however perhaps we are used to it happening to less developed countries, but to see the wide spread destruction to an industrial and technologically advanced country like Japan reminded me just how fragile all of human society is, how we are not as great at controlling our own technology as we want to be and how petty our selfish conflicts over race, land, resources and relgion can be – whatever your colour, faith or wealth, it means very little to Mother Nature.
In 1989 we watched the ultimate symbol of political segregation dismantled as the people literally took their hammer and cycle and demolished the Berlin Wall. In Romania a rampage of violence rebellion resulted in an event unimaginable in Europe today; a Head of State executed on live television. Meanwhile in the former Czechoslovakia the Velvet Revolution peacefully dissolved the communist regime for democracy lead by the recently late Václav Havel. In 2011 we watched as similar events lead to the abolition of equally notorious regimes in Egypt and Libya, whilst all across the Arab world citizens are seeking to liberate their systems and their enlightened governments are seeking help to introduce reforms from the West, including from the British Government.
So who are we as a society to be asked to provide this advice on democracy? I would like to believe it is because the British have a long history of not just having democracy but maintaining political and economic stability with it.
The last element may seem surprising, however despite the current economic crisis; we are in control of it. As the political change in Eastern Europe progressed, the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 lead the former Soviet peoples not to near but actual economic collapse and people queued for hours for a loaf of bread. Our current austerity measures seem hard and indeed they are tough, but across Europe they are the actions of proactive democratic governments to prevent that actual dire economic collapse happening. However we can recall from history that despite absolute economic collapse, what became the Russian Federation rectified itself and their economy has played an important trading factor on the World stage ever since. It will be years before we can ever consider it over, but my faith in history tells me it will be ok as long as we remember the lessons of history.
There is talk that money should cease to be the driving force in our economy, but regardless of the fiscal nature of an economy, the people must cooperate, take responsibility for it, and themselves. A social economy would require this even more so, therefore our challenge for the future is to enforce our society values and work closer together to support the nation, our local community and ourselves. We must give something back for whatever we take.
Twenty-two years ago, as a young boy, I watched the political map of Eastern Europe change overnight. Once forbidden and mysterious countries suddenly began opening their borders. Today, many of us drive through a unified Germany to Berlin as easily as crossing the Severn Bridge, and there is nothing unusual about weekend breaks in Prague, St Petersburg and Budapest. Perhaps we have forgotten too easily in those short 22 years how such trips were once either impossible or only for the brave. Driving to Berlin, today a popular tourist destination, used to require travel visas and the necessity to reach check points within strict time allowances. It is with irony perhaps that we travel to Berlin, the capital city of the N**i regime that once sought to take our liberty and a city that became the symbol of oppressive division for 40 years, but seem to forget when we question our governments that the very right to do this is freely given by those institutions to us without our fear of reprisal. We must go on questioning, that is what a democracy is about and would be of little value if we became complacent; but the excessive disregard that rioters and protesters demonstrated to our society’s values in 2011 suggest that society takes for granted many of the freedoms and liberties at our disposal.
One asks what may have happened in China had the students in Tiananmen Square not had to content with tanks in 1989. Unfortunately the students taking part in 2011’s various protests are too young to remember the student uprising and mascara all those years ago, or indeed the student protests of 1979 in Tehran which participated in the overthrow of a slowly modernising government for a regime which stripped the students of the rites the previous generation had won, demonstrating the grass is not always greener on the other side. This is not our students fault but a fault in our society that has ignored the lessons from history and in providing an unrealistic education of balance, responsibility and expectation. Quite rightly today’s students are demanding what they have been promised but we must recognise that we failed them in making promises we could not keep and failing to provide them a balanced view of our own society. Despite the travels of many students to Eastern Europe most will be unfamiliar with Vaclav Havel because we have not taught them about the overthrow of truly austere governments within or close to their own living memory. The form of democratic government and society we have in Britain today is what men like Havel fought for and our grandparents fought two world wars to ensure survived. This is something we should proudly promote.
The abhorrence of the violence that swept through our cities this summer made me question societies readiness for the Brave New World ahead of us. Looting for personal gain, disregard for other peoples property and even the morality of mugging an already mugged man suggested we were not ready. However what followed the violence was an outstanding glimmer of hope as people took to the streets and worked together to clear the damage. There is ambiguity as to what the British Government means by “Big Society” but it is this cooperation and individual readiness to support and rebuild a broken community that to me is what Big Society is about.
Big Society was also seen earlier in the Summer when the nation gathered in their millions across the country to watch the live broadcast of the Wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in West Minister Abbey. The mass celebration of the wedding of a young couple that most have never met demonstrates that we are capable of taking part peacefully in something bigger than ourselves. 2012 will mark HM The Queen’s Dimond Juberlee. This occasion I hope and envision will see once again our nation joining together in the Big Society to celebrate not just sixty years of our Queen’s reign but sixty years of political and social stability.
Not many people can claim to live in a democratic society which has been reigned over for sixty years by a woman as internationally revered for sixty years such as Queen Elizabeth is. We should remember this year at her Jubilee how lucky we are to have enjoyed the freedom and liberties of Great Britain for so long whilst in those 60 years many of our European neighbours and our former colonies have undergone substantial social upheavals, military dictatorships and coups. Not including the regime changes across Eastern Europe in the 1980s and 90s, we holiday in Greece and forget 40 years ago it was ruled by a military junta and that after it’s monarchy was abolished the Republic inherited the world’s second largest growing economy of the time to its current economic crisis; our ex-patriot destination favourite Spain was a fascist dictatorship until 1975, whilst many former colonies that have chosen not to remain realms under the sovereignty of the Queen have struggled with civil wars, genocide and famines.
Democracy is the power of the people, however with power comes responsibility. To be truly democratic the people need to use their power to develop a culture that supports its population. This is, I believe, the next step in social and democratic evolution and is my hope to see progress in 2012.
Wishing everyone, a happy New Year 2012
