Starting Out

Growing older can play havoc with your views.  Even if you've had them a long time.

Many people of my generation moved sharply to the left politically when they went to university.  That one was lost on me, because I didn't go.  I'd like to say I've been regretting it ever since, but I can't because it hasn't been all that bad so far.  Maybe life would have been more conventional, maybe less so, who can say?

I have the recurring feeling that I have been blessed by some kind of benevolent spirit during my lifetime.  Maybe I have, but I only know what it's been like for me.  By the look of a lot of other people, they don't have that feeling - and if I look at how it's all panned out for me relative to society as a whole, then I know I've been one of the lucky ones, from a material standpoint in any event.

If you just got here, and you're wondering what the picture is in the background, that's me on the keys, and the rest of the band I play in, and we're on stage at a very nice venue in London.  As I said, for one reason or another, I've been one of the lucky ones... 

In any case, as I've become older, I've found that some of my views on politics and many other things have changed, in some cases to a diametrically-opposed position. I cannot, of course, claim that any changes have all been down to me.  Who you spend your life with can have a huge impact on the way you look at things, because you look at their viewpoint as well as your own, which can lead to changes in perspective, even changes in your central view. 

With views on politics, you also have to remember that the views of the various factions and persuasions aren't static.   Over a prolonged period - say 30 years or so - they can change quite considerably.  For example, I find it very difficult to imagine that in the early years of the Thatcher government, the Conservatives would have pushed through a law legalising same-sex marriage.   Even the Labour party at that time would have been hard-pushed to see such a change as a priority.

Hopefully, what I'll end up writing about here is my own views, and how they have changed over time - and hopefully, in spite of my record of changing sides over the years,  I will be able to stick to the same view for long enough to be able to write it down and still agree with it when I read it..

As this is an introduction, why not start with a list of some of the things that have exercised my mind over the past thirty years or so, which may or may not be covered in more detail later:

adolescence aesthetics age and ageing alcohol animals appearances being creative being different being fat biased reporting class climate change clothes colours comfort conflict cooking democracy disability earning money economics education elections emotional intelligence energy sources entertainment exercise facts or feelings? fix or replace? freedom frequent flyers grandparents growth having children health high heels and make-up history holidays honesty and dishonesty hotels hypnosis injustice introvert or extrovert? IQ irrational fears law and order laziness loyalty cards luxury making things mess morals motivation music necessity or choice? not being fat organic food ownership parents pension personal status play or work? pleasure politics pollution pornography poverty professionals property reincarnation relationships religion resource depletion retirement risks self sufficiency selfishness sex shyness social media space travel spending money sports cars status symbols sympathy and empathy tattoos technology teeth the financial system the meaning of quality the press time tobacco transport unemployment vanity vegetarianism war what is art? work colleagues writing books

Well, that's given me something to work on - I'm sure I've left out many many things that I will want to talk about too, but it's a start in any case.  Let's see what happens...