No Brainer!

Antonio Gramsci was an Italian Marxist thinker in the mid 20th century who defined two revolutionary concepts - revolution by manouvre and revolution by position. Revolution by manouvre is the physical action of taking power. Revolution by position is the act of  establishing oneself within the conciousness of the individual that makes the revolution inevitable. The Gramscian concept is that one reaches a point where "The Revolution" becomes so common-sensical in the popular imagination that it comes about of its own accord. The key concept here is this - when does something cease to be 'ideological' and become 'common sense'?

Let me give a current example: In conversation with someone I will call CH the Middle Ages were an unmitigated intellectual disaster fostered by Christianity. The self evident fact - so far as he was concerned - was that Christianity had plunged Western Civilisation into the Dark Ages. And the "Fact" was that his enlightened view of life had brought a revival of learning out of this Dark Age. Moreover that this interpretation of history was "Fact"!
Vainly I pointed out that Dark Ages were due to the incursion of pagan invaders and that the Christian Church was the repository of classical learning. I also gently intimated the Carolingian and 12th Century 'Renaissance' don't fit his simplistic interpretation of history - but ignorant of these - he was inclined to consider these considerations mere bluff.
The point I am driving to is this. So far as he is concerned it is a "No Brainer" - Christianity brought about the Dark Ages - he does not need to engage his brain... the Gramscian revolution has occured... what requires careful thought has been bypassed...
To be a Christian one needs to engage ones Brain.

Atheist Promises.

Atheists are campaigning against the Brownie oath (they obviously don't have anything better to do with their time!) and to that end a number of letters have been exchanged in the press. This letter in The Telegraph, London, 16th August 2011 particularly caught my eye.

"As an atheist former Brownie who questioned the overwhelmingly selfless message of servitude in the promise, I suggest replacing the words 'to love my God' with 'to love myself'."

I think that is more revealing than the author realises!

Christian counsellor targeted by homosexual activist

Presumably the purpose of this 'sting' is to put any counsellor on notice that they too may be targetted, publicly pilloried and have their livelihood threatened unless they conform to the new orthodoxy. Who authorised the media to act as 'thought-police'?

That question is posed to the journalist in question. I am not endorsing the therapy being offered I am simply posing the question as to whether it is right to offer help to someone who requests it?
I have in mind a potential scenario in my own work situation. What if a parent of a child on my PICU claimed to be a Christian and realising that I was one too prevailed on me to pray with them. What if that subsequently turned out to be a similar 'sting' and the journal in question then reported me to my professional body for misconduct? I suspect that the journalists realise that a Christian is honour-bound to meet such a request for help and this is a cheap way to gain a good headline and the plaudits of the chattering classes. But the consequence for myself could be that I am driven from my profession. So my concern is about the point of principal which is being endorsed by the media; ie entrapment is okay provided it is a socially defenceless person targetted and that the media are hereby empowered to open a window on individual souls. It is the tabloidisation of private conscience.

It is not just that such a 'sting' is deceitful - it is deceitful on multiple levels. And the net effect is draw into question whether we should ever offer to help someone who asks for it if such help may not have the approval of the media. Perhaps that is a question this particular journal should ask itself.

British Humanist Association.

I was very amused today to receive a recruitment leaflet for the British Humanist Association; spelling mistakes aside it is quite hilarious to see one's own beliefs are misconstrued by those who think they know better. I needed a good laugh. Thanks!

One of the many unsubstantiated assertions made in this literature is the assumption that a belief in God is irrational. I do not accept that premise. I believe that it is perfectly rational to believe in God. Nor do I accept that the BHA has the monopoly on rationality it supposes.

What a bizarre world the BHA lives in if it assumes that people like myself believe what we do for no readily apparent reason. Surely a rational human being would conclude that people like myself must have their reasons for believing what they do even if one doesn't accept those reasons oneself? I would argue that I have a coherant philosophy of life which accords with the world I experience.

I think what the BHA is trying to say is that they believe that life, the universe and everything can be explained in purely material terms. They would regard that as a simple statement of fact. But to say that one does not believe that it can all be explained in purely material terms is regarded by them as a "faith statement" when grammatically they are equivalent clauses. Why interpret one clause one way and make out the other to be of an entirely different order? There is an unexamined presupposition there.

Prof Orlando Figes.
I can't help being amused by the furore over Prof Orlando Figes' anonymous on-line rubbishing of his fellow academics' books. Figes has written some wonderful books about Russian history and it seems incredible that he should stoop to such low tactics.
From a Christian perspective though, it confirms my view that one can be wonderfully talented and still be a prat!

Burkina Faso & a $15.8 Million pay-out!

I've just received an unsolicited e-mail from a Mr Karim Ahmed suggesting that I make a claim against the estate of someone who was killed in a plane crash in Burkina Faso in 2003. My share is $15.8 million and Mr Ahmed kindly offers to be my legal representative handling this transaction.

99.9% of people will laugh this off as 'too good to be true' but if this e-mail is broadcast to tens of thousands of people there will be some takers. What motivates the 0.1% who do respond to these sorts of scams? Psychological research in this field suggests that it is not that the 0.1% think the scam is neccesarily for real, but they get sucked in on the basis of "what if"!

That fear of 'missing out' motivates a tiny minority of people to take a 'punt' even though they realise it sounds 'iffy'.

Of course the other aspect of this is that you are required to make a false claim - and once you've done that you cannot then back out. After you've taken that step then the authors of the scam have some leverage on you. There is a saying that 'you can't con an honest person' - and that happens to be true!



Post-Script, 21st March 2010.
Just to prove that last point I've received a second similar e-mail today from a Mr Mohammed Waleed. The e-mail purports to seek to arrange the transfer of 2 Million US Dollars to my bank account in the mistaken belief that I am his business associate. This apparently misdirected e-mail is an opportunity for me to claim to be the legitimate third party and hand over my bank account details in anticipation of a rich payout. Once my account has been cleared out, would I be inclined to report the matter to the police? The scam once entered into gives the scammers leverage over you! Having attempted to 'con' "Mr Waleed" myself I could hardly claim the moral highground could I?

Further Post-Script, 24th March 2010.
I must be at the top of someone's "Most Gullible List" somewhere because yesterday I received another scam e-mail which is a hybrid of the two above, Mr Mohammed Waleed suggested that I claim to be a relative of someone killed in a plane crash in Burkina Faso etc.
Then this morning I received an e-mail from someone purporting to be Dr Richard Green of the 'Journal de Pharmacie' based in Burkina Faso. They say they have checked my ID and believe I would be a worthy agent for a $10.8 million donation towards charity work - he does add not to bother replying if I am "of an ungodly character"!
A couple of hours after this e-mail I had another from a Jim Ovia of the United Nations/World Bank Compensation Unit saying that if I have been the victim of an internet scam I can claim $500,000 in compensation. All I have to do is send them my bank details so they can make the transfer.................!

Final Thought, 25th March 2010.
I received five e-mail scams over as many days, the total sum offered was $43.6 million or £29 million at the current rate of exchange. They obviously like big numbers don't they and bank on exploiting peoples' naked greed.

"THE WALL!"

THE TROUBLE WITH STUDENTS & THE THEORY-PRACTICE GAP!

In the article entitled "Now and Then - the trouble with students, in the June 2008 issue of Paediatric Nursing (20,5,12), the author discussed the enduring problem of 'the theory-practice gap' and reflected, helpfully, on the history of the clinical nurse teacher role, which has long since vanished. The article implies that Nursing blundered into the theory-practice gap haplessly, rather than it being a considered decision, taken consciously by the movers and shakers of the nursing profession at the time.

I recall one of my RGN tutors in the early 1980's at St James' University Hospital in Leeds lamenting the fact that the school of nursing was set back from the hospital and not an integral part of the building.

When I returned to "Jimmy's" in the late 1980's to do my paediatric course, our tutor took the opposite view. She thought that a physical gap was essential to create good practice. In fact, she advocated building a wall between the school and the hospital and having a separate entrance.

This tutor was instrumental in setting up up the paediatric branch of what was then known as 'Project 2000'. She, and presumably her generation of nurse leaders, were determined to recreate the Nursing profession along an entirely new model. Any suggestion we made were treated with with scorn despite the fact that we were already qualified nurses with several years' clinical experience. The attitude was that our clinical experience would 'contaminate' the new students with bad practices. In her view it was essential to break that cycle.

Nurse education was not perfect prior to 'Project 2000' , but student nurses were valued members of the clinical team; today's students do not have that sense of belonging and lose out in terms of clinical practice which is actually where theory and reality meet. When I completed my third year I was ready to be in charge of a surgical ward on nights as my first job as a staff nurse; today's students do not have that confidence.

The 'theory-practice gap' did not come about by the law of unintended consequences, it was the ideologically driven rejection of clinical experience that created that rift.

Do Not Resuscitate Me - I'm Mediocre!

I just managed to catch on camera this ambulance as it raced by the other day. I couldn't quite believe what its logo said. It is a private ambulance operated by "Carillion" a company with interests in a wide variety of sectors of which health care is one. The mission statement on the side of the vehicle might work well in other contexts but in the area of health care provision it does not translate so well!

Bringing Excellence to life.

Maybe the paramedic would say, "sorry mate, I can't help - you're crap!"

How about, "your medical insurance is invalid; you didn't declare that you're rubbish!"

Breaking bad news: "I'm really sorry... we tried everything... but your husband's mediocrity was irreversible".

Tabloid headline; "the 'average' gene discovered - hope at last for sufferers!"

Maybe there is a niche in the market for a company specialising in "bringing bog-standard to life"! The 'National Institute for Clinical Excellence' (NICE) would become the institute for clinical indifference. Think about it; instead of Intensive Care for the critically ill you could have an Average Care Unit for the moderately poorly. Rather than a hospital being described as 'a centre of excellence' it could be a 'centre of mediocrity'. It could be a winner.... well.... no, thinking about it, that would be against its ethos wouldn't it?

FLOODS - An "ACT OF GOD" or a Luke thirteen?

In the UK recently we have had some rather exceptional weather resulting in flooding which some Christians have interpreted as God's judgement on us as a nation. Some areas of Europe are experiencing a drought as are some other areas of the world and no doubt there too some people who fancy themselves as modern day Elijahs will draw similar conclusions as if we are still inhabiting an earlier act of the Bible timeline.

Were these floods an "Act of God"? The following comments are addressed to the British nation; if others can play Elijah why can't I?!

Some, no doubt well meaning people, have attributed certain recent weather events to God's wrath, presumably therefore the fine weather we enjoyed last Easter was a sign of God's favour - so what went wrong withYOU people out there during those few weeks!? Some of you dropped a clanger didn't you! Well I hope you feel proud of yourselves - spoiling everyone's Summer!

I take note of the fact that the weather has since perked up so all I can say is whatever it is that you are doing now keep it up!

Buffalo Wings?!

On a recent visit to my local supermarket I came across "Buffalo Wings" in the meat section. I'm concerned that Tesco may have butchered one of the creatures from Revelation chapter 4! Judging from the quantity available there has to be more than one of them too. Could Tesco have a battery farm somewhere mass producing these "Living Creatures"?
Can I urge you to write to Tesco to enquire about the welfare of these angelic beings? Are they 'free range' and is there an 'organic' version? Are there any EU directives concerning the production of these creatures?
Or could this produce be some hideous genetic mutation being foisted onto an unsuspecting public?
If it is one of the 'Four Living Creatures' what are the implications for our understanding of the 'End Times'?

ps It tastes like chicken!