A letter a day to number 10. No 1,283
Saturday 12 December 2015.
Dear Mr Cameron,
You know, some fool once said, ‘there’s no such thing as a free lunch’ which is really just a triumph of cynicism but which sums up you Tories to a T.
I have to wonder if you’ve ever done something for nothing, something in which the consideration of self gain was entirely absent?
The dignity of life and every moment of progress we’ve made down the ages has required, as an absolute necessity, the ability to co-operate and what that means is the ability to live in such a way as to balance personal needs with the ability to act for others which also means acting without fear or favour on what is best for all, involving, at times, being selfless. Doing things of benefit to others that do not involve personal reward or gain happen all the time in a myriad of different ways, from picking up and handing back something dropped, to helping others move house, giving someone a lift or caring for another, and this happens because it is an essential part of being human, living and growing.
I have only heard the expression ‘self made man’ used to describe people who have become very wealthy. Owner of, reportedly, staff abusing Sports Direct, Mike Ashley, is so described, he is also described in glowing terms as an entrepreneur. What he is is a shop owner who has made his billions on the backs of others. In fact I’d like someone to point out anyone who has amassed a fortune who has not made their fortune on the backs of others. The ‘Self made man’ is a fallacy, an egotistical self aggrandising myth. Self made men, like you and your government, can do what they do only by maintaining a callous disregard for their fellow humans.
The consultation that has been launched for Personal Independent Payments (PIP) represents a miscarriage of justice and social reform by a department headed by a brute with no regard or respect for human life and dignity, in other words it’s an abortion. It is a dehumanised tick box exercise in benefit denial which is the raison d’être of the DWP under Iain Duncan Smith. Human beings are reduced to no more than functions assessed in black and white terms without a single human consideration. I really have no idea what motivates you and your government to act with such brutality towards poor and vulnerable people, what I do know is that it has to stop and I very much hope that those engaging with the ‘consultation’ will call for it to be scrapped in its entirety and re-planned and rebuilt with consideration for humanity as its founding principle. As should have been done in the first place but which Smith is utterly incompetent to do!
http://www.thejournal.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/billionaires-133m-bid-4528292
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2015/10/05/sports-direct-ambulances-workers-sick_n_8243900.html
Fear and Loathing in Great Britain 
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