I became interested in politics because, when I was little, my grandmother used to sit me on her knee while she watched the news.
Together we watched programmes like Panorama, leaving me with many memories of events to this day: the death of the King being announced; the Russian invasion of Hungary with tanks in Budapest; the Suez Canal crisis; and many others.
My grandmother would explain what was going on while we watched Panorama, our ‘window on the world’.
So instead of watching Andy Pandy or Bill and Ben, I followed a very different kind of story: politics!
My interest in politics has stayed with me ever since, leading me to get involved in some political activities over the years.
Militant tendency
The second educational factor which led to my active involvement in politics was the rise of Militant Tendency in Liverpool. This movement effectively took over the Labour Party, and then took the city to the edge of bankruptcy. I remember the decision made by the House of Lords to dismiss the Militant Tendency ruling group from control of the City Council for agreeing an illegal budget.
The ‘sensible six’ Labour Councillors who opposed this budget stayed in office, but suffered mightily at the hands of Militant Tendency.
It was this series of events which drove me into active politics and, in 1981, into joining the Social Democratic Party (SDP). One of SDP’s founding members was Shirley Williams. She saw and experienced what was happening in her party and with three other senior colleagues, Roy Jenkins, David Owen, and Bill Rodgers, built a new social democratic party. She was a beacon of truth in politics, with her overriding concern for people, not publicity, nor power for the self. I was very lucky to know her and learned a great deal from her.
Williams was a tower of strength, knowledge, and kindness during the time I knew her. She strongly believed in political honesty, truth, and standing up for the people, not just for the few important ones!
From past to future
So, which recent events have brought these thoughts to mind?
I was reminded recently of a quote from George Orwell’s book 1984. He wrote:
“Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.”
Looking at today’s world, nothing could be more true.
Social media is enabling some politicians to rewrite history, and to use propaganda as truth. Why? Because ‘the bigger the lie, the more people believe it!’ These are not my words, but those of Goebbels, Hitler’s chief propagandist.
How is this new form of communication changing behaviour and beliefs? How is it changing politics? Why is it being done and what is the impact?
We learn from what we experience. Reading posts on social media can be extremely harmful, not just for adults but, as we are learning from recent research, also for children and young people too.
Lies are spread far and wide and, because of their weight and the speed of travel, are believed before they can be corrected. In earlier times, such speed of communication was unknown. Today it is the norm.
In the United States social media has come to rule the day, with politicians using it to create a false past. The 2020 Presidential election, which was lost by the incumbent at the time, President Donald Trump, is a classic example. Fabricated claims that the election had been corrupted by false results, and had been won fraudulently by Joe Biden, circulated like wildfire. Events on Jan 6th at the Capitol building, driven by social media and Donald Trump’s speech, were broadcast around the world, and showed how powerful lies can be.
Over 1500 people were charged following the attack on the Capitol building with federal crimes. This was one of the largest criminal probes in US history. Yet those convicted were pardoned en masse by President Trump’s on the first day of his second term.
So, the past can be changed and can lead to the present being challenged. For many millions of people, the only truth that matters is what is read on social media. Real truth is drowned in the sea of lies. ´Free speech’ is the weapon used to ensure that such messaging is protected. But genuine free speech demands truth, honesty and real evidence, not disinformation or altered facts.
Shaping the future
Our present is shaping our future, with bad actors doing this using a fabricated dystopian past and present.
Why? The answer is simple: controlling the thoughts and beliefs of others leads to power, and power leads to riches.
The powerful few exercise control over us by using the voice they want us to hear. Our voices are drowned out through the intensity of media propaganda.
And who pays for this?
Our young boys and girls, groomed by addictive algorithms on social media; women being pushed away from democratic involvement by bullying and misogyny; men being encouraged to act as intimidators, sometimes being violent in that role.
There are many other examples. What is happening now, in our present and recreated past, will shape our future for generations to come.
Orwell was right.
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