This thread was inspired by the recent discussion about school trips elsewhere on the forum. It seems that amongst the teachers of EF, I'm something of a rare beast: a conservative who thinks that the public sector (in the United Kingdom, at least) needs a good shake up. This, despite having worked for several years within the public sector.
The most enlightening period of my political education occurred when I had the opportunity to work with asylum seekers and refugees for a few years. I loved the job - if I hadn't moved to Switzerland for personal reasons, I'd still be there today (except the job doesn't exist any more, but still...). It's rare to have the feeling that you're actually changing people's lives - and wider society - for the better, but I had the privilege of experiencing that feeling on a weekly, sometimes daily basis.
It was discomfiting at times, though. I learned an awful lot about international politics straight from the horses' mouths, stuff that never made it into the Times or the Guardian. I discovered how utterly alien and incomprehensible some people's views of the world are. I discovered how absolutely ****ing loathsome and evil some people can be. I also discovered how bloody incredibly strong and resilient some people can be. I discovered that the KLA were just as big a threat to the Albanians of Kosova as the Serb militias; how adamantly antisemitic some Arabs can be; how cruel the indigenous population of England can be; how malicious and dishonest some police officers can be; how very annoying some social workers can be; how incredibly devoted and hardworking some social workers can be.
Most importantly of all, though, I discovered how utterly wasteful the public sector can be. Local education authorities complain of being hard up, and it's a fact that teachers are expected to chip in to the pot, whether it be buying ice cream for 30 kids on a school trip, a box of copier paper or suitable resources for the upcoming history topic (as I said elsewhere, it's part of the job). Meanwhile, however, there are groups of teenagers being taken out for slap-up meals at the local Berni Inn, there are endless sessions of 'diversity' training, there are 'fact finding missions' to far flung places across the globe, and there's always money for the buffet at the LEA's training day.
The greatest sin of all is to not have spent your entire budget by the beginning of April. After all, if you're too efficient, you won't get as much money next year! So every spring there was a mad rush to piss money away on all sorts of nonsense. Not copier paper, of course. That's a different budget. No, no - we must take the team for drinks at the pavillion in the park - we'll call it [insert fashionable cause]-awareness training. Not a thought was given to Steve the plasterer up the road who was subsidising this waste through his council tax money, nor any of the other thousands of hard-pressed contributors to the public kitty throughout the county. Money comes from county hall, doesn't it? It's already been spent, after all...
It was difficult, because I personally benefited from the generosity of the people of our county, but I knew it was wrong. And more importantly, I knew this was happening in every country across the length and breadth of the United Kingdom. And there wasn't a thing I could do about it.
... which is why I became a conservative - not necessarily with a big C, because most of the current shower are a right bunch of cocks - but a conservative who believes that the people know best what to do with their own wages, that the public sector needs a kick up the arse, that the culture of benefits kills the innate striving spirit of ordinary people, that our understanding of geopolitics is frequently based on half-truths and media bullshit, and that people who think eating curry and wearing a sari makes them culturally aware deserve a good slap about the chops.
So... we've got bankers and pharma people and teachers and all sorts on this forum: how has your job influenced your political views and understanding of the world?
The most enlightening period of my political education occurred when I had the opportunity to work with asylum seekers and refugees for a few years. I loved the job - if I hadn't moved to Switzerland for personal reasons, I'd still be there today (except the job doesn't exist any more, but still...). It's rare to have the feeling that you're actually changing people's lives - and wider society - for the better, but I had the privilege of experiencing that feeling on a weekly, sometimes daily basis.
It was discomfiting at times, though. I learned an awful lot about international politics straight from the horses' mouths, stuff that never made it into the Times or the Guardian. I discovered how utterly alien and incomprehensible some people's views of the world are. I discovered how absolutely ****ing loathsome and evil some people can be. I also discovered how bloody incredibly strong and resilient some people can be. I discovered that the KLA were just as big a threat to the Albanians of Kosova as the Serb militias; how adamantly antisemitic some Arabs can be; how cruel the indigenous population of England can be; how malicious and dishonest some police officers can be; how very annoying some social workers can be; how incredibly devoted and hardworking some social workers can be.
Most importantly of all, though, I discovered how utterly wasteful the public sector can be. Local education authorities complain of being hard up, and it's a fact that teachers are expected to chip in to the pot, whether it be buying ice cream for 30 kids on a school trip, a box of copier paper or suitable resources for the upcoming history topic (as I said elsewhere, it's part of the job). Meanwhile, however, there are groups of teenagers being taken out for slap-up meals at the local Berni Inn, there are endless sessions of 'diversity' training, there are 'fact finding missions' to far flung places across the globe, and there's always money for the buffet at the LEA's training day.
The greatest sin of all is to not have spent your entire budget by the beginning of April. After all, if you're too efficient, you won't get as much money next year! So every spring there was a mad rush to piss money away on all sorts of nonsense. Not copier paper, of course. That's a different budget. No, no - we must take the team for drinks at the pavillion in the park - we'll call it [insert fashionable cause]-awareness training. Not a thought was given to Steve the plasterer up the road who was subsidising this waste through his council tax money, nor any of the other thousands of hard-pressed contributors to the public kitty throughout the county. Money comes from county hall, doesn't it? It's already been spent, after all...
It was difficult, because I personally benefited from the generosity of the people of our county, but I knew it was wrong. And more importantly, I knew this was happening in every country across the length and breadth of the United Kingdom. And there wasn't a thing I could do about it.
... which is why I became a conservative - not necessarily with a big C, because most of the current shower are a right bunch of cocks - but a conservative who believes that the people know best what to do with their own wages, that the public sector needs a kick up the arse, that the culture of benefits kills the innate striving spirit of ordinary people, that our understanding of geopolitics is frequently based on half-truths and media bullshit, and that people who think eating curry and wearing a sari makes them culturally aware deserve a good slap about the chops.
So... we've got bankers and pharma people and teachers and all sorts on this forum: how has your job influenced your political views and understanding of the world?