Push Back - Tackling Depression

There are times when things become overwhelming. We have tried our hardest but nothing seems to go right. We put it down to bad luck or judgement; and think about what adjustments we can make. But try as we may everything keeps going wrong for us. In fact the harder we try, the worse things get. When faced with the inevitable truth of our impending utter failure we can sink into a deep depression. All of a sudden we lose all appetite for life, and confidence in ourselves. 

Falling into a depressive state can change one's personality. And if it goes on for too long a person can become emotionally disturbed and physically ill. There are times when it is possible to turn things around with the help of people who care for one. With sound advice and well placed attention one can be made to see the harm being done and pull back from the brink. But when depression has gone on for too long and taken root then professional therapy might be needed.

There a number of things that can be done to prevent or treat depression. These include:

- avoiding being too compulsive. Learn to accept failure and adapt one's responses. 

- enjoy a balanced life. Don't become over dependent on single things. Combine social activities with physical outlets.

- pay attention to your health. A healthy mind and body can help increase resilience. 

- develop good relationships. Don't just depend on the company of those near to you. Enjoy the company of people who have the capacity to teach and guide.

- seek help whenever things appear to be getting out of control. Sometimes a little direction can go a long way to improving one's outlook. 

All these may help prevent depression but the key element is still oneself. Get to know and appreciate who you are, and in doing so learn how to make life work for you. 

Fixing the Benefits System

The British coalition government promised to sort out the benefits system but all it has done is make life more difficult for those people who are most in need of help. So now people with disabilities no longer have the dignity of a comfortable abode or the benefit of an accurate assessment of their needs. I suppose you could say they are truly sorted out. 

The coalition is doing a bang up job of wrecking the welfare state but Labour are the party that should shoulder most of the blame. They had twelve years of government and overwhelming majorities but still refused to institute much needed reforms to the benefits system. Instead it chose the cowardly path of keeping the poor hooked on a flawed system. 

So now, not only is the UK saddled with an errant democracy; it also has a welfare system that is both overburdened and now out of kilter. So here are some suggestions for fixing it:

 Scrap universal benefits. Entitlement to benefits should be means tested and linked to national development objectives. 

 Establish national standards and competencies for all staff working in the benefits system. Set up certificated qualification levels with specialist categories for assessors and managers. 

 Set up a national document/credential verification system for all benefit applications. 

 Clarify residency and habitual residence guidelines. 

 Rescind right to buy legislation. Allocate social housing based on prioritised need. Set regional guidelines for needs assessment indexed to national deprivation indices. 

 Eligibility for Child benefit should be available for a fourth child, and only up to a fifth child. Or should only be available for first four children. 

I'm not quite sure it's possible to find a perfect fix for the welfare system but it is at least possible to improve it. 

Tackling Religious Extremism

Religious extremism has become a major threat to the social order as we know it. It represents a threat to individuals and to national security. Organised religion has been used as a platform for manipulating people and spreading incendiary and exploitative doctrines. Religious worship should be about restoring faith and bringing meaning to people's lives. Not about making money and providing an outlet for megalomania. The roots of the ravages of religious extremism go very deep. Various wars and international disputes have further entrenched religious differences around the world. Global poverty and the recent global recession has further served to make people feel increasingly insecure and vulnerable. 

Combating the dangers of extremist religious doctrine requires a response on a number of different levels. Individuals need to take responsibility for using religion as a force for good. Communities need to invest in fostering religious harmony amongst disparate groups. And governments have a duty to respect and promote the value of differing faiths. Religion should not be used to compromise the sovereignty and security of other countries. 

There has been a long history of religious differences and dealing with the divisions that have set in will take time. However, the commitment to improving things needs to be made, and seen to be made now. An environment of trust needs to be fostered in order for a more harmonious society to develop. 

Here is my five point plan for getting things started:

1. Address social inequality. Reduce government endorsement of privilege. Abolish government bestowed titles (not including awards).

2. Link tax benefits to proactive recruitment and retention of minorities. Require all companies applying for tax breaks to contribute to a social capital fund.

3. Make it mandatory for all religious organisations wishing to retain public charitable status to undergo annual audits and publish an annual report and accounts publicly. 

4. Increase emphasis on human rights in foreign policy. Stop trading off human rights violations and government corruption for economic gain. 

5. Establish a clear legislative and judicial process for tackling religious extremism. Knee jerk reactions only further the atmosphere of distrust and disenfranchisement. 

There is no quick fix to solving the problem but there are things that can be done to address it. All that is required are sincerity and commitment. 

Which Way Equality?

It is often assumed that race relations in the UK are in a much better state than they are in the United States. Despite the current protests against police killings in America; the debate about the Police use of ‘stop and search’ in England proves this may not actually be the case. History has shown that White institutional authority rarely coexists peacefully with the notion of advancement for people of colour. 

In the UK the society is still extremely hierarchical and extremely partial to discrimination and prejudice based on privilege and social status. In all respects the circumstances of a person’s birth plays a much greater part in their future life opportunities than their abilities and commitment to hard work. It was no surprise that that the recent riots in London occurred in neighbourhoods densely populated by private of colour. It is also a fact that the current welfare reforms are having a disproportionately negative effect on people of colour. 

If people of colour are going to improve their circumstances then the onus is on them to individually work hard to better their lives. It is unlikely that the chimera that is race equality will achieve that for them. In order to do this people of colour will need to overcome institutional racism and an adopted tendency towards underachieving. There need to be more role models for children from minority ethnic backgrounds. Not just pro athletes and entertainers. Role modelling isn't about material goods or achieving the trappings of wealth. We need families and communities to be providing the right value system for young people to motivate, commit and prepare themselves for a better life. We need to start creating a legacy of smart, hard and honest endeavour in our communities. We've had the dream; and followed the path of any necessary means. Now it's time for us to evolve into the strong and productive people we have a need to be.

50 Top Songs

1. Roberta Flack - Killing Me Softly 

2. George Benson - This Masquerade 

3. ConFunkShun - Straight From the Heart 

4. Eric Gale - Multiplication 

5. Bill Withers - Grandma's Hands 

6. Anthony Hamilton - Dear Life 

7. Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrel - You're All I Need to Get By

8. Randy Crawford - One Hello 

9. Luther Vandross - If This World Were Mine 

10. Tank - I Can't Make You Love Me 

11. Quincy Jones - Secret Garden 

12. Luther Vandross - Any Love 

13. Mary J. Blige featuring Method Man - You're All I Need to Get By

14. Teddy Pendergrass - You're My Latest, My Greatest Inspiration 

15. Bob Marley - Is It Love?

16. Stevie Wonder - All I Do

17. John Legend - All of Me 

18. Anita Baker - Caught Up in the Rapture 

19. Fela Anikulapo-Kuti - Gentleman 

20. Kurtis Blow - The Breaks

21. Grover Washington Jr. featuring Bill Withers - Just The Two of Us 

22. LL Cool J - I Need Love 

23. Pete Rock & CL Smooth - They Reminisce Over You (TROY)

24. Millie Jackson - If Loving You is Wrong 

25. Isaac Hayes - Walk On By 

26. Prince Nico Mbarga - Sweet Mother 

27. Ramsey Lewis - Routes

28. Hubert Laws - Farandole

29. Sam Cooke - You Send Me 

30. Nat King Cole - L-O-V-E

31. Ronnie Laws - Friends and Strangers 

32. Sugarhill Gang - Rappers Delight 

33. Raydio - More Than One Way to Love a Woman 

34. 2Pac - Dear Mama 

35. Al Green - How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?

36. Echoes Of An Era - I Love You Porgy 

37. The O'Jays - Brandy

38. Manhattans - Kiss and Say Goodbye 

39. Jaheim - Put That Woman First 

40. Dr. Dre - Ain't Nuthin But a G Thang

41. The L.O.X. - Ryde or Die, Bitch

42. Intro - Come Inside 

43. Kanye West - All Fall Down 

44. Charlie Wilson - Homeless

45. Jermaine Jackson - First You Laugh Then You Cry

46. Keith Sweat - Put Your Loving Through The Test

47. Smokey Robinson - Tears of a Clown 

48. Michael Jackson - One Day in Your Life 

49. GAP Band - Yearning For Your Love 

50. Jagged Edge - He Can't Love You 

One Person at a Time

I must admit I do get a bit worked up by people who I see refusing to make even a little effort to pay heed to the convenience of others. Too many people drop rubbish on the ground in the street even though they could hold on to it till they can dispose of it properly. Some even drop rubbish while walking past a bin. There are those who merrily smoke in bus shelters. Not to talk of those who spit in public, even in close proximity to others. And there are those geniuses who take calls on their phones using the loudspeaker, as if the phone is a walkie-talkie.

Too many of us take the view that the little things don't really matter. We assume that it's okay to cut corners just this once, or twice; depending on how many times we need to. The little things we tend to ignore very often end up being big deals to others. Ultimately the accumulation of all the little things we ignore become habitually major omissions and malfeasances that we do persistently. These end up being the means by which we harm ourselves and the environment through neglect and bad choices. 

As it turns out doing one little thing to spare the feelings or convenience of another person has the potential to make things better for society as a whole. One more better off person, or much improved environment is one more step to us feeling better about and doing better for ourselves. Instead too many of us are content to live like animals on a planet that we have claimed for humanity. 

The Age of the Text

It's interesting how trends and technology have similar development cycles. I remember when ostentatious belt buckles and ballet pumps used to be all the rage. Where are they now? There have been so many technological developments that have sprung up only to be swallowed up by the advancement of innovation. I remember when fax machines used to be all the rage. People had them in their cars. People broke up via facsimiles. People made deals over them. I won't even talk about PDAs or two-way pagers. 

But now we're in the age of mobile communications and the text is the Clown Prince. Or should that be the crown prince? In this age communication has to be short and quick. If not, the audience is lost and with it message credibility. In many ways this convenience has meant that text messages have become the primary mode of expression for certain groups of people. So it has found a way to be both concise and emotive. Thus the SMS has brought to the fore text-speak and emoticons (smileys). 

In many ways text-speak and emoticons are the perfect crossover between making a point and saying nonsense. For the person sending it the message can be emphatic and prompt. The person receiving it can either grasp it or spend the next fifteen minutes sending messages back and forth trying to get the point. Text-speak has become the perfect vehicle for equality. Anyone can be in on the trend. It helps cover up illiteracy and doesn't come with a posh accent. In fact many people have started to think in text-speak.

I have nothing against abbreviations. Half the time they are the perfect excuse to ignore some nonsense someone is spouting at me. 

Emoticons do rub me the wrong way occasionally though. Particularly when people use them as to respond to issues rather than just for emphasis. There are so many of them out there now that it isn't possible to keep up. So they end up being meaningless when used arbitrarily. I remember when emoticons used to be the highlight of using Yahoo! Instant Messenger (another trend that has bitten the dust). 

Love or hate them the text message and all it's expediences are here to stay. So I'll just have to keep enduring them, and snap occasionally when I receive the odd befuddling emoticon.