Occasionally wisdom comes from the strangest of places. I would not normally listen to a set performed by the Scottish comedian Frankie Boyle as he is known for ‘pushing the envelope just a little bit too far’. However, whilst reading, I came across a joke attributed to Frankie Boyle: “More and more people are going to zoos in this country, not because they’re interested in the animals but because they want to see what life could be like with three guaranteed meals a day and a roof over your head.”
It is intended as humour but he makes a good point. We are living in a society where, quite rightly, animal welfare is relatively high on the agenda. We are also living in a society where many of our fellow humans beings do not know the experience of three meals a day and a roof over their head.
We can look to the developing world where for countless thousands this is their lot in life. We can look at the towns and cities of the UK where this is their lot in life. We can look at the streets of Bath, where despite the best efforts of many volunteers both religious and secular, this is their lot in life. But it goes further. We have young people ‘sofa surfing’. We have young parents feeding their babies and infants from food banks. We have the bleak spectacle of elderly people dropping dead in their places of work. They should have been long retired but must work as the ‘pension’ is inadequate to provide food, heat and shelter. We have disabled people begging as their meagre benefits are denied them.
Winter witnesses homeless people trying to be arrested to be housed in jail to avoid hypothermia on the street. Others attempt to get admitted to hospital for the same reason. It is a measure of civilisation as to how a society treats its most vulnerable members. How does our UK society measure up? I think Frankie Boyle makes a good point. How shall we respond to it?
David Pattie
Respond