They say when times are bad you learn who your real friends are. Well times are bad now and I’m struggling to see much friendliness in the world.
I watched the Netflix documentary last night about Michelle Obama’s promotional tour for her book ‘Becoming’. She seems a good lady, they seem a nice family and yet they somehow paved the way for someone who seems the polar opposite in Donald Trump a vulgar man who, to me, appears to have no sense of personal responsibility or decency.
Maybe that’s how you have to be to get on. Look at other major world leaders such as the Chinese president Xi Jinping and his country’s secrecy around Covid-19 and what they’re now doing in Hong Kong. Then there’s Russia’s power-mad Vladimir Putin who seems to be behind so much evil in the world.
Even the organisations that exist to just do good can’t be trusted, the World Health Organisation springs to mind for its complicity with China’s secrecy and so does global charity Oxfam who tried to cover up the sexual exploitation of young Haitian women after the 2010 earthquake.
Despite the manifest incompetence of our own government I suppose you can contend they are trying to do their best. Railed against them are the unions, Labour councils, the heads of the devolved governments and much of the media all looking to make hay out of the current crisis.
As an example right now we’re in the midst of this pathetic left-wing campaign to force Dominic Cummings’ resignation because of his supposed infringement of the lockdown laws. Who gives a s***!
It’s just a media game led by the likes of loud mouth Piers Morgan to make them feel more important, more influential, get more Twitter followers. It’s so sad.
Everyone seems to be looking out only themselves or their own interests. Even in sport where the Premier League clubs are trying to decide how to end the football season the only thing that motivates the various teams is how it will affect them.
Seems to me those teams currently sat at the bottom of the table are just playing for time in the hope the season will be voided and they don’t get relegated. Not a moment’s thought for what is right or what’s best for football fans.
There seem to be no role models I’ve been racking my brains to come up with some and here they are, the famous people who are all good:
The New Zealand PM Jacinda Adern – she seems caring and capable
Bill Gates – not only did he create a hugely successful business providing work for millions of people, now his philanthropic work is truly inspirational.
Our chancellor Rishi Sunak seems a decent young man doing his best.
Oh, and there’s actor Tom Hanks.
There was a lovely story I read yesterday about how he sent a letter to an eight years old Australian boy who was being bullied by classmates because of his name Corona de Vries.
“Dear Friend Corona,” wrote Hanks. “Your letter made my wife and I feel so wonderful! Thank you for being such a good friend – friends make friends feel good when they are down. You are the only person I’ve ever known to have the name Corona – like the ring around the sun, a crown.”
Along with the letter Hanks also sent the boy a Corona-brand typewriter, which he had used during his virus quarantine in Australia.
“I thought this typewriter would suit you,” he said. “I had taken it to the Gold Coast, and now, it is back – with you. Ask a grown up how it works. And use it to write me back.”
Corona wrote to Hanks because of his role as the voice Woody in the Toy Story films. Hanks had hand-written at the end of the letter: “PS! You got a friend in ME!” – a reference to the film’s theme song.
There you go four good famous people in total out of the world’s population of 8 billion!
As I head inexorably towards my sixtieth year I don’t think I ever felt more despairing about the state of humanity as I do now though the lovely letter from Tom Hanks does give me a glimmer of hope!