On the March

Ok so I haven't posted for a while. Partly I have been too busy doing to write about it and partly there hasn't been much to say. Today however we joined 35,000 other people on the streets of Manchester to protest against the cuts imposed by the government on the opening day of the Tory party conference. The children dressed themselves as zombies - the generation of the living dead thanks to the massive cuts that have been made and the burden of financial responsibility that will fall on their shoulders as they mature into adulthood.

I had to ask myself some serious questions before going on this march. What did I really think? Previous demo's I have been on have been to do with climate change, third world poverty and more recently cuts in local services that directly affect me and mine. All issues that easily motivate me to get out on the streets and protest. This however felt a little different. I didn't necessarily agree with the aims and objectives of the organising group, in fact I didn't actually know what they were to begin with. I don't necessarily disagree with everything the conservatives have done. Protesting on the streets of Manchester is a very public statement so I weighed my options - admittedly only after the children had already decided they were going.

On balance there are many reasons to protest

The original meaning of the word protest is to bear witness for something, before someone. In that context on Sunday I marched to bear witness to the damage that far reaching cuts are doing to our country and to the damage they will do in the future.  I marched because people who have poor opportunities have had their opportunities reduced even further. I marched because young people have lost community groups that offered protection from gangs, university is now and unattainable goal, and EMA a thing of the past. I marched because university education will now be a means to get a job rather than a valued end in its own right and much knowledge that is not financially useful will be lost. I marched because my parents will now be unable to claim their full pensions along with many others who were just about to retire. I marched because climate change  - the most important issue to face our world to date- will now fall off the agenda in an effort to keep countries solvent. I marched because I want children who are interested and engaged with the political process that affects how they can live their lives. I marched because I do not want to loose the right to public protest and if we don't use it we WILL loose it especially in the light of Augusts riots. I marched because desperate parents have lost the support of their sure start centres as they are closed one by one. I marched because children in my local area who congregate in the library for want of somewhere else to go where someone is interested in them, will now have nowhere to go because our libraries are closing. I marched because for the first time the prospects of the generation to come are less than my own.

I did NOT march to overthrow the government or because I thought my little voice would change the mind of the government. I did not march because I agreed with all the aims and agendas of the different groups represented in the protest. If I waited for that I would never do anything. I did not march because I think the Tories are scum and I did not march because I am disaffected, dissatisfied or just generally angry.

Regardless of the outcome of the protest it has value in its own right. Jesus called us to bear witness to the truth. Many years ago a man named William Wilberforce did just that. It took over 20 years but in the end slavery was abolished. The more people remain silent, the longer we sit at home wringing our hands at the state of the world, the longer it will take.

The next demo is the one in support of the general strike called for November 30th. Will I go? Not sure yet. Probably. Do I agree with a general strike? Not sure but I know that the right to strike is fundamental and I have spent time with people from developing countries who do not have that right, people who look to our past and what the trade unions achieved for us to inspire them to fight for decent wages and working conditions. I think really we are all the same and that is all we are asking.