It's Time to Unite for the sake of our Children!

I don't claim to be an expert in any field so these are just the musings of an ordinary woman. 

I'm sure I am not the only one feeling like we live in a deeply divided country and that the chasm seems to be widening every day. The continued pantomime which is the Brexit negotiations seems to be angering and confusing people at both sides of the political spectrum whilst fueling the 'us vs them' mentality that seems to reign supreme in the UK presently. But it is not the only line of division. The way I see it, every human characteristic imaginable is being sub-divided and politicized; men vs women, black vs white, straight vs gay etc etc. 

On the one hand, this may be an attempt to further recognize the needs of marginalized groups. On the other hand, it makes such an issue of these differences that it causes the very thing it is claiming to address to become the sole identity of people. It also denies people agency on the grounds of helplessness and leaves the more outspoken 'members' of such groups to speak for entire sections of the populous. For example, I've witnessed a growing mistrust of ordinary men whereby they are labeled at best, as inherently sexist and, at worst, potential sex offenders.  This narrative seems to stem from a new wave of feminism (which does not speak for me as a woman) and is just one example of how identity politics is damaging society. This is because real sexism and abuse of women becomes indistinguishable from the innocent interactions many men have with women every day. The same can be said for racism; a word that, today, seems to have lost all meaning because it has become a retort used by some to throw at anyone who doesn't agree with a certain viewpoint. Again, this overshadows real incidents of racism which need to be dealt with firmly, thus further marginalizing members of ethnic minority groups and creating deeper divisions.

I don't believe that the vast majority of people are racist, sexist, homophobic or anything else. Those I meet are just ordinary people trying to live a decent life. So why has this become such an issue and who benefits? It is my belief that since the demise of the Occupy Movement, where I saw people all over the world and of every characteristic, join together for a fairer world, people have moved further and further away from any sense of unity. Powerful people, such as George Soros, have spent lots of money funding movements that will never foster a sense of togetherness among the ordinary people of the world because they downplay our shared sense of humanity in favour of 'in groups and out groups'. This divide and conquer mentality has been used against us for centuries and, unfortunately, is now in full swing. So what can we do about it?

I've pondered this question for a while and, it seems to me that in order to better the lives of the 99% we need to, once again, unite around a common issue. And out of all of the issues needing addressed in our time, one stands out above the rest and that is the systemic and wholesale abuse of children, who unlike most other marginalized groups, still remain largely voiceless. However, in the UK at present, this issue is strengthening divisions between the left and right. Those considered to be on the political right feel that the largely, Pakistani Muslim grooming gangs have been allowed to continue to abuse children due to fears over perceived racism. Those on the left will say that white British men abuse children too and that it is racist to overplay the ethnic or religious background of the perpetrators. I would agree that child abusers come from many different backgrounds and there are difficult discussions that need to be had in order to protect those we hold most dear. 

Unfortunately, those discussions are not happening and the only people that suits are those who continue to abuse or get away with abusing children, whether they hail from the streets of our towns and cities or the corridors of power. It's time we shook off the labels that shackle and divide us and stand together to protect our children because a society that can't put this issue above all others is one that is doomed to fail.