Towards a better world

Down with Christmas trees and other Christmas decorations. That, evidently, seems to be the mood in some states down south. Maybe it's just a distraction from the steady drumming we get on the Covid thing. But maybe not. Maybe it's an honest call to get us all to refine our ways and our thinking in these cancel-culture days. Let them come down then, just as statues have already come down! But this wish, or act, of purification, shouldn't stop at tearing down lights or monuments that so obviously offend people. Foodbanks should be made illegal, for in these days of rising unemployment and widespread inequality they remind us of those who can still afford to give. Cops, who are guilty of hampering the Robin Hood quest in a society of haves and have nots, should of course be defunded. In schools the study of history and science should be discouraged: the one because it focuses too much on discoverers and conquerors and legislators who were responsible for or codified today's inequalities; the other because its discoveries have in the past advantaged the wealthier countries, and to a large extent still do. For the sake of a better world all these things, obviously, should be cancelled out. Heck, the use of the English language should be muted out, being, as it is, one of the most insidious and widespread reminders of the ills of colonialism. Indeed, the colour white, or what we call white, should itself be smudged out, guilty as it is of perpetuating today's most glaring sin. The shutting off of Christmas lighs is therefore a welcome first step—and a great Christmas cheer! Ermes