| The Art of Pushing |
| After all those rollerblading lessons something inside me just knew that I'd be able to do it and so, nattily dressed in pinstripes, I negotiated bridges, zipped through amber lights like a thing possessed and swerved whenever the situation threatened to get out of hand. Although I personally got off scot-free, sadly the same thing couldn't be said of my suit. |
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There are times when having an opinion weighs upon me, and although my civic conscience couldn't care less, it makes the practical me shake its head. I'd like it not to be so, but you know how it is, you'd sooner bite your own tongue than blurt out what you're thinking, knowing as you do deep down that the consequences can be pretty outrageous. It depends on your status to what extent the average journalist would confuse his informative remit with his personal commitment, but when push comes to shove there's nothing you can do. Is there anything that can stop all those naughty people? Old age, dear sir, dear madam. Endurance is our only hope of salvation. Could you possibly speed it up a bit, I hear you mutter. But of course, all you need to do is not listen. Thank you so much for your patience. I'll just get on with it then, shall I? I seldom play chess, I seldom go swimming, I seldom go skating, and if this makes me sound like a bit of a stick-in-the-mud, so be it. What's more, people seldom listen to what I have to say - and yet I find myself thinking quite frequently that devoting attention to the regulation of the less appropriate forms of entertainment has to be preferable to banning them outright. It doesn't matter whether it concerns illicit street races, organised football hooliganism, the funerals of criminals or laying into outsiders - if you're interested in finding out who are doing things they really shouldn't be doing, don't send them packing, for they'll be doing them beyond your scope, with a vengeance. I haven't yet figured out how this works with journalists or politicians, for they have a way of remaining unstumpable until firmly pushed aside. |