Charles Kennedy, 1959-2015.

I’m a Liberal Democrat.

I mean, that’s not all what I am but by literal definition I am a ‘Liberal’ and I am a ‘Democrat’. I believe in internal radicalism – where one may challenge the institution from the inside and change it from the inside. I believe, under a reformed electoral system, we will live in a fundamentally fairer and better represented society. I believe in Open government along with strong social justice tendencies. Through defeating the plights of economic injustice, I think we can find ourselves dismantling several social and cultural injustices around us. From what was said in the ‘launching video’ of the Liberal Democrat Party’s video in 1988, I subscribed to several of those ideas.

Trouble is, being a Liberal Democrat in the last five years hasn’t been easy. We’ve often felt betrayed, lied to, that we’ve been sold out by a bunch of Machiavellian scoundrels, to put it more…academically. Our former leader (and technically still current) Nick Clegg sold out the party’s principles for a part in the game. We turned back to our short but interesting history to the many figures who helped build the Party and wonder if they despair at the choice that Clegg makes? Does Roy Jenkins shake his head from somewhere? One man I know did despair to some degree, for he is the only member of the Party to have openly voted against the Coalition in 2010, has just passed away.

That man was Charles Kennedy.

I've been a member of this party, on and off, since I was 13/14. I followed the coverage as we entered Coalition, I saw how internally and externally we battled. To me, Kennedy is a towering figure from a hopeful yesteryear. The sort of man we wanted to lead now. And the sort of man we hoped we arrive in our future. When I, as a Quaker, learnt of his plight against the Iraq War my respect for him grew more and more. I think, even if you’re unfamiliar with Kennedy, we all want men and women like him in politics. Here he was, in all his humane glory. He suffered a very difficult illness while leading his party, a party which he had helped build over some two decades.

Despite his youth, Charles Kennedy still managed to connect with the people of his constituency thanks to his immense personal touch in his politics. He really set up the idea of “there is another option” for people in politics and for myself as a young person, he helped establish that there can be more than just the same old, same old Tory/Labour. Perhaps without me realising, he joins a list of people who have helped me find a political voice and indeed, helped me formulate views. To me he devised the idea of modern, “sensiblepolitik.” 

And for that I thank you – for you have left with me an immense political hope and to understand that issues are not always so black & white.   

I am a troubled Welsh Man.

Dydd Gwyl Dewi hapus is chi gyd.

A happy St. David’s day to you all.

I’ve taken this day, a rather historic one in the Welsh-Christian calendar, to talk about my own approach to my national identity. To briefly sum it up; I find it a bugger trying to decide my nationality. I was born in Wales, which is of course a part of the UK, to Welsh-English parents. My Mother is half Welsh, half Irish and whereas my father is Anglo-Indian. Whenever I’m talking to someone who’s abroad, I identify as British. If they further interrogate this statement I reveal I was born and have lived in Wales my entire life. I can speak Welsh fluently, having studied only in Welsh right up until Sixth Form. I support Wales in the rugby, I’ve taken part in cultural traditions (Eisteddfodau, that sort of thing) and am quite happy to do choral music in Welsh.

But then I think about the frankness that I’ve noticed in the Welsh cultural identity. If you’re second language Welsh – there are two types of people. Those who mock you for your broken attempts at Welsh and those who encourage you. I don’t see the latter often enough and certainly didn’t experience that in school. Indeed, I remember in about Year 10 being mocked for asking for a tissue incorrectly by a teacher. I have noticed before and probably will again, certain areas in Wales where if you’re speaking English, you are treated as if you have bubonic plague. There’s the stiff upper lip, the sort of judgemental arrogance that comes with being quite old fashioned and set in your way. It is this which makes me sympathise with those who wish to never endeavour in speaking the language and hate that it is on our national curriculum.

However, I understand that the Welsh peoples have felt persecution. It goes back to 1282 – the last time a true “welsh prince” existed – it goes to the Act of Union of the mid-1500s. Our churches, our provincial governments, our culture and language have been assaulted upon constantly. Even by our own; if you look to David Lloyd George, to Dylan Thomas; two Welsh men who hid from their national identity. We have lost our powers and our economic strengths as soon as our industries went bust. And what is left in a small nation inside a small nation but a hollowed out shell of what it once was? A very angry collective who are fighting to keep themselves alive. I understand and empathise with the anger but, paradoxically, it drives me away from the Welsh. I treat those who are supposedly my national kin as “the others”.

Perhaps this is snobby of me. 

Perhaps I’ve caved; I be British instead of Welsh because Welsh are so looked down upon. But I think it goes back to quite a historical problem the Welsh have. We all hate the English and, inside our ranks, there’s hierarchy in and of itself. I’m not “Welsh enough” but still Welsh enough to be the butt of English people’s jokes. And that frustrates me to no end. I’ve heard comments that if they were said about any other race we’d say they were xenophobic. I’ll fight against anyone who claims that they’re not, thoroughly thrashing it out. But then I turn to the people who I’m meant to be a part of and because I’ve got “polished English”, I feel then isolated away from them. Because I’m just not in the neat box of Welsh as defined by those “above me.”

What I will say is this. There are no other mountains which I can say have defined me. It is upon the mountains near my home that I’ve found a great sense of purpose, of belief and have found my greatest ideas. My bond to them will be eternal. It is there, in the past, I’ve found my true self. And THAT is what I will always remember of Wales! Those glorious mountains and how, in so many ways, Wales offers itself as such a spiritual habitat. There are stories which travel the hills, great ones with battles and true loves. We are one of two countries in the world to have an alternative to Valentine’s Day – Santes Dwynwen, which is far more romantic than the tradition celebrated on the 14^th of February. 

Our image should be that history as well as one of hope. We're the 'race' who have survived; our language still travels the world and we still hear it being spoken in our country. We should encourage people, positively, at attempts at Welsh. My Taid (Grandfather) never heard English until he was thirteen years old. When he passed away, my Mother had two of his colleagues approach her saying they'd never bothered to learn Welsh before until they met him. His encouraging, open attitude was once which made them adjust their behaviour. Positivity goes a long way when it comes to cultural barriers. We should show our stories, our songs and how we feel that we have a lot to add to the make up of Britain and how we are welcoming. 

Politically (I'm not to dwell on this for once), we're a strong force that's growing. Plaid Cymru are a somewhat sensible platform; they talk of devolution before cultural revolution. They believe in trying to expand the identity of Wales across the world, as well as trying to promote smaller Welsh businesses. This is a way forward for us. And that of which we're not happy with? Charles being "our Prince", the role of Westminister in our government, the lack thereof Welsh support in education? These are issues you take slowly towards. We should make sure to remember the North has just as much to offer as the South by making use of that WAG building in Llandudno Junction, for instance. To end our tribal-like divisions to make a unified Wales; one that offers encouragement and strength, not just a proud old fashioned people. 

So, after writing this, do I feel more Welsh than before? No. I still feel quite Welsh as much as I feel British. I hope that some day this turmoil can make me feel quite proud to take a Welsh cake, put on a daffodil and say "Dwi'n Cymro am byth."  

A note on Charlie Hebdo (and free speech as a whole).

One of the things that I’ve noticed amongst the most leftist political commentators, some of whom I would identify as friends, is that despite this heinous crime the content of “Charlie Hebdo” should not be forgotten about. That, while it does not justify this horrific, abhorrent crime, the magazine was apparently filled with xenophobia, racism, sexism and the like. One blog I follow noted that freedom of speech should be granted but that this magazine was “hate speech” and should not be incorporated into arguments concerning freedom of speech.

The most important thing to remember about freedom of speech is that it gives anyone a right to the microphone of publishing content, should they choose to take it.

And many consider this a “problem” about free speech ideology.  That without this, movements like the KKK and UKIP would crumble instantly. Because while everyone is entitled to whatever opinion they may have, it is only those of perhaps a pure mind or heart that should be listened to. This is, essentially, where most of left wing’s elitism lies. It is not tied to finance but instead to what they believe to be intellectual and what they deem as ignorant ideas from ignorant men and woman. Which is a fair argument until eventually; it just becomes about they’re fighting against.

I thought it’d be a good time now to incorporate something I heard from the Commons coverage yesterday whilst they were discussing the Counter-Terrorism and Security Bill said by a Labour backbencher concerning the Paris Attack;

“In expressing our horror about what has occurred in Paris, some understandably ask how it is possible that it could take place. They ask how it is possible that journalists could be gunned down in the way they have been because of what has been written or because of cartoons. The answer is simple: we are dealing with murderous psychopaths. If hon. Members are puzzled or mystified by how such an outrage could occur, I simply ask them to remember what the Nazis did and remember the millions of people murdered for one reason only—not their politics and so on, but simply their racial origin. We are dealing here with people with a Nazi mindset, who consider it an obligation, as the Nazis did, to take lives."

By granting those who do not agree with you a voice, you are opening yourselves to outside of the parameters you have designed for yourself.

So what do we do? Make sure UKIP has as much time with the megaphone as the Government? Perhaps I am. Because they’re free to think what they like and technically, say what they like. But that doesn’t mean I’m totally shutting my doors to the idea I mentioned earlier – but instead, I would like to rephrase the sentiments of left wing thinking. (Naturally, the only course forward is to look at American politics!)

In 1984, one of the various clever tactics of President Reagan’s re-election campaign was to delegitimise the attempts Walter Mondale made for the White House. He allowed Mondale to speak on the same issues and to bring up issues that Reagan hadn’t addressed. Ideas that he disagreed with. However, whenever they side-by-side he simply made his philosophies sound like the only procedure and Mondale’s some alien’s design. It is about the legitimacy one has on a subject in comparison to someone who is not as well versed in such a matter.

It is the way to deal with those who are uniformed on feminist issues or LGBT. It is the way to address racial issues – to truly win a debate on any platform, your argument must look like the legitimate, correct one whilst still allowing your opposition to voice theirs. And if people have felt in the past that Charlie Hebdo has shown to be “hate speech” then it is simple – prove your argument to more than the simple squabbles of what many consider to be a new dawn of political correctness. Because for many? It was a magazine that did not allow the aristocracy, the great established organised churches of our world, to live with their glass ceilings.

But despite this quite convoluted argument concerning free speech, I think we can all agree that the crime committed was an atrocity. And the second you start killing those who are simply guilty of making people laugh then I can only assume that your understanding of the world is limited to the structures of your small minded caves.