Editor's column: Let's make the 2020s a kinder decade

Well who remembers the Millennium? I certainly do, at a house party in the north of England with fireworks galore erupting over the moors heralding in the decade we had no idea what to call, which has since been dubbed the Noughties.
A beautiful picture of a bee sent in by Ron AdamsA beautiful picture of a bee sent in by Ron Adams
A beautiful picture of a bee sent in by Ron Adams

Millennium bug fears aside that all felt pretty positive didn’t it?

If you asked me in the year 2000 whether I thought in the year 2020 there would still be racism, sexism and homophobia I would probably have quite naively said ‘of course not’. At that time it genuinely felt like those things were dying out.

But not so anymore, and I feel that 20 years on, these things, particularly racism have less of a taboo than they did back at the turn of the 2000s.

Cries of ‘political correctness gone mad’ and ‘I’m not racist but’ seem to have watered down that taboo, and some people, perhaps emboldened by aspects of the Brexit debate, now feel able to say whatever they like.

Sticks and stones may break my bones... As the old adage goes, but don’t forget that words are very important, as are attitudes.

And if you do think it, examine why you do?

We are all human beings on this earth and no one is better than another. Fact.

As we enter the 2020s we are all living on a planet facing a climate emergency, one which could set the fragile world where we live on a catastrophic course.

There is more we can all do, yet despite proof some people, including some world leaders, choose to deny the crisis is even real.

If a catastrophe like that came along it wouldn't matter whether you own your home, sleep on the streets or recently came to live here from another country, we would all be equal in our suffering.

It would seem perverse to have wasted energy looking down on people we perceive to be 'lesser', rather than challenging the systems that aren't acting quick enough on these issues that actually matter.

We would all feel ashamed by our own inaction, and rightly angry at the people who should have protected us better.

So let’s make 2020 the start of a more tolerant and proactive decade if we can? Who's with me?!

Thank you to everyone who supports the Bucks Herald, either by advertising with us or by buying a paper or looking at our website. We can't do this without your support and we never take that support for granted. Have a very happy new year everyone!

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