Dear Editor
ONCE a week I get together with friends to read the Bible. Last week we were looking at Jesus’s words about being a light to the world. We shared stories about how we try to shine light in our communities.
A civil servant described how they tried to save taxpayers money – ‘people have literally nothing to do so they invent processes, tasks and bureaucracy; they create titles like “strategic oversight coordinator” or “horizon scanning team” – they gave up trying to change things because no one with power wants to rock the boat lest their job be one of the many that need to be axed’.
A retired lady who works very hard to keep her community safe from alcohol and drug-related crime, described how she’d been asked to attend a meeting with the police and local authority about a proposed new community development. When she asked about the high levels of crime in the area the senior police representative said there was no reported crime. My friend immediately showed them some of the numerous crimes she’d reported. It transpired that while crimes had been reported they hadn’t been recorded, let alone actioned and collated in crime statistics.
I’ve been trying to shine light in those Anglican churches where the Gospel is read as justification for sermons and prayers about political fads rather than a focus on the Gospel and its call to personal responsibility including prayer, service, repentance, forgiveness and being a good neighbour.
Lots of other things came up but all seemed indicative of a society where people believe they have lots of rights but no responsibilities. When people don’t get what they want they get angry and unhappy and blame everyone else for it. When they do get what they want they get bored quickly and get angry and unhappy and blame everyone else for it. When we have purpose to our lives and a sense of responsibility to God and each other we are generally happier.
If we are to survive and thrive as a country we need all our citizens (and most particularly our public sector) focused on responsibility to deliver cost effectively and to banish bureaucracy and entitlement.
Carol Atkinson
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