Progressive change in UK
The refreshingly progressive outcome of the general election in the UK (16 June) could be described as a triumph of political conviction honestly shared over soundbite campaigning and personal attacks.
Jeremy Corbyn, much to the surprise of many, has emerged as a convincing and popular leader of a party with ideas for restoring our eroded society with improvements (to the health service, education, rail transport, utility companies and taxation) that the vast majority yearn for, but the privileged few don’t wish to see, as their profits would be severely dented.
It is particularly gratifying to see that the electorate is no longer persuaded by the rabid rantings of the rightwing press. It is also a relief to find that younger voters have seen what a powerful agent for change they can be if they act in unison and get to the polling stations to vote. Britain may yet have a future worth investing in.
Brian Sims
Bedford, UK
• Jeremy Corbyn may not have saved Britain yet, but he and his supporters have shifted the centre of gravity of the political and economic debate (Polly Toynbee, 16 June). To use the jargon they have moved the “Overton window” – the range of ideas that the public will accept – back towards the left. This was done by overcoming decades and millions of pounds of propaganda by conservative politicians, political economists, businesses and the press.
This shifting of the debate appears to be part of a growing trend, especially in the economic field. Long may it continue. Then we might not only save Britain but also the rest of the world from the chaos and unfairness that most people have experienced since the 1980s.
Malcolm March
Dorchester, UK
Give America a chance
Regarding How the US became a rogue state (9 June): please do not pass judgement on the people of the United States based on Donald Trump’s actions, at least not yet. Certainly, Trump is a rogue president – unpopular, unfit, horrifically destructive and dangerous. But we should not yet be likewise condemned.
Give us a chance to repair the hideous accident of the last election (in which Trump decisively lost the popular vote, please remember!). We are working desperately to do so in the streets, on the internet, in our homes and workplaces, and at the polls, most significantly in next November’s crucial midterm elections.
If we fail to take our democracy back, kick us out of the global community with our understanding. And maybe start building some walls of your own – because we will surely be heading your way.
Emily Roberson
San Francisco, California, US
Troubling alliances
President Donald Trump’s recent visit to the Middle East seems to have activated nascent alliances for and against neutral Qatar in what is potentially a destabilising conflict (16 June). Those alliances, while not formalised as such, are nonetheless eerily reminiscent of the Triple Alliance and the Triple Entente in the lead-up to the first world war: all the more so now that Turkey is sending troops to Qatar.
Those first world war alliances locked the member nations into a catastrophic conflict with devastating consequences for all involved.
Neutrality can bring strong pressure to bear. When I worked for a union in the middle of intense factional brawling, my factional neutrality was seen by some as a sort of partisanship by default. George W Bush invoked the same kind of inflexibility post-9/11 when he declared: “Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists.”
We are a long way from the entrenched alliances that drew the nations into a world war. But in a world where old certainties no longer exist and anything could happen, the emerging allegiances in the Middle East are a worry.
Terry Hewton
Adelaide, South Australia
Briefly
• The entirely preventable tragedy of the Grenfell Tower is a true bonfire of the vanities of Tory dogma: deregulation, privatisation and austerity (23 June). A fitting monument to neoliberal orthodoxy.
Penelope Sender
Auckland, New Zealand
• James Comey says Trump lied, Donald Trump says Comey lied (16 June). The jury is out. It may help to look at some of the traits of a pathological liar: abusive attitudes, aggressiveness, anger, deception, impulsivity, jealousy, low self-esteem, manipulation, narcissism, obsessive control, selfishness, socially awkwardness, being temperamental. Hmmm.
Rhys Winterburn
Perth, Western Australia
• The review of the three books about swimming in bodies of cold water (9 June) suggests such activity is physically beneficial by raising levels of endorphins and improves mood better than antidepressants. Could this be the reason behind that well-known response to verbal abuse from obnoxious people: “Oh, go jump in the lake”?
Anthony Walter
Surrey, British Columbia, Canada
• If Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka – his best friend and “what a beauty” to boot – cannot curb his bloody-mindedness to sign on to the Paris agreement, who can (9 June)? Presidents often take up the bully pulpit; this one merely a bullhorn.
RM Fransson
Wheat Ridge, Colorado, US
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