Coming Together

I see myself as having always been a reasonably open-minded chap in political terms. In my late teenage years I deliberately exposed myself to commentary from all sides of the spectrum, reading newspapers reflecting the political left, centre and right (in British terms) and for years purchased The New Statesman and The Spectator every Friday. (I always thought The Spectator a better read even though the other mag was more reflective of the ideas for which I tended to have greater sympathy.) Indeed, at university I reached the conclusion I couldn't join any political party as there was invariably something about their programmes with which I disagreed and I realised I could never tow the party-line, whatever it was. 

But nowadays I find I have arrived at one absolute certainty: a political philosophy founded entirely on the notion of the sovereignty of the individual, if pushed to an extreme (I'm looking at you, Ayn Rand), will inevitably end in tears; in contrast, a political philosophy founded on a sensible respect for the value of community might just further the well-being of society (meaning the 'society' Mrs Thatcher claimed didn't really exist, but which does if you happen to have a modicum of common sense - or have ever realised you just can't do it on your own.)

I came across a story in the news about some librarians in Australia today which both confirmed that certainty and reminded me of the wonder of public libraries in general as some of the most precious of genuinely shared public spaces.