In the UK and across the Commonwealth, we are celebrating
the Queen’s 60-year reign. In our village we are having a big lunch, races for
the children, the service of thanksgiving and a drama performance. The
highlight will be the lighting of beacons across the mountains which will be
visible from miles away!
In London of course, there will be a pageant of over 1000
boats on the river, a procession and a concert starring, amongst others, Paul
McCartney, Jesse J, Take That and Tom Jones (an event that I am sure the Queen
will enjoy!)
It is good to have moments to mark the passing of time and
to reflect. If you look back over this
second Elizabethan age, so much has changed. I recall my parents telling me
that they, like many others, bought their first television to watch the
coronation, now many will be watching the jubilee online. Many have enjoyed
relative prosperity, while for others, inequalities seem to have
increased. Mass consumption has placed
great pressure on resources; we have been labelled a throwaway generation. We
have reached the Moon, but managed to confuse the climate.
How much have we actually ‘grown up’ in the last 60 years?
Are we more responsible, or just taking anything on offer? I’d like to think
that we have in recent decades been able to think beyond ourselves, and nation,
and to have some responsibility for the wider community and environment. We are
more equipped to deal with complex and interconnected problems, and have
achieved great progress in combating poverty and the abuse of human rights,
although there is still much to be done.
Sustainable development is a great expression of this
progress and shows how having an eye to the common good can be achieved without
creating havoc in economic terms. The emergence of public support for
sustainability shows that individuals and companies are getting involved
without top down direction. However, the green agenda needs to expand in order
to reflect and engage with wider interests involving social progress. The emergence
and continuation of sustainable development is an important initiative that
should be implemented during what will hopefully be many more years of
Elizabethan reign.
David Jackman
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