The Scroll

19/12/24

Evening,

I’m not convinced about this, certainly from the US perspective. The Americans don’t think of the UK in terms of parentage or even really descendancy, although that’s acknowledged. We are the effectively the 51st state now and have been post 1945, culture travels one way, US-UK and culture is how the US controls the non financial aspects of the world. They take over your country by osmosis and much of the time the population like it, despite in many cases the result being decline of what existed there before. There is no special relationship that is by any stretch what I’d consider special. Maybe we get first dibs on something, but it’s absolutely a one way thing. As I’ve said previously, I don’t think Elon prioritises anything other than Mars, anything else he gets involved in is to help set the most amenable conditions to make that happen. If he’s helping to change things in the UK it’s fort that reason, not anything sentimental about homeland etc. The power centre behind the Trump victory and MAGA(T) just see the UK as an open goal that they might as well punt something at, energised by how complete the US victory was.

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A bit of a confession, I’m finding it really hard to write The Scroll at the moment and it isn’t purely due to the downturn in the quality of posting on the X feed. I think it’s primarily because I have a concern that I’m a fair bit further down the line compared with many people on where I see the sources of problems in the UK and recognising what’s required to turn things around. The intention of The Scroll initially was to do exactly that - scroll- and drop a paragraph about those things that I found interesting. Sometimes it’d be funny, sometimes more serious, and that used to be a lot easier. But the artificial nature of what’s going on in the UK, as we’ve seen similarly elsewhere, is so blatant now to me that I can see it, or a connection to the same core problems in most posts that come up on my feed. I’m frustrated with how political it’s all gotten, this seems to be a symptom of the state of the West in general currently, it’s pervading and quite demoralising - if you’re playing the game. Although The Scroll’s intention was that it was just my thoughts on things, I feel often recently that I’m being quite preachy or that where I seem to have found myself politically, if we’re using labels, is very obvious, which some people may fine uncomfortable.

With this recognition I’m quite torn with how to carry on doing it. The obvious and intellectually honest thing is just to lean in and go where it takes me, regardless of the opinion of the reader. What hamstrings me here is that I’m the founder of Sin Eaters Guild and like it or not many people see me as a kind of representative of that. I’ve always been very clear that how you go about living the ethos is up to you, you can believe in personal responsibility and service regardless of you background or any other box you tick. You Are Your Actions doesn’t even come in to it, that’s not a choice, you just are. There may very well be people with the Hanged Man tattooed on their skin who think Starmer is doing a great job and would jump for joy if Jeremy Corbyn was back on the front bench. My concern is that despite my intentions, were you to question me about where we are as a Nation and my wider world view I would likely find myself put in a box to the complete opposite of Corbyn and as the SEG founder, that could put our Starmer loving SEG member in a difficult position. I am of course overthinking, it’s impossible for me to remain apolitical, but I hope you can understand where my head is with this stuff.

I find it quite amusing because it’s basically Zen Buddhism that’s got me to this irritating place, something I’d imagine most people would think impossible, but that’s because 90% of people have zero idea about Buddhism, let alone the Zen type. It’s the focus on reality that makes this all very difficult - what is actually happening, unbound by what you wish was happening, what will actually happen as opposed to what we hope will happen. It’s where I know I can come across quite cold and unfeeling sometimes - I do have fun and play up to that a bit, as well as the tin foil stuff. But the fact is that if you actually want to improve your life and by extension the world around you, dealing in pretence and avoiding decisions that are difficult or unsavoury just prolongs suffering for all.

I see this all around us now, the problems are obvious, many of the causes are too if you are being honest, but we are punished for honesty. This is partially why what I see with the blatant containment strategy underway in the UK pains me. It’s not that it’s happening, that’s to be expected, it’s that people appear at least to not be able to see it and instead cheer it on like a victory, when it is nothing of the sort. Real change of any kind will not happen until the majority of people are immune to spoon fed containment and instead hold fast and drive for what they really want.

Anyway, I’ll stop ranting now. I welcome your thoughts on all of this and about where this goes as we ramp up to 2025. If you could drop a short comment on this one I’d appreciate it - just one of these options👇🏻

Option 1- Go back to how it was at the start. A short read, just a few X posts and a brief paragraph after each one, keep it light.

Option 2- Try and remain apolitical, don’t sway too much either way, I just use you as news.

Option 3- Say what you see, just put reality through the Gaz filter regardless of where that ends up.

Option 4- As per option 3, but add in how I personally believe what I’m saying ties into the SEG ethos. Could make you sad.

Of course you can just write something if you feel like it, the options are to save you time.

Regardless thanks for your support his year, let’s get this shit together so we can be more effective in 2025.

Gaz