Tell it like it is

A common theme of the genre is an authoritarian ruling alliance seeking to eradicate the rebels who will not bend the knee. Invariably the Alliance has a greater standard of living, is more technologically advanced and as long as its citizens toe the line, life can be good.

The Rebels live in caves on asteroids or on desert worlds where life is hard. Their technology is always old and in need of repair. Resources are scarce and even those necessary to sustain life are a struggle to come by.

On the face of it there is no sense in the Rebels’ choice of their way of life. Surely joining the Alliance and reaping the benefit of plenty for all has to be better than enduring the harsh lifestyle? After all, what have they got to lose?

This very question is raised in a film called Serenity. I won’t spoil the plot for you if you haven’t already seen it but the question is raised by a teacher to a class of seemingly privileged children in a breathtakingly beautiful classroom on a technologically advanced Alliance world.

The entire class, save one, can’t contemplate why the Rebels hold out. But the one gives this wonderful explanation: ‘they don’t like to be meddled with. We tell them what to do, what to think. Don’t run, don’t walk. We’re in their homes and in their heads and we haven’t the right. We’re meddlesome’.

I’ve watched this film a few times and every time I hear the above quote I immediately think of the States of Guernsey. ‘Meddlesome’, just that one word sums up for me the ethos of the Environmental wing of the 2016 Assembly.

Like many Sarnians, I definitely have a rebellious streak. Like the donkey which represents our nature, I prefer to be led rather than driven. In the words of John Milton, some of us would rather reign in Hell than serve in Heaven.

Which brings me to the new edict from the Alliance on speed limits. They are meddling again as part of their mission to create Heaven on Earth. But their Heaven with lots of ‘Don’t do that’ signs on every corner.

From day one of this announcement the Rebels have girded their loins and are preparing to resist Darth Baz and his Death Star. The time for talking is over because Lord Baz and his Environmentalist Sith have time and again rained environmental bombs on the cornered Rebels, who feel they must make a last stand or the war is lost and environmental domination will be inevitable.

Which is a bit of a shame, because there is some sense in revisiting a traffic speed policy that was established in the 1960s. Guernsey, take it from me, was a very different place in the ’60s. Cars were not as common, nor were they as technologically advanced as they are today. It may be because I lived near a tomato packing factory, but it also seems to me that there was a much higher proportion of commercial lorries on the road than now.

I can understand why lower speed limits were introduced in built-up areas because, with the relatively emptier roads, drivers would speed along, and their brakes were not what brakes are today. There were accidents, and as a six or seven-year-old walking home from school by myself, I came very close to being knocked over by a speeding car with only a working hand brake in Mont Arrive.

Has Environment missed a trick by only considering speed limits in the identified ‘centres’ and not reviewing the entire system, which is nearly 60 years old? Given the safety attributes of modern cars, is 40 the new 35mph? Or 30 the new 25mph?

Perhaps the drivers of Guernsey will feel less threatened if E&I presents an honest argument based on safety rather than the perception that the ultimate aim is to rid the roads of cars altogether. I suppose it’s a question of leadership.

We know we like to be led, not driven. Even if the final destination for us donkeys is a field of lush green grass we will be stubborn, dig our hooves in and kick out if we are driven by the whip. Better for us to have our pride, even if it means short rations and suffering.

The Environmental Alliance, like the Americans who invaded Iraq to make it better, can’t understand why the Rebels keep resisting a better way of living.

I want Deputy Brehaut and his team to come clean on why they are proposing widening the 25mph regime. Tell it like it is, the primary reason and the initial driver of the review is to advance States policy on reducing car usage by increasing bus use, cycling and walking. If the States revoked that policy, would E&I be reviewing speed limits now? I suggest not, because it isn’t about speed. If was about speed then I suggest a full review should take place and I expect there is enough evidence to say the blanket 35mph limit is too low given the standard of modern cars. Hey, the ’60s are long gone, man.

I can see some merit in slowing down cars in some of the areas suggested and I can also appreciate the concept of fewer cars on the road. However, I would much prefer our divided community to come much closer together.

This Assembly is the 21/19 Assembly. Every contested vote comes down to 21/19 or something very similar. The Assembly is divided and divisive. We desperately seek leadership and inspiration from the States of Guernsey and we are not going to get it until we elect an Assembly that properly mirrors our community and represents us accordingly.

In what universe do you fill an Environment Department with rampant environmentalists? It all about balance. For every Darth Baz there must be an Obi-Wan Paint to balance the force.

Please, please, please, don’t let this pet project further undermine faith in our government at a time when the world around us is in turmoil and we will need to be united and at the top of our game to prosper going forward.