To all my American friends

I hope that you have a lovely thanksgiving. Of course we do not celebrate it as a traditional feast here in the UK though I have no idea why not. Those that fled social and religious persecution here, and traveled to the New World should be lauded in my humble opinion. Of course those pilgrims fled this country but with very good reason, social and religious strictures here were overwhelming at the time. Despite being called a "free" country the opposite was true. Britain dealt in slaves and slaved populations, religious tolerance was non existent (except perhaps to the enlightened few), Indentured servitude was common place and the view of the rich was such that anyone below their station in life was inherently; scum. I am ashamed to say that little has changed over those hundreds of years where we were able to assess the error of our ways. The poor are still poor and the rich, rich. Worse still the gap between the impoverished and the wealthy has grown vast. I personally do not think this right or socially acceptable.

This is not because I have socialist tendencies, I believe in the free market economy and also that those who work hard and achieve should be wealthier than those that only try or those who make no effort to improve themselves. I believe that those smarter than others, more educated, those willing to take risks and invest, those that work hard should be rewarded in kind. Yet I see that chasm between the rich and poor grow ever more profound and that worries me for a number of reasons. Social unrest and stupid decisions are the forerunners; Trump, Brexit, and further financial restrictions aimed mainly at the poor, (Mr Hammond's recent budget shouted that ethos) the rich can influence government, votes and the balance of power. The poor are now often voting in favor of the rich and to their own detriment, as the free press collapses and media becomes owned by those in or close to government. These are sad days and impinge upon a holiday meant to celebrate freedom.

Happy Thanksgiving all.