Robert’s Speech to Dorset Mayors

SPEECH TO DORSET MAYORS ON BEHALF OF BRIDPORT MAYOR, Ian Bark

written and given at St Mary’s Primary School on 10 09 22 by Robert Golden

Our admired mayor, Ian Bark asked me to speak about Bridport from the perspective I’ve gained making documentaries around the world, as well as from working with people in our community, here in Bridport.

CONVERGING CRISIS

What others and I have come to recognise is the all too precarious state evolving out of the following inter-related crises:

*the pandemic;

*climate change; 

*rising inequality leading to increased mental and physical illnesses, 

homelessness and hunger;

*the ever present and possible atomic holocaust;

*and, as a torment for us in the UK, the increasing negative consequences of Brexit.

LEARNING FROM HISTORY
A few weeks back, a Radio 4 programme brought together a group of now elderly black radicals from the 1970’s. One was asked why he and his friends, who participated in the events they were speaking about, hadn’t made a film about the events. He said, “because we were doing what we had to do to survive, we didn’t think we were making a defining moment in English social history”.

This thought of his made me consider – we who have some power to reveal, to convince or to teach; and we who have authority, skills to persuade and leadership positions in our communities need to accept responsibility for our role in history now; so we may help the young find purpose and direction, and so we may aid the elderly, the ill and those less fortunate than are we. 

RESPONSIBILITY

We have no choice but to take a lead in our towns and amongst our friends and neighbours to actively confront the climate crisis, to encourage others who may otherwise be alienated from such concerns to transform social injustice into social justice, and to create what most of us crave: fairness and survival for our grandchildren and all the earth’s children, in a better world.

FAIRNESS

For me, and I am sure for many of you, regardless of political affiliations, fairness means levelling up the economically unnecessary but ever increasing financial and educational disparity. Fairness also means, being aware of how our actions today, right now, must be considered in relation to the climate crisis and to the resources we leave all children. We cannot forget that we all live within history created by our forbearers and now by us, day-by-day.

ECOCENTRISM

What are others and I in Bridport doing? I think that the kindnesses many of us have experienced from neighbours and strangers during the pandemic have begun to change our attitudes in positive ways; I think many have awoken to the realization that ‘WE’ is as important, if not more important than ‘ME’, and I think many people have begun to recognise that embracing our communities offers many unexpected rewards. 

DOING SOMETHING

Using the edible garden we have created at St Mary’s Primary School, across 8 years, others and I have have attempted to change children’s relationship to nature, to food and their own health choices, while also trying to touch their parent’s attitudes. This process has confronted difficult social challenges, discovered new and better ways to do things and for those involved, perhaps we’ve gained some knowledge. Recently, we’ve been asked to do the same at two other local schools.

CONVERGING SKILLS

But this is a scratch on the surface of what many others are also doing: thinking about local transport; how our energy is created, distributed and used; how our young can be better looked after and nurtured; how our less advantaged, our ill and elderly can be cared for, in part by us, in the community; how we can encourage and help our local farmers establish a local market; how budding young farmers can access land; how culture and especially music can be used to awaken young people to new ideas and new job possibilities; and how each of us, in our daily choices, can participate in saving our earth as we help our community.

OVERCOMING PREJUDICE

Real social benefits will only happen when those concerned first sit together in informal gatherings and are able to express fears and describe dreams in what should be a participatory bottom up democratic process, so together we can understand each other in order to bring deep, lasting change while encouraging our communities away from further injuring our precious eco-systems, and as we rediscover that ‘ME’ truly becomes ‘WE’ when the notion of fairness becomes acts of fairness, regardless of race, gender, age, colour, culture, ability, education or class.

As these things are pursued by many individuals and groups in the town, some have begun to recognise that real change and worthwhile investments in time, labour and costs will only become broadly meaningful within at least 10 yearlong programmes. That’s what Bridport is up to.

PROFOUND THANKS
I wish to say one more thing: the garden is a consequence of the very long and dedicated work of Sarah Wilberforce, Tia Perella and Tina Ellen Lee, and previously Mitch Birt in the garden and Amanda Downes in the kitchen. They deserve many thanks.