The New Crawleyian

Even abroad, the Internet, it seems, is able to provide information which is local. And by that, I don't mean local to wherever you are, but local to Husborne Crawley. Unless you're already there, in which case, it would be local, but you wouldn't be abroad.

Anyway, I was searching for information about home, and came across an online edition of the New Crawleyian. I suspect, from the fact that their website is still up, and the lack of any news about fire-bombings in the vicinity of their offices, that the Archdruid has yet to come across this edition. It includes some, erm, courageous criticisms of the Community which I feel honour-bound to post below. I would provide a link to the article, but I suspect that it might be, shall we say, "removed" fairly soon, and, to be honest, I'm not entirely sure how.

I've picked out the more interesting bits, because it seems to have been written by someone with little grasp of how to edit down long sentences or to make the subclauses which, it seems, he - or, in fact she, though I doubt that the author is female - has a penchant towards (or towards which he or in fact she has a penchant), simpler to understand or comprehend by the general populace, and who has rather an academic writing style which tends to overly long paragraphs consisting (not, you'll notice, consisting "of", which is redundant in this context) a sole sentence - though, as mentioned earlier, this may well be divided into many subclauses, or not, as the case may be.

"With remarkable speed, we are being committed to radical, long-term policies for which no one voted. At the very least, there is an understandable anxiety about what democracy means in such a context." This seems to be a misunderstanding of the Archdruid's clear democratic mandate of "one person, one vote, and that person's me".

"The Archdruid badly needs to hear just how much plain fear there is around such questions at present." I think the Archdruid is quite aware of the effect that her steel toe-capped boots have on the Community, to be honest.

"Digging a bit deeper, there are a good many on the left and right who sense that the tectonic plates of Community - Druidical? - politics are shifting." I don't think it matters which side of the Moot House you tend to sit on - it's a brave person who stands up and says this sort of thing.

"A democracy that would measure up to this sort of ideal - religious in its roots but not exclusive or confessional - would be one in which the central question about any policy would be: how far does it equip a person or group to engage generously and for the long term in building the resourcefulness and well-being of any other person or group, with the state seen as a "Community of communities", to use a phrase popular among syndicalists of an earlier generation?" This, for me, is one of the clearer points made in the article. It recognises the importance of the Community, and the importance of a person's well-being: although it fails to note that the person is almost invariably the Archdruid herself.

I, for one, await the Archdruid's response - measured as it will be, I'm sure. There are times that I'm almost glad that I'm travelling.