The Pessimism and Occasional Optimism of Juvenile Adulthood

My highly irregular review of places I happen to be continues now with a look into the capital city of the Federal Republic of Germany, a country which I am still in at the time of beginning this article, surrounding myself with fellow teenagers who are becoming gradually delirious as their lack of sleep and boredom becomes progressively more omnipotent within their conscience. In a bid to stave off this madness, I’m going to profile this capital city which is more (in)famous for its past rather than the present. My dad, a frequent traveler through work, dislikes Germany as he feels that irrespective of where in this land he is, he feels that the nation is tarnished by guilt. Guilt for the actions of previous generations which they shouldn’t deserve to suffer from. Philosophically I see where my dad is coming from. But in Berlin, I don’t see any guilt. Not that the past isn’t a constant reminder when travelling through this sprawl of a city. Historical buildings portray Berlin as a vib...

In 1980, Michael Foot was elected Leader of the Labour Party and the following year had his party torn up from beneath him by a 'Council for Social Democracy'. In the next general election, a split leftist vote gave Margaret Thatcher a comprehensive victory. However, Thatcher's victory was aided by a good economy, Falklands victory, and Labour's manifesto -  'the longest suicide note in history'. One man elected in 1983, was the MP for North Islington, a man who at least partially owes his seat to the very people who tore his party apart. And the redrawing of electoral boundaries. Jeremy Corbyn was elected as an MP having defeated an SDP candidate and the incumbent MP, this time standing as an independent. In an inner city Labour heartland, Mr Corbyn won with only 40% of the vote where his predecessor frequently scored over half.  Fast forward to 2015 and Jeremy Corbyn is elected leader of the Labour Part, and then finally fast forward to this Monday where o...