I have been prompted to add my voice to what is perhaps the main topic of conversation in the United Kingdom. Fiery arguments, polemics, explanations and denunciation has raged in the aftermath of the most terrifying spate of violence, looting and unrestrained carnage to hit the city streets of Britain in twentieth century Britain.
Across the political spectrum, amongst community leaders, historians, commentators, religious leaders, local and national leaders of every persuasion have weighed in with their views as to the reasons for the recent riots which affected a number of the major cities in England. Lives were lost, a horrific example being the three young men in Birmingham who were mowed down by a recklessly driven car. Shops looted and burned down, as violence engulfed and destroyed already fragile relations in a number of the most vulnerable communities in the cities most affected.
Initially triggered in north London, on Saturday 6th August 2011, by the shooting of a young man in Tottenham, by a policeman; what unfolded over two further nights, especially in London, Manchester and Birmingham, were scenes never before witnessed in the nation, not even in the Brixton riots of 1981, that of the Broadwater Farm estate in 1985 or any of the other examples of civil disturbance in the past. What we saw, particularly in the first two nights, was a seemingly powerless police force, overwhelmed and swept aside by tidal wave violence, unbridled greed, wanton destruction of property and the brazen ransacking of stores. The other characteristic of what took place is that the damage was the widespread nature of the disturbance, the preponderance of young people and the fact that it cut across race and ethnicity.
In the aftermath of the carnage, matters have not been helped by inflammatory utterances by some notable figures. The Prime Minister David Cameron and former Premier, Tony Blair have already clashed as to the causes of the riots. David Cameron’s belief is that that the riots were symptomatic of moral decline in Britain. In an article in the Sunday Express (Sunday 21st August 2011), he had this to say, ‘The greed and thuggery we saw during the riots did not come out of nowhere,” he said. “There are deep problems in our society that have been growing for a long time: a decline in responsibility, a rise in selfishness, a growing sense that individual rights come before anything else’.
Mr Blair has dismissed that notion as ‘highfalutin wail’ which missed the point and ignored the real cause of the problem. In his view there was no problem with moral standards in society generally. What we have, he says, is the existence of a minority of disaffected youth who are outside the mainstream of life in Britain. In an article in the Observer (Sunday 21st August 2011), he said this, ‘Britain, as a whole, is not in the grip of some general ‘moral decline’. He went on to say that young people now were generally more respectable, more responsible and more hard-working than they were when he was young.
Similarly opposing views are being expressed across the nation; in newsprint, on radio and television talk shows, in barber shops and meeting places across. The arguments will doubtless rage on. That said, what is self-evident is that that the consequences of the recent riots are far-reaching (I speak as a first hand witness to the Brixton riots of 1981). The wounds in communities across the cities that were affected are still fresh and deep, and will take a long time to heal. What is also clear is the strong divergence of views as to the underlying causes. Judging from the differing perspectives of Prime Minster Cameron and former Premier, Blair, what is evident is that we are a long way from a shared view of underlying causes. This does not augur well for finding a lasting solution.
It does not require prophetic insight to come to a conclusion that the nation is socially, economically, morally and spiritually sick. In many ways we are not a well nation. Many speak of ‘Broken Britain’. It is not an exaggeration. Brokenness pervades many areas of national life. My main concern is the moral and spiritual sphere. In my considered view, what has happened is nothing other than a reflection of the failure, the deep rooted failure on the part of all the key institutions whose role is to make for a peaceful, strong, safe and successful community, people or nation. For brokenness, read failure.
First, the family has failed. Second, government and politicians have failed. Educators and schools have failed. The police have failed. And dare I say it, the Church (I am part of the church) has failed in many respects. Collectively these institutions have failed. We have failed morally and spiritually. However, this is not the time to apportion blame, but rather to first acknowledge the present condition and then to seek for a solution that goes beyond the superficial and tackles the root causes.
Are there answers? The answer is yes, there are! My basic premise is that any attempted solution that seeks to ignore or under-estimate the moral and spiritual dimension is doomed to fail. Indeed, that is what has been done through the years, yet the problem persists. As we read through the Bible, we find that God’s dealings with the nation of Israel sound a timely warning whilst giving a framework and roadmap to recovery. The road to recovery begins with recognition, followed by repentance. To recognise is to note very clearly, to acknowledge the present state; followed by a radical, one hundred and eighty degrees turnaround.
God made clear to Israel the best way to live and to enjoy life to the full. Simple – ‘do what I tell you’. When they chose to ignore God, serious consequences followed. God said to them, ‘I have set before you a way of life and a way of death…. therefore choose life that you may live (Deuteronomy 30:19)’. Again He said, ‘The wages of sin is death’ (Romans 6:23). Yet in another place He said, ‘Do not remove the ancient landmarks…’ (Proverbs 22:28).
I believe that the root of the social and moral malaise that grips us today in the UK is a deep and growing sense of godlessness. Therefore, any proposed solution that fails to put God right back at the centre of what is proposed will fail. Great Britain needs to recover the sense of God being at the heart of what we do; a re-discovery of the fundamental Judeo-Christian principles that underscored the victories that the nation knew in the past.
In the many arenas of public life, God who has been gagged, marginalised and muzzled. At the very heart of government, lip service is paid. He has been legislated out of our schools; airbrushed from our homes, and derided in the debates in the public square and seats of higher learning. True recovery for us as a nation will only come when we allow God to take His rightful place at the centre of national life. The words of the prophet Jeremiah are apposite at this time of reflection and discussion as to why and what next, following the riots. ‘This is what the LORD says: “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.’’ But you said, ‘We will not walk in it.’ (Jeremiah 6:16).
We will do well to seek the ancient paths. The call is to (re)-discover to recover. We must come back to the God of the Bible, if we are to know renewed hope for the future as a people and nation.
Copyright Emmanuel Mbakwe 2011©
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We live in a world populated by people who are full of excuses. There is always an excuse; spurious, wild, crazy, even the most unimaginable drip from the lips of people we know. Like the people who give them excuses come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. No offence intended!
