Imitation comes in so many forms, copying, counterfeiting, and cheating. The most amusing version is among women. I was brought up by women, and my family, including the cat, has been mainly female. You discover that a young woman with excellent taste and the money to support it, buys a garment or accessory, that everyone applauds. Her friend, who has a thumping inferiority complex and little taste, copies her. Overnight the friendship dies.
The current battle of the DHSS as a result of President Obama trying to push through legislation that the American health service is similar to ours, is a case of imitation, which is having ridiculous and unnecessary reflections, totally undeserved, as the battle proceeds. The Tories have been allegedly responsible for feeding this frenzy. It is not until one is involved almost daily, even if unwillingly, that one discovers how fortunate we are in this country, and what an excellent service we are afforded.
The most awful type of imitation is being the way in which young people here and abroad, have massacred people, using high-powered weapons and spraying bullets without reason. Recently I have been watching television more than I’m used to, and switching on to films made in the last five or 10 years, mainly in America. Almost invariably there are scenes which illogically demands that hundreds of bullets are fired by a small number of people and yet a large number of people are killed. Last night in two different films which I ultimately switched off, there were a number of scenes in which a large number of people were randomly killed. I know I’m an old fuddy-duddy, and was brought up when films were censored, but I can’t understand how people are happy to watch these films that have no logic in the turn of events depicted, and are merely gross and lacking in any intelligent story content and would, without imitation, be totally remote from modern life. I think it is time that good taste, quality scripts, and intelligent and well crafted films, like they had in the 60s to 80s, and even occasionally British today, replace some of these extravagances.
It must be understood that young people are impressionable and that they do imitate, that is how they learn. Their lives, unfortunately, are not as multifaceted as ours was, when the world seemed to be our oyster, restrictions and horrors were few, and we had so many people to admire and copy, or imitate if you like, who were not excessive in their behaviour or their outlook. Today the horizons of the young people are so tightly limited, that this should be taken on board by those in charge of us, with funds provided to widen these very limited horizons, not only in intellectual matters, but physical pleasures as well. One of the most serious problems today is the inhibiting nature of safety legislations. So we break a few bones, I have broken probably more than seven, and it is only now are now when I am 86 that the bill has to be paid.