As I became involved in the campaign to rectify the injustice done the Palestinians I noticed how resistant British people were to imagining what being a Palestinian would be like. I therefore wrote a number of ‘parables’ in which I changed the situation around in such a way, as I hoped, that people would better understand what was involved. Once started on this creative way of looking at the world, I used it to explore other situations not necessarily directly connected with Palestine, but I’ve collected them all together here in any case.
I don’t now feel entirely satisfied with all of these attempts, but I think they’re worth presenting here as an indication of how my thinking developed. Click on the links to open the files, starting with an introduction (evidently incomplete) to these ‘parables’ called The West and the Rest which I wrote on 8th April 2002.
Palestinian Britain, date unkown, but probably around 1998. Israel is now the centre of a Middle-Eastern empire, but the ‘Palestinian problem’ remains unresolved. Meanwhile Britain has withdrawn from the European Union and become an economic wasteland. It therefore seems a suitable Palestinian home. Read on … Although the scenario is a bit far-fetched, I quite like aspects of this story.
German Britain, 4th January 1999. The Germans have won the war and occupied England. The English, like the Channel Islanders during the real WWII, have learnt to live with their new status and agree that the ‘Brits’ who fight on in Wales and Scotland, and make regular sorties into England, are terrorists …
Wasp Britain, 16th December 2000. The US is now Spanish speaking, and the WASPs seek a homeland. Why not their old home, Britain? …
German Russia, 9th May 2001. Hitler died in 1942, following the German conquest of Russia. There was then a peace treaty which recognised German control of Russia, but the Russians don’t accept their inclusion in the Reich. Now, sixty years on, a peaceful resolution of the conflict is proposed. All that is required is that the Russians should acknowledge that German suffering in WWI gives them a right to part of Russia. …
The Three Wise Shaikhs, date unknown, but probably early 2000s. Three young Arabs sitting in the desert see an unusually bright star moving across the sky and decide to follow it. It leads them to Brighton where they witness a birth …
Expulsion, 18th May 2002. A father and his son visit the Israeli Confederation Theme Park, but the former won’t accompany his son to the Palestinian attraction there. His son asks him why. ….
Modern Prince, 23rd December 2003. After an introduction about Machivelli’s The Prince this piece proceeds to instruct a modern politician along similar lines. …
Shepherds in the Fields. Written on 30th December 2003. You can probably imagine who the shepherd’s were. But who were the angels? …
Celticism, 21st September 2004. Welsh nationalism is in expansive mode. The ancient Hollingbury Fort in Brighton was certainly celtic, and so the Welsh nationalists claim it …
The Tale of Three Kings, 16th November 2011. The story of King Cunning, King Kind and King Wise, and how peace was at last established. …
A Modern St George, 17th March 2012. A modern St George struggles to fight dragons without stigmatising all of them. After all, some dragons simply use their flames to light a cigarette! …
