What Freedom Means to Nosher

For a wet English July, the current weather has not been too unkind to our crops. Here in South Gloucestershire in the good old Dis-United Kingdom we enjoy, on the whole, a temperate climate that usually results in good growth and good produce.
And so, despite the heavy showers, Nosher is looking very pleased with his little allotment plot this year.
'Look at those marrows' he said recently 'they're not prize-winners, but they're fine for me.'
And indeed, this is the time of year when allotment gardeners begin their contented progress towards the season of mellow fruitfulness that is soon to come.
So it came as some surprise when Nosher introduced the topic of freedom during one of our lunchtime chats recently. David Davis, the former Shadow Home Secretary, had just won his By-Election, fought specifically on the topic of protecting our basic freedoms, and Nosher had obviously taken this to heart.
'What freedom means to me' he began, relaxing in his old deckchair in the sun outside his shed, glass of home-made parsnip wine in hand 'is to be able to enjoy the fruits of my honest labours without some little toe-rag of a government official or some scumbag off the street telling me I should hand it over to support those who have less but who don't, or won't, do anything to earn more.'
On this occasion it was my turn to give Nosher a quizzical look.
'So you don't believe in the redistribution of wealth?' I queried.
'I'm fine with redistribution' he replied 'provided it doesn't discriminate against those who've worked hard for what little they own and enjoy. I'm not rich - I've worked hard to pay off my mortgage, I live in a modest house, I have a small pension, and yet the Government taxes me to the hilt so that in fact I end up being poor. I don't mind filthy rich City bankers being taxed more; I don't mind overpaid journalists being taxed more - after all, what do they do but write a few clever words calculated to flatter and decieve? But I object to the Government taxing my pension when it is already so small; I object to paying ever larger increases in Council Tax without any consideration of my already small income; and I object to having to live in a society in which I can be mugged for what little I possess and the authorities are so busy with political correctness that the scumbag who did it will just as likely get off scot-free or with a derisory sentence, assuming that he or she is even caught, which is very unlikely in any case.'
'And what's this about those who "don't or won't do anything to earn more"?' I asked.
'Well, this welfare state business is simply undermining the work ethic' Nosher explained 'when I was a youngster I worked all day for low wages, and if I needed more I found something else to do in my spare time to earn a little more - all honest and above board, you understand. Now the unemployed are paid to sit around and do nothing, so, not surprisingly, they complain they're not getting enough and demand more and more without being prepared to work to earn it. That's no way to run a country. It's no wonder we're going down the toilet of life.'
'What about those in areas of high unemployment who simply can't find a job?'
'They deserve more support and the right kind of support' Nosher said 'which means help to retrain in order to become more employable, work experience schemes to get them used to working in a new environment, and perhaps even financial help to move to a new area where jobs are more plentiful. If we've got millions of foreign workers coming to this country to fill jobs our own people can't or won't do, then there's something going very wrong in this country. But the crucial thing is, no-one should be left to live on government hand-outs without something being asked of them in return. That's my point - the welfare state has led to the growth of a "something for nothing" society, and that's what's dragging us down. And so that's what freedom means to me' he concluded 'the freedom to enjoy the fruits of my honest labour without some sponger or criminal taking it off me with the assistance of a cynical government, so they can sit around and enjoy what I've worked hard to achieve, whilst I'm left with next to nothing.'
I can't help feeling that Nosher has a point.
More from www.overthegardenfence.blogspot.com soon.
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Best wishes and happy gardening!