Is Russell Brand a messiah or a faker? I have never known opinion about someone to be so divisive between friends and colleagues who normally agree on almost everything. Who is right?
The world is f**ked - we all know that. The parents of the four children that die every single minute of malnutrition, while we throw away 2/3rds of our bagged up Tesco's salad, certainly know that more than me.
I don't have the one answer. Russell Brand certainly doesn't have the answer. Do you have the answer?
Could we therefore all agree that we all need to stop killing more time and wasting our energies simply telling each other that we are wrong?
It's an argument you can't win
Depressingly, I've seen all this at close hand for years. Non-stop disagreement resulting in zero action.
I've seen many charities waste employee time, energy and money because they can't agree how to do what they all joined up to do. They just waste meeting after meeting telling each other they are wrong.
I was a Director at Comic Relief, I had more friends and acquaintances tell me what we were doing was wrong, than when I was just making as much money as possible running an agency selling more stuff to people that didn't need it - then I was feted!
Is literally the reason the world is fucked because we can't get others to agree with us about what to do about it?
So we do nothing?!
If you think I'm wrong, if you think Russell Brand is wrong, Comic Relief wrong, your friends wrong even Evan Davis wrong, there seems no point wasting any more time telling them.
Its an argument you really wont win. Do you think you can get them to change their minds?
Can't we instead, agree to disagree and spend our time getting on with doing what we think is right instead?
Do we care more about convincing others they are wrong than care about stopping fellow humans dying, being in poverty or raking in excess profits...?
Why not just go and do what you think is right? Why do you care if I think you are wrong?
Vote, run a marathon for charity, sell all your possessions, start a political party, have a cup of tea with your neighbours, sponsor a friend. Whatever it is, you can make a difference by doing whatever you think is right, it doesn't matter if anyone else thinks your wrong.
I might think you're wrong, you might think what I do is wrong but by actually doing whatever you think is right - Just starting with one thing - whatever it is - now, even! - you are right. And if I continue to write words instead of take action - then I am wrong.
It's the only way everyone can win the argument.