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We’re all getting fed up of this permacrisis, but it’s what we voted for. Well, it’s what 52% of those who voted voted for. Whipped into a frenzy of xenophobic spite, we voted to make Britain great again, forgetting that the only thing that made Britain great was the compassion which created institutions like the NHS, providing access to healthcare for all, regardless of their ability to pay.

Speaking of which: yes, the NHS is five years into the unending permacrisis at this point, as we lurch from one crisis to another, with no end in sight, and we’re all burnt out — all of us. Clinicians, support staff, management, admins, technical support. Many are leaving, because they can get a better wage elsewhere. Those that hold out do so for one reason alone: a sense of vocation. They care. They believe in what they do.

But they are not valued by the masses whipped up into jingoistic hysteria, dreaming of their glory days when they ruled the world. Yes, well, newsflash: that was not your empire. That was a private corporation, a forerunner of Amazon in every way, except that the British government provided security. Yes that company: the one that waged war on the Qing dynasty to force it to buy the British East India Company’s opium. How ethical. But, no, not great.

Out of spite, we insist on voting for clowns, over and over, despite them being the worst possible people to lead a nation in a time of crisis. These men and women who promise us liberation from the yoke which besets us, blaming the poorest and most vulnerable for their own stupendous corruption and incompetence. There is nothing great to be seen here. This is the arrogance which brings nations to their knees.

There is a mental health crisis out there. There is a crisis of poverty and despair. No nation is made great by haughty arrogance, only by its humble compassion. How it looks after the poor and weak is what makes a nation great. But as for those Pharaohs, exalting themselves in the land, making the people into factions set against each other: eventually they fall.

Make way for the compassionate, who must rightfully take their place, rising from the grassroots, serving their communities everywhere. Theirs is the answer to this madness. Perhaps only they can lift us from this permacrisis, setting out a vision for a better way to live our lives. This, the service of others. Agreed upon by the wise sages of every tradition. Walk with them, and leave the lunatics to their demise.