Having again failed to successfully up-load video I am resorting to words alone. We were not directly affected by last Saturday's events, although three helicopters droning over head all day got to be rather distracting. It was amazing to see on Sunday morning, around 8.00am how quickly everything was being cleared up. We enjoy great freedom to make protests or declare our beliefs (see the amazing MJA event every summer in Trafalgar Square, preceded by a march) it is very troubling when such freedom is marred by violence and damage to property. However strongly we might hold a view I cannot see that lawless behaviour helps; just laws protect society, a lawless society is one where the strongest and most ruthless will trample their way to the top. Perhaps the anarchist tendency should reckon up the cost of their behaviour: damage, police time, loss of trade to business(not just the ones they don't like) and a large amount of VAT.
Speaking of law and justice I recently was involved in supporting someone facing trial for a fairly serious criminal offence. One could not fail to be impressed at the fairness and humanity of the judge involved, the caring work of the defence lawyer and even the kind understanding of the prosecuting counsel. I do not suppose for a minute that it is always as good as this but we should look to the good standards in our public life to shame the bad rather than seek to denigrate everything in order to replace it with nothing.
The New Testament has quite a bit to say about the place of the authority of rulers which would benefit all of us whether rulers or those who are ruled.
