Back in the early noughties I attended an inspiring and prophetic lecture by Peter Cochrane, a technical futurologist, who laid out some predictions. The significant core of his presentation was how the public would research less and less using reference books / papers and, instead, would seek information predominantly online using Wikipedia pages and search engine results.
Roll forward to today, 15 years on, and we have seen the emergence of the expression 'Alternative Facts' referring to a piece of false propaganda. Beyond this we have seen the use of online health diagnosis tools to such an extent that it seems we can decide nearly everyone is afflicted by some obscure condition or another.
So, surely the question "what is normal" is somewhat obtuse?
In the past, folk with an apparent mental illness, including stress disorders attributed to military service plus those on the Autistic Spectrum were often banished to institutions into living conditions that would now be considered appalling.
Right now, and speaking from personal experience, I want to celebrate the diversity of the human condition. Therefore I relish campaigning for more support for those that need to rely on extra care - whether from disability, illness, old age or dementia and championing the many Guardian Angels in our midst.
P
Promoted by Robbie Spence on behalf of Peter Banks, both of 124 Morant Road, Colchester CO1 2JD
