After writing a long piece about the election last week, it became fully apparent that we have always lived in a culture obsessed with buying the headline or the short soundbite. Yet, when we come to fully examine the details—which can sometimes take years on the IOM, we realize people just want to sell the news.
Of course, things have been like this since time began. Is the Isle of Man really going to live without its own secure energy source in the future? Anyone who wants to maintain the standard of living we enjoy would understand that we cannot afford to do that. I am well known for supporting green initiatives, and they remain the best way forward to protect what is the single biggest asset in our country.
I get that people don’t always have the time, or sometimes even the mental bandwidth after a long day, to read deep analytical pieces. However, it is incumbent upon ourselves and then through our government that we actively push the detail and aim for the long term.
To that end, I will also be breaking down my own thoughts into manageable headline paragraphs in the future. I do this in recognition that digestible information is key to establishing the vibrant, informed community that truly works for everyone.
On another point, we need to move toward getting out and actually talking to business owners. Yet again, I was asked last week to fill in a form about how we are doing. This is complete nonsense.
If you live here and you don’t know how the area is doing, I suggest the first step is to open your eyes. The second step is to actually talk to people, and the third is to be honest about what you find.