An Introduction

I thought that I should probably start with an introduction to who I am and what I'm about. So here it goes.

Hi. I'm Steff. I'm 19, soon to be 20 and am currently studying BA in Contemporary History and Politics at Sussex University.
I come from a sleepy town in the deep south of England known as Sandhurst, roughly 60 miles outside of central London, known to the world as the home of the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst. I currently hop between here and sunny Brighton, which I feel is my cultural home. Somewhere I can finally identify with and not feel like someone is going to form a vigilante mob against me for wearing multicolored trousers and daring to vote Labour. Despite this, Sandhurst and its surrounding area still holds for me a sense of fond nostalgia that harks back to my comfortable middle class upbringing. Its local pub still feels like home and the neighboring village of Crowthorne plays host to one of the happiest places on this earth, for me anyway; Bewitched Fancy Dress. I have drunk more cups of tea than I could ever hope to remember and laughed more than I thought possible within the confines of its four walls. The woods in which these towns are nestled represent some of the best of the British countryside. The undulating hills, flowering heather and endless community dog-walking spirit  show up some of the nicest parts of the heart of the England. It is with this backdrop that I stumbled upon my passion for politics.

To me, history and politics are one and the same. History is merely the politics of the past, yet without this foundation we are hopeless in trying to understand the politics of the present. For instance, without learning about the history of riot and popular protest in Britain, one would probably come to the conclusion that the August riots of 2011 were nothing more than thuggish rebellion, crying out for harsher sentencing to curb their wayward attitudes! Similarly, without looking at a pattern in the Royal activities in the past, one could assume that the Royal Wedding and the upcoming Diamond Jubilee are simply a perfect, innocent excuse for celebration in these austere times.

In learning about these things, I have developed a certain sense of scepticism. Scepticism over the ideas of 'just' wars, the so called equality of the sexes, economic liberalism and so on. However, when I look upon the world as I see it, I am still struck with what I believe to be the prevailing good of mankind. Yes there are atrocities which lead me to question my previously unerring devotion to the goodness of humanity, yet upon closer examination I still maintain that people are basically good and kind and this gives me hope.

In this blog I will try to share some of my thoughts, should anyone care to read them. Journalism, especially political journalism, is something I have always felt somewhat drawn to, so I though I'd try my hand at it, on a very basic level! I'm hardly afraid of criticism so should you have any thoughts, either agreeing or disagreeing with anything I write it would be great to hear them. I always seem to learn about my own opinions from discussions down the pub than I do in the lecture theater so feel free to go to town!

Anyway, I think that'll do for now. I'll try and update as often as workload permits so will be back soon!