We have the press that shame those who clearly need help, or they raise hell about "fake homeless" and benefit frauds. People I know complain about "foreigners who come to this country to take up our benefits", or the "lazy bastards who are taking our hard earned money to live the life of Riley".
People like Ant McPartlin don't need to be publicly humiliated, he's most likely in a bad enough place as it is. That he is being used as a marketing piece to sell trashy newspapers is morally corrupt. People in bad situations need support not beratement.
The recent story of a "millionaire businessman" in Torbay photographing and so-called outing "fake homeless" people. Senseless.
There are lifestyle choices you can make, like whether you are a fitness king or queen, or a sofa sloth, but choosing to sleep out on the streets during the recent snows and minus temperatures? I don't think that's a choice somehow, the reason is irrelevant. It's not like they're doing it to inconvenience others.
There used to be a time when we would provide night shelters for the homeless, and give them warm soup. Now we walk past them and blame them for getting into the situation they are in.
Just when you think our society can get no lower...there is hope.
The new generation are more generous and willing to donate more on average to charities. In fact, the British public in general are increasing the amount of charitable giving. (2.9% in the UK in 2017), and most people report donating money from time to time.
The recent snow storms gave the opportunity for people to shine. There was more neighbourliness...and people actually talked in the streets. Some owners of 4x4s were offering to take NHS staff to and from work. A group of 4x4 owners in Devon (the Devon and Cornwall 4x4 Response group) volunteered their vehicles and time to transport vital supplies and support the police and medics when needed.
These are the stories that give a different side to our society that is so at odds with the negative stories that the mainstream media press upon us.
Our society is living in a paradox. We want Britain to be great but we fail to witness its decline. A great society cannot be judged by its wealth but its happiness. And a great society can measure its equality not disparity.
With 1 in 4 of us likely to experience a mental health problem each year, and a growing rift between rich and poor (According to the Equality Trust, the "top fifth" of the population earns 40% of the income, and the richest 10% of households hold 45% of all wealth). The level of inequality is increasing. And we all know that Brexit and austerity benefits the rich, while the poor shoulders the burden.
And then there is the faith paradox. Our so-called political leaders who claim that they use their Christian values to guide them, while their actions are very different. If their values guided them, why did a rough sleeper die outside parliament? And why would they be dismantling and selling the NHS for profit when it has such a negative impact on our health?
Life is not all doom and gloom, although those negative stories certainly help sell papers.There is actually a tremendous amount of kindness. The kindness might not be consistent (just because someone donates to an animal charity doesn't mean that they're going to offer a cup of tea to a rough sleeper on the street), but where there is the seed of kindness, there is always hope.
The thing with a paradox is that two things can't exist at once. In much the same way that time lines can not exist together, the paradoxical illusions we have created will at some point implode on us and we will have to establish a new truth. One, of course, that I am sure will be carefully guided by the press and the spin doctors while we immerse ourselves in the latest binge-worthy Netflix series.
[Random fact - Did you know that £189 million was raised in 2015 by bake sales alone?]
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