"Remember remember the fifth of November
Gunpowder, treason and plot.
I see no reason why gunpowder, treason
Should ever be forgot.."
Nothing like coming back to England and seeing everything with newly objective eyes. The above poem of course refers to Guy Fawkes when, in the 17C, he was caught in the cellars of the Houses of Parliament with several dozen barrels of gunpowder. It wasn't just his sentence as a traitor but the barbaric, inhumane, means of his execution - the most horrendous ever practised (hanged, drawn and quartered). So why, in today's more liberal age, are we still commemorating it by burning effigies of the poor man and lighting fireworks? Schadenfreude still? There are many news items today that could be deemed treason - acting against the interests of one's own country. Yet, what is in all the news this week? Sex. Lots of it. Since the days of Jimmy Saville, no man is immune. From celebrities to MPs. Could it be that the very salaciousness of the topic overrides more mundane, yet eminently more serious, crimes? Roll over Mr. Fawkes. You're soon to be joined by every male celebrity that ever lived. The police, as we speak, are uncovering every juicy bit of evidence over which they can possibly salivate. Meantime the real criminals - murderers, thieves, traitors etc. - are going scot free. Welcome back to England!
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