Our community reporter Spring Heeled Jack has written a series of short articles which we will share over the next few weeks.
Here is the final installment of Hard Times.
The purpose of this article has been to not only provide an overview of the social history of Great Britain from Charles Dickens time but also across several other countries worldwide to the present date, 28 April 2016.
It has not deliberately or specifically focused on one particular subject matter, which would require a chapter for each topic in a book.
The most important thing has been to explain and to try to outline how ordinary people worldwide have suffered very Hard Times (hence the title chosen), living in extremely difficult circumstances, frequently not of their choosing.
Many governments have been exceptionally cruel to ordinary people by conscripting service personnel then sending them to their death in great numbers.
One thing is clear, that ordinary people worldwide can understand through the media and advertisements the plight of the poor and help by donating to bodies and charities such as Amnesty International, Oxfam, the Red Cross and other important organisations trying to assist Third World underdeveloped countries.
It can be readily seen today in Great Britain and America where many ordinary people frequently donate freely to food banks, thinking of other impoverished families who have nothing.
Countless people have been left to feel humiliated and degraded by an unworkable benefit system where they have to firstly literally beg for a referral to a food bank today in order to feed their children and themselves.
This can be seen as an indictment of many governments whose political systems have repeatedly failed to address matters of serious social concern.
It also demonstrates a lack of many governments’ social policy, but most importantly a lack of humanity towards other fellow human beings.
Over the years, the media have helped to highlight many social injustices by covering in-depth reporting on worldwide wars and natural catastrophes.
This has often shown the failure of civilised well off countries to help other underdeveloped countries with sufficient funds in foreign aid and its subsequent effects on ordinary people.
Finally, ordinary people continue to show an indomitable spirit and willingness to help each other whether through family and friends or to strangers by giving to charities, particularly through Hard Times today.
This is the final edition of Hard Times we hope you have enjoyed it! The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and not the Digital Sentinel.
