A Glimpse of the Future

I admit it.

I'm a Trekkie.

It began with The Original Series, then The Next Generation and all the movies. Deep Space 9 (DS9) was watched less for a variety of reasons so, now I have Netflix, I'm rectifying that slowly.
Science fiction is fascinating and it amazes me the way something written years before comes true.

And so it was with DS9 the other night. A double episode called Present Tense and first broadcast in January 1995 really reflected the current British government's attitude to the poor, the sick and the unemployed.

Set in the years 2369 – 2375, some of the crew travel back to earth and are catapulted back to the past.

Arriving in 2024 without any means of identification they are immediately taken to a Sanctuary A, an area closed off from the rest of San Francisco. Booked in via the admin block they are then left to find their own accommodation, something which is very difficult as everyone is left to fend for themselves.

The area is run down, dirty and overcrowded. The people are those that society want to forget. The poor, the sick and the unemployed.
Society believes that they are being cared for in the sanctuary but they are forgotten. Left to survive by whatever means possible.

So how does that relate to today. Well it's only 10 years away and already we can see the beginnings of this taking shape under this coalition government.

The "Bedroom Tax" is driving people into debt over their rent and more are being evicted. Homelessness is increasing.
Work Capability Assessments (WCA) are based on a series of simplistic Q & As without looking at the person and their situation and they are being deprived of the help they need. They are found to be "fit for work" with terminal illnesses.
The removal of DLA being replaced with PIP is a shambles with a backlog of claims that will take hundreds of years to clear at the current rate.
The NHS is under severe pressure with underfunding and privatisation resulting in people suffering and dying unnecessarily.
The use of Food Banks has increased alarmingly as people are pushed further into poverty and crisis unable to even afford food.

The blame for everything is being laid at the door of the poor, the disabled, the sick, the immigrant and not the banks and the rich who caused the recession that plunged many into poverty

We haven't quite reached the situation portrayed in DS9 but we are racing towards it at a frightening rate. With a General Election due May 2015 there is the possibility of another 5 years of this abysmal government failing people, driving more into poverty and despair and we are much closer to DS9's view of the future.

We MUST NOT let it happen. We MUST remember our humanity and stop people from falling into obscurity, hidden by lies and forgotten by society.