'A little more thinking, a little more cooperation, a little more striving for the common good.' Paul Dawson. Photo: courtesy of the Green Party
A little more thinking: Rebecca Hardy speaks to Green Party’s Paul Dawson ahead of general election
General election interview
How do your Quaker testimonies and Quaker faith inform your political work?
Carl Von Clausewitz, a Prussian general and military theorist, once stated, ‘War is the continuation of politics by other means.’ For me politics is the continuation of my faith by other means.
The key testimony for me is that of Equality. The Quaker website puts it far better than I can, where it says ‘Quakers believe everyone is equal. This inspires us to try to change the systems that cause injustice and that stop us being genuine communities.’
When have you most felt challenged in politics by your adherence to your Quaker values?
Advices & queries 31 closes with the words ‘remember that they too are children of God.’ It wasn’t in such severe circumstances as the quote from Advices & queries, but at a hustings meeting the agent of one of the other candidates, while sitting in the audience, heckled me quite aggressively. I didn’t leave it to the chair to deal with but engaged verbally and forcefully with the heckler. Sadly, when challenged, I didn’t adhere to my Quaker values.
Why should Quakers vote Green?
There can only be equality if there is justice. And there cannot be justice until there is justice for all. Nobody being more important, or favoured, just by accident of birth. There must be, in no particular order, climate justice, economic justice, gender justice, racial justice, housing justice, employment justice, disability justice, environmental justice, and so on. My point is obvious, and I believe that the fight against injustice closely aligns with Green Party policies.
If there is one thing you would like to see change in, driven by your Quaker values, what would that be?
Advices & queries 17 closes with the sentence, ‘Think it possible that you may be mistaken.’ I may be taking it a little out of context but, sometimes politicians just parrot party dogma without thinking that they, or the party, may be wrong. A little more thinking, a little more cooperation, a little more striving for the common good.
Paul is the Green Party candidate for Stevenage. Rebecca is the journalist at the Friend.
