As I sit here, after a fine Sunday dinner and bottle of wine, I wonder what I have to do to make the world stir. Should I decide to support Labour at the next election, something that would undoubtedly make my friends think I'd really flipped, or should I do something less extreme. The more I think about it, the more I worry. What truly worries me is that it doesn't matter what I think, or do, the world will carry on as before. Therefore, does it really matter what any of us think or do, or is everything, effectively, a 'fit accompli' ?
Our lives are governed by those in power who decide what is, and what is not, acceptable, decide what the punishments will be for transgressing THEIR rules, and also decide what rules we must follow in deciding who it is that decides all these things in the first place. These are, of course, the rich and powerful who, despite a few occasional incursions into their ranks, are generally the same 'rich and powerful' that have ruled the country since time immemorial or, at least, their direct descendants.
I despise the animals who rampaged around parts of London yesterday, and yet I could also have some sympathy with their apparent frustration if they weren't so obviously driven by extreme Political motives. These creatures were hell-bent on destruction, and destruction of our society not just the buildings they were vandalising; they have no place in any civilised gathering.
What I want is to be able to elect a representative who really will listen to me, reflect my views, and be honest; is that too much to ask ? Sadly, the answer seems to be an emphatic 'Yes', as our electoral system remains wedded to the idea of political parties. Instead of voting for a person, we are permitted to vote for a party; oh, yes, there is a person's name attached to the party, but how many ever worry what that name is ? It's the party that matters, pure and simple; grandad always voted Labour, dad always voted Labour, and I always vote Labour - what a sad reflection on our society when probably 80% of the population simply vote for what they see as 'their' party, rather than ever thinking about what they are really voting for. Before anyone gets upset, the same applies to the Conservatives though perhaps not to the Liberals who have been so peripheral of late that they've been more of a protest vote than anything else in most of the country.
I used to count myself as a Conservative but, having grown up, I see good and bad in all the parties, sadly mostly bad. None of them gives a damn about anything other than the next election and trying to maximise their chances of being in government. Our representatives are self-serving individuals who owe far more allegiance to their party than they do to us as the electorate, and act accordingly; forget what we want, it's what the Party says that matters. None of the ordinary people have any real say in anything.
This is, of course, what we call 'Democracy'; it's actually what Lord Hailsham, formerly Quintin Hogg, once referred to as an 'elective dictatorship' and that's exactly what it is. We, the people, are graciously allowed to elect our leaders from a carefully selected group of approved candidiates; what a privilege. The outcome of this system is increasing voter apathy, followed by increasing minority activism; in the end, we will have riots and scenes far more associated with third world nations. Revolution will follow and god help anyone still around then.
No comments:
Post a Comment