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Thursday 20 September 2012

Don’t talk to me about elections.


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I am interested in politics, particularly those of other countries, but I don’t want any part of the verbal wars that sprout up whenever somebody says anything.

For me, the changing of the guard in China is far more likely to have a bigger impact on how we live than the American Election.

From this side of the border, it doesn’t make much sense to see everybody getting all riled up now.

Nobody seemed very concerned when first jobs, and then buckets of consumer cash, were shipped off to what was once a Communist enemy.

I remember wondering how that was going to end even though all the experts were crowing about investment possibilities, the benefits of cost reduction, and how we, like boats, would rise on the tide.

We were told we wouldn’t need our manufacturing jobs as we would have plenty to do in the Service Industries. I did wonder who we might be serving when the inevitable happened and all our houses were turned upside down.

You see, I don’t trust politicians – of any stripe. Some may be well intentioned but the whole business is prone to corruption and misuse. And it had been since it was invented.

Sometimes, one of them might doing something worthy of the history books but if we didn’t vote for them – we’ll never credit it.

Likewise. If our choice screws up – we overlook it.

You gotta be that way or you will end up cynical and we can’t have that. It has been called the greatest threat to Democracy but I don’t think so.

Cynicism is a natural defence and should be encouraged. Elections only serve to deflect people from what is really needed. You disagree? Then tell me why it has all come down to advertising paid for by invested groups?

Can you really see a moneyed interest paying to get real reform elected? I didn’t think so.

I’m not advocating revolution – unless it is going to be one of the bloodless type – like the one they had in Portugal back in the 1970’s. But they're few and far between and we can’t risk anymore killing – we’ve had enough of that – just leads to revenge and that in turns leads back to where we began. Seen that far too often!

Maybe we need to start qualifying our candidates and our electors. Only candidates with impeccable standards of honesty and morality should be allowed run. And only people who can tell the difference between horse’s asses should be allowed to elect them.

That rules me out but I’m not concerned. I’m no longer interested.