They're not voting because...
- Increasingly I am unable to escape the...
Increasingly I am unable to escape the conclusion that, far from being "of the people, for the people", politicians (and by extension entire political parties) are effectively for sale to the highest bidder.
What little political autonomy is left after the corporate campaign-funders and have had their say seems to be bartered away to the USA or Europe at an ever-increasing rate, making it effectively irrelevent whether I vote or not.
I could vote Conservative, but their sleaze, corruption and dishonesty laid the groundwork for our current sorry state, and they've shown themselves to be strikingly incompetent both in power and in Opposition. About the best thing one can say about them is that they aren't *all* facists, and they're too half-arsed to cover up their corruption and double-dealing.
I could vote Labour, but they're the ones who have smilingly accelerated the putrefaction of honour started by the Conservatives, in addition to effectively trading our sovereignty and autonomy to the USA and europe for what amounts to shiny beads, when they get anything back at all (seriously - look up the legal requirements to have someone extradited to the USA from the UK, then vice-versa). About the best thing one can say about Labour is that they aren't as half-arsed as the Tories, but when a party's as devious, conniving and dishonourable as Labour, that's not a good thing at all - it just means they get away with more.
I could vote for the Liberal Democrats, but let's be serious - if they can't make a decent play in the face of Labour's barefaced lying, manipulation and dishonesty, and they can't even win the position of Opposition party from the disheveled and pathetic Conservative remnants, does anyone really truest them to be able to run a country? Yes, it might be nice to give them a go, but I can't escape the feeling that they only haven't been corrupted because they've never had any power.
Why won't I be voting? Because it doesn't make a difference. And until the media is prepared to expose these charlatans and liars for the thieves and manipulators they are, this will not change.
written 3rd May 2005
Responses
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Michael M. replies: You mention government "of the people, for the people". What about trying some democracy "by the people"? As well as rightly complaining about politicians we can take over some responsibility ourselves. How? With partial direct democracy. See http://www.iniref.org/
written 4th May 2005