Disclaimer: This isn’t an intellectual, well-argued post. It’s how I feel. It is not intended to offend anyone, so as long as you’re not taking it personally, feel free to argue a point in the comments. Just keep it friendly.
Dear Friends,
1. I am not particularly politically minded. My contribution to democracy is that I vote every four years (I’m 22, you do the maths). Mostly, I vote based on who seems the least moronic (since party politics are so often all the damn same) unless there’s an issue that particularly grabs my attention. The latter, of course, creates difficulties: The Conservatives say no to ID cards (or they did…last time I watched the news without Winnie the Pooh in the foreground) but they’re complete wankers about single parent families. ‘New’ Labour wants to make us into Europe, or at least Blair did, I’m too out of touch to know what the hell Brown is on with. The Lib Dems, my party of choice in the days before I could vote, are…well they’re just ‘not’…do they even have opinions any more?
2. I am not American but given how the President is being called ‘the leader of the free world’ (free? [insert hysterical laughter here] Only by comparison to countries that ban the internet), I consider it of interest. I have no idea about any party but the democrats and even then, my opinion is thus:
The news would have us believe that it is a question of a Black Man vs. a White Woman. As I was telling my friend, John on the phone last night (possibly to his amusement), Obama is the least black black man I have ever seen. His skin might be black but that’s the only thing that is. There is nothing wrong with that!
This reduces us to Man vs. Woman (because Hilary’s whiteness is irrelevant). Hillary Clinton may have spawned offspring (and therefore presumably has the required equipment) but the woman’s got balls. No, not balls, BALLS. So stop making it about colour of skin and gender. If we’ve really got anywhere since the suffragettes or Martin Luther King or whoever you want to put on your poster, then it shouldn’t fricking matter. For the record, I have no objections to Obama but I like Hillary. And I like her husband too.
3. I like our Royal Family. They might be a bunch of muppets at times but they’re our muppets. This has never been an argument I could defend under heat, it is just one of those things that is built into my belief system and I get quietly irate when people go on about how much they suck. John (yes, again), pointed out to me: Do you want Gordon Brown as the Head of State? I don’t know his standing on the Royals but I think that’s essentially why I like having a royal family: Who the hell else are we going to put on the money? You want to see Gordon Brown, or worse, his Mrs. throwing tea parties for other Heads of State? Not unless we get to vote on the damn spouses too.
That’s probably all…I think.
5 Comments
Thought I would comment on all your points rather one.
1. I’ve only recently started to pay attention to politics, but my opinion hasn’t really changed. You are still screwed whatever party is in power it just depends how hard.
2. I have paid no attention at all to the American presidential compaign. I am not American and unlike them I do not think they are the centre of the world. I also don’t understand the whole system over there. It confuses me and my brain shuts down. Really though anyone has to be better then George Bush. Maybe a monkey could be president.
3. I understand your point of view here but as an Australian, I would like you to take your Queen. Have all of her.
I am impressed with some of your “stuff”.. do you want to think about designing a new wedding web site for me? you can contact me at jeff@vipbentleys.co.uk
“I don’t want President Brown (or Blair or Cameron or whoever is current)” is a common anti-republican argument. The problem is that the current system gives us King Brown. Not only does Brown control both the legislature and the executive (Bush only controls the executive section of US government) but he also rules with Crown Prerogative, which allows him and his subordinate ministers to do a huge range of things without consulting or informing Parliament at all.
Basically, Brown is already head of state and much more powerful, relatively speaking, than those of other democracies. Javing the queen as a fig leaf means that a) he doesn’t have to go to all the boring dinners and b) attention is distracted away from the huge amount of power concentrated in his hands.
I’m in a similar position to you in terms of our current political state. The conservatives are, for the most part, total assholes when it comes to any sort of modern thinking. God forbid if you’re not a 2.4 children family type thingy.
On the other hand, labour are totally screwing our country into the ground every which way you look at it.
Lib Dems are a non-option. I voted for them in the last election but won’t bother wasting my vote again. As they say, they don’t see to have an opinion any more.
So at our next election I have a choice: fuck over all of my morals and beliefs by voting for conservative in the hope they’ll bring the country back from the brink of disaster, or vote labour because they’re a bit more liberal and watch the country sink into a black hole.
Choices, choices!
*As they say should have been As YOU say