Friday 25 February 2011

Democracy gives you...

...Gideon. 










That really depresses me. I've never really been that much on the side of democracy. It always sounds good doesn't it? But what does democracy actually give to the working individual?


The things I cherish in the UK are the Welfare State and the NHS, a concept that Americans seem to think are alien to democracy. So we make contingencies to look after the have nots. Is that such a bad thing? We cope with the fact that a few people may take advantage of that thing that is called the "system" - perhaps 500,000 "scroungers" - is that such a bad thing if all those that actually are genuine are looked after? 


Maybe democracy over here means a different thing to what it means over there. But, then again what democracy here means must differ wildly to it's meaning in Egypt, Tunisia, Bahrain, Iran, UAE, Libya et al. What is it they want? Freedom from oppressive regimes, to be able to demonstrate without the threat of being bludgeoned to death or shot or taken away to be raped, tortured or to have one's children subjected to these things.


I have friends who are communists; I have friends who are socialists; I have friends who are liberals, I have friends who are humanists and I have friends who, like me, are anarchists, but personally my own personal sham(e) of voting is all "voted out". 20 years ago if I was to vote with my heart it would have been Labour, but Labour doesn't mean what it did. I look at Bob Crow and I see a "good geezer" and I want him to shut down the country; close the ports, close the railways, it's all we have left. I would have no problem seeing the country "held to ransom" by the unions again, but the Daily Mail curtain twitchers would get all outraged... 


Petrol prices are about to truly go through the roof. Will the lovely people from the Road Haulage Association be out on the highways and byways shutting down the road system this time? No, 'cos the people they bank roll are in power now and they'd look really stupid wouldn't they? 


So democracy, not sure what it is, but I think the people of Libya would be better off with it, whatever form of it they decide on. And that's the point, it's what the people of Libya want that matters, NOT the oil-dependant mealy mouthed West.


Peace innit...





1 comment:

  1. I agree with absolutely everything you just wrote.
    Well said.
    x
    PS. Nice t-shirt

    ReplyDelete