Politics is a lame game, politicians are all the same. They stand on their podiums and put us to shame with their lies and hand gestures and pride in their name.
I sound like an anarchist. I’m not anti-government. I’m not exactly pro-government either. I believe we’re better with it then without it. Humans and other animals naturally form some sort of hierarchy within us. Animal Farm and Lord of the flies highlight this perfectly. Some people are meek and better at obeying orders; others are bombastic and like to take charge of the situation. Some disagree with the bombastic loud people and go against them and try to form their own groups with their own ideas.
With the election in the UK coming up, my Facebook feed is full of young people telling other young people that they need to vote. I do agree that it is important to vote due to the fact that so many in the past have given their lives for the ballot, from the Suffragettes to Martin Luther King. Voting reinforces the fact that we live in a democracy rather than in a dictatorship like North Korea or the USSR. Britain is a hell of a lot better to live in then a lot of countries in the world. We have a tolerant attitude to immigrants, the NHS, most people are not drowning in poverty, and kids don’t come up to people on the street with guns trying to rob them.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2017-40001221
Voting shows that we are all part of something nationally. However, I can see why some people are disheartened and do not vote. No matter who’s in power, people will still die, taxes will keep coming, the rich will stay rich and the poor will stay poor. Humans are selfish, and we like to take what we believe is ours. Life as we know it will continue. Because of the first past the post system, countries like Britain and America have a two-party state where either one of the two major parties can win. Here, it’s either Labour or Conservatives. I’m voting for Labour; my parents vote Labour, and I grew up in Hackney where you can be shot for being a Tory. But truthfully, whether Labour or Tories win, things will not change heavily.
Democracy is really all about winning votes and appealing to the people. Did David Cameron really give a fuck about ‘the people’? Did I really give a fuck about him? Who even is he? Some Etonian/Oxford graduate with millionaire parents. The guy means fuck all to me. Same with Theresa May. There is a saying in Marxist theory that ‘every five years we elect the new oppressor.’ I wouldn’t put it so extremely, but truth be told, whoever you vote for won’t change the fact that your cousin is a meth addict, your uncle has schizophrenia and your girlfriend left you for a Calvin Klein model.
I can’t see appeal of being a politician. I guess if you love being around people and shoving ideas in people’s faces and don’t mind the censorship that comes with it then sure. Some politicians do generally care about people. Corbyn seems legit; he backs the NHS, wants to scrap tuition fees, and will increase the living wage as well as increase taxes for the richest 5%. Most people probably go into politics because there’s something that really concerns them, like the environment or the military or the economy. Or their dad was an MP so they decided to follow in his footsteps.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/0/who-will-win-general-election-2017-latest-polls-odds-tracker/
And how much power does a politician really have? You’ve got to answer to your party, who has to answer to the House of Commons, and then people can still protest and disagree with you if a certain law is passed. You’ve got to be ruthless, good at acting and changing your mind to suit the public, and thick-skinned enough to handle constant criticism. Becoming a politician has never interested me (it’s not arty enough and I’m too sensitive and outspoken) but I guess you’ve got to be pretty bold to go into politics. I don’t care enough to be a politician, and these guys really care about something. Popularity, winning votes; their country – I dunno what exactly but there’s a deep ingrained sense of duty there.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/apr/24/everything-you-need-to-know-uk-general-election
So let’s cut these guys and girls at the top some slack. Whatever their motives are, they’re sacrificing a lot for the sake of wanting to make a difference for the people. The least we can do is to take part by putting an X on a piece of paper every five years, even if at the end of the day our individual lives will remain the same. Gotta do it for the greater good and all that.