Originating post: vying for position

Turnout in general elections went from 78.8% in 1974, to 59.4% in 2001. If from the total number of voters who did turn out you subtracted all the politicians, their staff and party delegates; all the media flunkeys who make a living reporting and commenting on the whole charade; and all the corporate cronies with vested interests in the outcome, how many ‘ordinary citizens’ would remain?

You’d think our leaders might be alarmed by the dwindling interest in their existence. But maybe the opposite is the case. If the trend continues there will come a time when the whole circus is a self contained bubble within which the aforementioned groups strut and preen, and conspire indefinitely to their mutual advantage without a single ‘ordinary citizen’ to get in the way. There would be no demands for ‘accountability’, or ‘a fair deal’, or ‘equal rights’, or any other misguided notions of democratic order. They could vote themselves into power again and again at regular intervals. They could finance each others wildest schemes and lend each other money at favourable rates and they could publish glowing reports and documentaries congratulating themselves on their acumen.

Sounds familiar doesnt it? We are almost there. Can we do anything to change it? Hard to say. Certainly blogs like this wont make a blind bit of difference. I’m in favour of tax evasion. Hit ‘em where it hurts. We can change our lifestyles and lose them a great deal of money. Remember all our bad habits play right into their hands. They rely heavily on most of us drinking, smoking and driving cars. Which is why all those pastimes are so heavily taxed. They cant bust you for cleaning up your act.

I’d also like to see a change in the voting laws. I’d like voting in general elections to be made compulsory, as long as there is an option to tick a box that effectively allows you to be counted among those who believe all the candidates and what they represent suck. That would make for some interesting statistics.

Originating post: unnatural selection