With less than a 100 days to the next election we are being bombarded with endless political news and stories. Now I am really interested in politics, world news and all that kind of stuff. I read a number of newspapers...all online of course for free...and a couple of political blogs, but even I find the endless political stories hard work.
Mostly what I object to is the way political parties and the media warp the facts to fit their agenda... there are plenty of 'charities' that are only too happy to do the same! It is interesting to see how the 'left' and 'right' treat the facts at their disposal. In the main and weirdly given all that the media tries to tell us about how the left are morally superior, the left are far keener to lie and distort the facts into unrecognisable shapes than the right. The left also has a tendency to demonise anyone who doesn't totally accept everything they say.
However the main thing about politics that really gets me annoyed is how people seem to acquire their political beliefs as a student and then never modify these beliefs as they change, the world changes, even the parties they support change. It strange, I mean how many people keep the same style of clothes all their life, or listen to the same music or even eat the same food. We all grow and change as we mature and as we come into contact with new experiences. But, no, our political views are never allowed to change as we grow up and our lives change. The number of people I know who will only vote Labour because 'that's what our family always votes'. oh yes and you also live in a back-to-back with outdoor plumbing and wear a flat cap! No you live in a 4 bedroom house and holiday in Tuscany but would never dream of actually using logic when you vote. Its like all the Labour MPs with Trust Funds for their children and tax avoidance advice. Ok you can probably tell my main annoyance is against Labour voters...not actual Labour voters who have real beliefs and understand what they are voting for, just the ones who think it makes them morally superior to vote Labour regardless of their lifestyle.
A classic example of the sort of 'lack of thinking' I am talking about is my dad. Many years ago there was a by election where we lived and my Dad was actually interviewed for an opinion poll. One of the questions he was asked was which Party's campaign do you like the most? Labour. Which Parties policies will benefit you the most? Conservative. And then which party are you voting for? Liberal. To give him his due my Dad thought his answer was messed up which is why he told us all but it does show what's wrong with politics in this country. People don't vote for either for self interest or for what they believe in, instead they vote for some tribal belief in political identities which only exist in their imaginations.
Then there are all the constituencies in which voting is a waste because the same party will get in even if a shop store dummy stood, as long as it wore the correct colour rosette... I live in one of those areas and it sucks because it means we get crap MPs...some Party faithful who needs rewarding and will never vote against the Party line, whatever that is.
As I say I like politics and have opinions, as do my children...a whole other post...but some days I think its just me. Enjoy the next hundred days and lets see what the Election brings us.
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