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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.
"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."
– MLK didn't fight for the right to vote but even more than Suffragettes, the ultimate act of giving one's life for democracy would be the American Revolution. America did start from colonists who rebelled against the British: "No taxation without representation" was a common slogan at the time. [Just mentioning it for history sake :)]
Because of the first past the post system, it is hard to get politicians that generally care about people as they tend to care more about the power. It sucks. I haven't lost hope yet that people's votes can change things though.
This was the situation this past year with American politics. The American people had enough of the 2 party system and initially, the top candidates from each side already had a father/brother/husband that had been in office before them. It felt like America was giving way to monarchy for a lot of citizens. Then Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders entered the race and both were out of line with the 2 major parties. Yet instead of them voting for the 2 parties, or as a 3rd party, they became the 2 parties to transform them from the inside. A lot of Americans saw this as the right answer [voting for Trump or Bernie as a 3rd party candidate on a 2 party ticket]. Since 1 of those 2 guys actually did win, I really hope to see things improve over the next 4 years. If they don't, then I'll be pretty convinced that it really doesn't matter who's in power.
Did you vote for Trump or Sanders? I liked Sanders a lot, didn't like Clinton, and although I'm not Trump's biggest fan (us Brits don't like him) I can't say I hate him either. I'm sort of neutral on him to be honest, like I think he has pros and cons. Actually MLK did campaign for the african-american right to vote – 'give us the ballot' is one of his famous speeches.
I voted for Trump because I lean more towards self-responsibility and accountability than group-responsibility. I grew up around a lot of people around me who didn't really want to succeed as much as I did, which often ended up in me having to pull their weight on top of my own, which is why I'm not exactly pro-Socialism [though I'm not fully anti-Socialism either].
I agreed with Sanders almost as much as I did with Trump, but Sanders wanted America to have open borders and for all immigrants [especially illegal ones] to automatically become citizens and immediately be eligible for welfare and healthcare and other financial aid. He could never win in America until he adjusts some positions because he'd completely bankrupt our country. A lot of Americans like Bernie but don't see him as economically viable [rightfully so]. Even if we taxed the richest people more [which I agree with doing], his costs would raise the taxes too high and many of them would end up leaving and causing our economy to collapse or go into a great depression.
I hated President Bush Jr. and thought his brother, Jeb [leading Republican candidate before Trump jumped in], was just an *awful* choice. Even worse, I think Hillary Clinton is much, much more awful. I think she is one of the most corrupt politicians America has ever had, and one of the ugliest human beings – inside, as a person – to be portrayed as any kind of positive icon. Her sexism and bigotry makes me sick and I really did not want to see her as the 1st female President of the US. I knew Jeb couldn't beat Hillary and I mostly voted for Trump because he was the only one that I believed could beat Hillary Clinton and he had some moderate, 3rd party background that I was hoping would show more after he won. Like you, I think Trump has pros and cons but I'm hoping the pros will outweigh the cons after his 4 years are up.
Okay, sorry about the misunderstanding on MLK. The thing about America is we have these dreadfully backwards people in the South that are disturbingly regressive and sometimes I forget about them. I knew that Blacks already had the right to vote, so I meant that MLK wasn't fighting for a federal right to vote. On the speech you brought up, he was fighting some people in the South who were trying to find loopholes against their right to vote.