A better political system that is truly democratic. Populism is the biggest disaster. The wealthy elite are running things.

Posted on by Opher

I have voted in every election.

Never once has my vote counted for anything. I have always lived in safe seats with big majorities. I lived in London and Hull where Labour held sway with big majorities. I now live in East Yorkshire where the Tories have a massive majority.

The only votes that actually count are those in marginal seats where the seat can change hands. My vote counts for nothing and never has.

I continue to vote because it is a right that was well fought for. Blood was shed to gain my right to vote. It was a long battle. The wealthy elite of the establishment were terrified that once ordinary people gained the vote their privileged position would end. They feared that ordinary people would elect MPs who would create a fairer society.

That has not happened and, as far as I can see, has not happened anywhere else in the world. Strange really.

But then the wealthy elite contrive mechanisms to ensure that they stay in power. No political party can gain power if it threatens the position of the wealthy elite. They run things through propaganda, lobbying, finances, bribes and threats.

If a political party adopts an anti-establishment set of policies (such as plugging tax loopholes, nationalising institutions and a fairer tax system) they are vilified in the media and the propaganda machine runs into full gear. Finance is utilised. Threats are made. One only has to see what happened with Corbyn.

Parties that support the establishment are funded. Others are marginalised.

We presently have a two-horse race. The Tory party was formed by the wealthy to look after the wealthy. The Labour party was formed to look after the interests of working people – they probably represent the interests of 95% of the population. Such is the force of the propaganda machine and accompanying financial clout the only way the Labour party can gain power is if they adopt policies that support the establishment.

Ironic isn’t it?

The conclusion is that we cannot have democracy until:

Big business (finance and the establishment) is kept out of politics. We need a better way of financing political parties.

The media ceases to be a scaremongering propaganda tool of the establishment.

We have a mechanism to create a fair system where minority parties have a better chance of gaining power.

To this end, in order to achieve a proper democracy, I think we require the following things:

Some control of the media so that it is not controlled by the wealthy elite.

A form of proportional representation so that wherever you live your vote counts.

The removal of all private funding for political parties – some form of public funding is required.

An unbiased fact-checking body to alert when false claims are made or lies told.

Scrutiny of all politicians with full accountability. Any lies, deception or law-breaking is immediately acted on with draconian punishments.

Only when that happens will we have true democracy!!

PS

I have lost all faith in referenda. I do not believe that the majority of the public have access to the necessary facts or are able to weigh up the complex issues necessary to make informed decisions. The public is too gullible and easily swayed by charismatic politicians feeding them lies, spinning the truth and deploying fear-laden conspiracy. Referenda give the same weight to the ignorant and stupid as the informed and intelligent. Representative democracy (electing people able to weigh up the intricacies of facts necessary for policies is the only way). Populism is a disaster.

There should be a way of preventing narcissists, psychopaths and sociopaths from running for office. Perhaps all candidates should be subjected to psychological testing?

The trouble with all revolutions is that they merely replace the wealthy elite with a different wealthy elite.

The trouble with socialist/communist systems is that they get taken over by psychopath/sociopathic monsters (Mao, Stalin, Pol Pot) and become abhorrent tyrannies run by ruthless elites.

The same thing happens with right-wing fascist states (Hitler, Franco, Mussolini).

Right now we have a wave of extreme right-wing populism all of which are headed up by grifters, chances and liars who pump out lies and conspiracy, create fear and division, so that they can profit with huge power and wealth. Bolsonaro, Johnson and Trump are squirrelling away fortunes in some of the most sleazy, corrupt regimes we have ever seen.

Politics has let everyone down. It is time for a big overhaul before it erupts into civil wars.

Poetry – Who are they?

Posted on by Opher

Who are they?

They’re carving up the world

For economic gain.

Creating war and havoc

Bribing those who reign.

Putting in their puppets

Who give them all the cash

Bolstering their power

With crops and burn and slash.

Opher 28.10.2018

There’s a game being played. They create countries out of lines on maps and put in leaders who will toe the line.

All that matters is money and power.

They are carving up the world.

Democracy – and how to finally get some.

Posted on by Opher

We live in a democracy – except we don’t.

A democracy is when the people make the decisions – we’ve seen what a mess that is with Brexit.

So we have a representative democracy. We appoint people who are wiser, more intelligent and knowledgeable than ourselves to make decisions on our behalf.

That doesn’t seem to work too well either.

The people we vote into office turn out to be stupid, ignorant and uncaring.

So why do we keep voting them in?

There are a number of reasons for that:

  1. The system – in order to become elected they have to have a huge, expensive propaganda machine behind them. The people who control this propaganda machine want people they can control. People who will put into place the laws and policies that favour them. Political parties are controlled by the establishment. We end up with a limited choice from the candidates the establishment put forward. Nobody else stands a chance.
  2. The media – the media are owned by wealthy establishment figures. Through the spin and propaganda they pour into peoples’ minds they control what the electorate think. We can see that after forty years of anti-EU propaganda and the shit-storm that was directed at Corbyn. The establishment wanted Brexit and they thought Corbyn would be a threat to their privileged position.
  3. The stupidity, naivety and gullibility of us, the general public. Half the population have an IQ below a hundred. Political education is extremely poor – most people do not know how the political parties were formed or what they stand for. The constant stream of lies and spin that comes at us from the media creates a suspicion of all news. We don’t know what to believe. Issues are so complex and interwoven that you have to be an expert to understand them. So we are easily manipulated.
  4. The tendency for sociopaths to fool people and gain power. Sociopaths, because they really do not care – indeed, might actually gain pleasure from hurting people, have a tendency to rise to powerful positions. They don’t care who they hurt. They do not agonise over decisions. They appear black and white and decisive – characteristics that people look for in a leader. Only when they are in power do we realise what mean, selfish bastards they really are.
  5. Power corrupts. Nice people, who were caring, become narcissistic, selfish bastards. They begin to believe that they are indeed better than everyone else and deserve all the wealth and sycophancy that goes with their position. It’s an addiction. It makes them sociopathic.

So how do we make democracy work? I’ve a few ideas:

  1. Educate the people so that they can understand much better what is going on.
  2. Control the media so that it is unbiased and fact-checked. Stop the establishment elite from owning it and using it as a propaganda tool.
  3. Fund election from the public purse on a very limited budget so that the establishment is not in control of it.
  4. Make politicians accountable so that at any point the people can vote them out, not just in elections.

I do not believe we can have a democracy while the establishment are in control of the system and the media!