Friday 2 October 2009

THOUGHT PROVOKING

This blogger is not a nationalist, but I read his blog every day - both because he writes very well indeed, and because he is frequently thought-provoking. I recommend others do the same :

"

Imagine an island populated only by cattle. These cattle do what they want all day long - okay, what they want doesn't amount to much but they do it, and they're happy doing it.

One day, some people arrive. They see the cattle and think 'We could sell the milk and get rich.' So they take the milk from the cattle and sell it to other islands. Since they only take a small amount of each cow's milk, the cattle don't mind too much. The calves still get most of the milk.

Some people milk more cows than others. Some get up early and work hard while others sit around most of the day and produce a couple of pints, if anything. Therefore, some people are getting richer than others. At this point, the people start arguing. They split into two groups. One group argues that those who do more work are entitled to more profit. Others argue that everyone should get the same, no matter how much work they do.

Further, the first group argues that the most productive of the cattle should be rewarded. The second group argues that the least productive cattle should be compensated.

Since there are few people, and many cattle, the cattle get to decide who should run the island. One group wants to let the cattle produce as they can, and reward the high milk-produers along with the humans who work to milk them. They also believe that letting the cattle keep most of their milk is a good thing, because the cattle then invest that milk in strong calves which is good for the future. The other group believes that the milk belongs to every cow, no matter who produced it, and that they, as the island's rulers, should collect it all and redistribute that part of it they don't keep for themselves. All calves should be treated as being exactly the same, no matter their potential.

So the cows must decide.

All they hear by way of argument is 'The other side will be worse'. They hear no promises to let them keep more of their milk because both sides need to take the cow's milk in order to profit from it. They hear, from each side, that the other side will either take all their milk and then treat their calves as communal property, or that the other side will cut the heat in the milking sheds and use ice-cold milking equipment out of a malicious insistence on profit.

Through all this, the argument is not 'Look what we will do for you', but 'Look what they will do to you'.

The cows are confused. They don't know which side to choose. Most of them abstain. Some listen to a third group which promises to remove the people altogether and return the island to cow rule. Around a third of the cows feel strongly enough to decide one way or the other but most have noticed something important in all the people's posturings.

"They are not fighting for us. They are fighting over us. We are just the source of the milk they want and neither side cares about us at all. We are cattle. We produce milk. They produce nothing and yet they will take our milk and profit from it. Why vote? They are all the same."



Reading the latest political pronouncements from either side made me feel like one of those cattle. Labour, Tory, Lib Dem are not fighting for us. They don't want to rule the country for the good of its people. They are fighting over us. They are fighting each other for our votes, not by promising us anything, but by telling us what terrible things the others will do. They want to rule the country for their own benefit and in order to do that, they must impose strict controls on their cattle.

There's a saying that was once light-hearted, but no longer. "It doesn't matter who you vote for. The government always gets in". It has never been more true.

Low voter turnout is not about disinterest in politics. It is because people are increasingly realising this one simple truth. Politicians of all parties are fighting each other for power over us and it really doesn't matter any more which of the major parties wins. Labour's manifesto is the clearest on this point. It amounts to 'We can't let the Tories win' and that really is it. There is no more to it than that at all. The other parties are arguing along much the same lines - not 'what we can do for you' but 'whatever we do, they'll be worse'.

They want power. They have no intention of weilding that power on our behalf. It's for them, not for us. Power for the sake of power. Power as an end in itself, not as a tool to improve our lives. They will make promises but they will not keep those promises once they have what they want - power - because it is all they want. Once they have it, they can take whatever we produce for themselves.

In their eyes, we are cattle to be milked.

So should we all stay home on polling day? I say no, because that would guarantee the milking continues, and the cattle pens get smaller still. Look at the independents and the smaller parties. Vote for them. You will be browbeaten with 'It's a wasted vote'. Ignore that. It is the sound of fear from the current controllers. The only truly wasted vote is one that is not used.

Sixty-odd percent of the electorate don't vote. If they all turned out and voted for the smaller parties, the big three would vanish overnight. Remember, they don't even have all of the thirty or forty percent of votes from those who do turn up on polling day. Not even when all their votes are added up.

It is possible, with your vote, to wipe all the current parties from government.

You who voted gave them that power and those of you who don't vote are allowing them to keep it. You can take it from them. A vote is a weapon, the only real weapon we have left. Use it.

Otherwise, the milking continues as usual."

http://leg-iron.livejournal.com/229547.html

"They are not fighting for us. They are fighting over us. We are just the source of the milk they want and neither side cares about us at all. We are cattle. We produce milk. They produce nothing and yet they will take our milk and profit from it. Why vote? They are all the same."

That's as good a description as I've ever heard of the LibLabCon party.


 Or you could vote BNP, of course.

Morg
.

yaz