Democracy
Tyranny of the idiots
People think that democracy is sacred, almost carved on stone and beyond question. Nobody questions whether democracy is a good idea or not. The range of political activity has narrowed to be simply a system of which idiot we choose, missing the all important choice of whether we want to be ruled by idiots at all. This misunderstanding arose because existing alternatives seemed worse. That was before the appearance of the McGillicuddy Serious Party in 1984.
The great catch-cry of enthusiasts for democracy is that it gives everyone in society a say. This misconception is clung to fiercely in spite of the fact that peoples “say” only consists of marking a voting paper once every three years. Even proponents of democracy should find offence at this. Instead of citizen involvement we have nothing more than a hoax designed to shut us up. Instead of people exercising their democratic rights, we have a parliament where the members of the party in power invariably all vote the same way. This is not representation. Politicians are in a position to do anything they jolly well please, oblivious to the wishes of those who put them there (although if they wish to stay in power, they will take pains to appear to be acting in the public interest).
Rogues and scoundrels
People are often grizzling about their MP or favourite party failing to cater to their needs. This lack of representation, a serious fault, is at least easy to recognise. More dangerous and of much more concern to the McGillicuddy Serious Party is the way in which elections encourage deceit, greed and others of the more despicable human attributes. Members of parliament are elected not necessarily on their ability to govern, but on their ability to create the impression that they can do so.
In order
to outdo their competitors, every candidate needs to become a highly skilled
conartist, if not an outright liar in their 3 yearly exercise in self-glorification
and one-upmanship. At the end of any election chances are that the people
of Aotearoa will have more or less blindly chosen a parliament full of
rogues and scoundrels. Another major factor in any candidate’s success
is the amount of money that they have to spend on publicity. This stinks...
The regular massive publicity drive and the ongoing petty backbiting in parliament and via the media is an appalling waste of everybody’s time and energy. As it stands, an MP’s first concern is staying in power. Second is financial self interest and doing well out of the position. Coming in a miserable third is the actual governing of the country.
The arguments between Democracy and Monarchy fall into three broad categories: Honesty, Efficiency, and Style.