Sunday, April 18, 2010

I HOPE IT BACK FIRES - BIG TIME!

There is no heart, not yet, in the current election campaign. There is too much scripted play on personal emotions, rather than caring for, or about 'you', or the country, from one corner of the political divide. Is this more American style importing from the light blue front man, along with paraphrasing Nixon, Kennedy and Obama. Some original thinking would be a surprise. 

There's much bandying about cutting out the cancerous elements of society; at times it seems that the older generation are being lumped into it. Hear also, the very rushed emotive sound bites about the care and treatment of cancer that are meant to painfully bite, for a political cause, no empathic purpose attached, cynically used for the power trip. 

Then there's the emphasis on celebrity culture. Substance matters not a jot. Why not vote in the footballer, David Beckham, or his wife, Victoria who has experience of being a media wife. Britain's Got Talent; no chance, we like to denigrate ourselves. 

There is no doubt about what the papers and other media are doing. There are very one-sided reports and commentary, also, there is carefully selected imagery. As usual they are playing at being king-makers. Their proprietors, who greatly influence their newspapers' output and editorial management, have no vote in this country, no locus, yet they are allowed to take power without responsibility. I hope it back-fires,big time.

There are so many contrasting sound bites to generate fear factors. The biggest fear factor is supposed to be electing a hung Parliament. Heaven help us all if our Parliamentarians have to talk nicely to one another and behave like decent and sensible grown ups ought to. That would never do, would it. What kind of example would that set to our young people and the country at large?

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Be it politics or papers it's nearly all sound bites and spin! I despair of both much of the time. Flighty xx

ZACL said...

I was thinking of the freedom we had to feel as you do, Mr F; I won't ramble with the loads of thoughts that brainstormed in.

I sense all of that frustration too.

I wonder if the French, Italians, Dutch, Belgians, and other nations have the same or similar political annoyances too, expressed in familiar ways?

xx

Anonymous said...

it's all getting rather too much like the American way of doing things, with all the focus seemingly on which candidates have the prettiest wives, for instance.

there's an awful lot of hot air and waffle about the election but precious little regarding actual policies or plans.

ZACL said...

It's all very shallow. To paraphrase, policies speak not thy terms.

I agree with you.

TG said...

Very good post. I agree, from what I saw, the British politicians really copy the American way of campaigning, especially everyone wants to be "online", everyone Tweets, has a Facebook page and what not. But it's all fake. These sites will all die out once they succeed (or fail). Where are the politicians of principles? Why are most of them phony and why do we know that and still buy into it? It's really a mystery to me. It's became a circus, be it in USA, UK or Slovenia. People are tired of bickering and empty promises... Nothing changes. Only faces shift, one into the headlights, the others into the back. And it's usually those who play the roles of the puppeteers.

ZACL said...

Hi MKL,
Good to hear from you.Your SE Asia posts are fascinating.

Apart from the need for fiscal stability at this time, a very, very serious aspect to this election, the rest of it is total hot air. Some of the politicians are so bereft of sincere input (sincere + politics don't usually work in parallel) one party leader has resorted to clear plagiarism from past American campaigns, in the hope that Britain has become America.

One party has designs on taking the UK into the right wing American agenda; another, does have some substance but agrees presentation is lacking, and the third main contender has knocked the other two off their perches for now. So instead of getting away with not discussing policies and meaningful material, they will both focus on the new 'pretender' to the throne, attack his party's policies and hope no-one will notice.

As you say, hot air............ unfortunately, we have to deal with by 'putting up' by using our votes for one lot of hot air, or voluntarily disenfranchising ourselves then being told we voted actively or passively for what we get.