Statements from the streets this week as part of my ongoing series “R U Talkin to Me”. These ‘messages’ appear to me as we career towards this election in the U.K. Buzzwords abound as sound bites take precedence over facts and personalities are judged more than policies. And trust is at an all time low as we now live in this post truth age where everything can be bent to suit whoever chooses to do the bending.
And yet I feel its important to remember, as the sign above indicates, politicians have never told the truth. They say what they think will get them votes and they rarely fulfil their election promises so why should we ever listen to them? In the normal day to day you can pretty much discount anything a politician says but in the run up to an election? Forgeddaboudit..
And so with algorithm bubbles fuelling your feed and fakery lurking at every corner, who can you believe? The answer is yourself. Do your research, disseminate your information, question your sources, go beyond the mainstream media, investigate, and don’t just accept everything wholesale. Every pusher of news has an agenda. Every single media outlet is subjective to a degree so you must factor this in when absorbing the ‘facts’. The answers are all there, you just have to look. And think. And when you are in your next heated political argument passionately pushing your opinion with anger fuelled adamance, ask yourself this question…where did I get my information from?
This all might sound very cynical but you cannot afford to be just take things at face vaiue and it’s very hard not to look at our political system and feel its kinda broken. It’s not that there aren’t any politicians or parties worth voting for but the whole opposition 2 party politics feels very outdated and after recent experience, just doesn’t feel like a forward thinking solution. It feels like a dead end.
However, I think the vote is the most important thing we have and we have to use it and we have to use it. And use it wisely, even if its tactical. It might feel you are supporting something you are essentially against and perpetuating the people in power who are a problem but the vote is the only power we have.
There is a lot of use of the phrase ‘the lesser of evils’ these days and I subscribe to it. This system might be geriatric and in need of a major overhaul but there are definitely worse versions of it depending on who is at the helm.
In this day and age its more crucial to know what you are against than what you are for. And vote with your head, not your heart. Vote with information not instinct. Vote with facts not fear. But whatever you do, just vote. It ain’t much but it’s all we got.
If that is all a total brain drain please accept this soothing mattress message…with a sweetie on a stick thrown in for good measure…
