What if your innate talent is for something that society doesn’t value sufficiently that you have enough money to keep a roof over your children’s heads ? I know someone who is a good enough artist that she has exhibited at the Tate. But the market for modern art is small and the supply is quite large. She has worked as a nanny, which she didn’t like much, and relied on her parents for financial support literally to keep a roof over her head. How would it be possible for her to be content and poor (I mean properly poor - minimum wage poor, food bank poor, that sort of poor) ?
What do peoples ‘normal’ friends and colleagues make/say/do of the current political climate?
Sure; “they’re ALL a bunch of “ has been the norm for ages, but as things start getting utterly batshit crazy, does it even register on the scale of normal apolitical people?
Was talking with an American friend last night. By no means MAGA / Trump, she was openly questioning the agenda of the mainstream media (NYT, WaPo, CNN, NBC) and defending some pretty bonkers untruths. Mrs Craig asked how far I thought the U.K. was from this … i could only reply that it’s an English problem, and I don’t really know how bad it is (outside Brexit craziness)
A lot people I know don’t talk about politics at all, they either really can’t be arsed or keep their opinions to themselves. Politics isn’t really discussed at work but when it is I am normally shocked by the lack of knowledge. Unfortunately these people generally repeat sound bites that have made it to the news and base everything else on a 20 second clip from PMQs.
Those that are engaged, and I know quite a few, are out there campaigning and they aren’t going to change their views.
Everyone else communicates via memes.
I know I find the whole thing incredibly depressing. There’s zero happening in politics that’s actually positive. Off the top of my head, the gay marriage changes were the last positive thing to happen in Parliament.
Right now, Brexit seems to be steamrollering over everything, especially as far as coverage, and almost every aspect of it drives me into a blind rage. Short of them bailing on it, or the likes of Arron Banks and Farage ending behind bars, there’s not going to be anything positive there either.
And I think that’s the rub. I’ve already got plenty on my mind with my own day-to-day living; having to then devote a certain amount of brain space to such an overwhelmingly negative subject (US politics is no better, just even more batshit crazy right now) is at the point where it’s not good for my mental health.
I’m also in the slightly weird position of only being able to vote in a country I no longer live in, as one needs to be a French citizen to vote over here, and I doubt that’s ever going to happen.
Discussing this over lunch in the village pub. Narelle and I are both exasperated at the lack of vision with which the rest of the world views politics.
I (since 1974) have always been politically aware. Narelle less so, but since living with me (1986), and getting dragged along by my enthusiasm, has taken a greater interest.
I revel in the idea of a vote counting. Yet soooo many people can’t be arsed to go out for 10 minutes and scribble on a ballot paper. Less and less people have an appetite for democracy. Of having a say.
Is politics itself that is to blame ? Or the complacency of the masses ?
Has Social Media dulled the public into needing an instant result ?
Has Social Media simply dumbed down those who have any enthusiasm ?
I know it’s easy to argue on line, but you cannot (no matter how much you think you can) change anything without getting out there and voting. Those people may see no point but that is (simply) their lack of vision.
They may not be entirely the same when they enter politics (though they often have very similar backgrounds, e.g. privilege / schools / networks) but as soon as they become MP’s,they start to tow party lines then, as Ministers, they are whipped into shape, fully aboard the gravy train and then, the differences are negligible at best.
