There are two entirely different things called "politics". One of them is relatively new.
The old politics involved an authoritarian monarchy supported by a parliamentary discussion about the pros and cons of all suggested policies. The ordinary working people were not allowed into the political process and the best they could hope for was to go cap in hand to beg and plead for better conditions.
When the pleading didn't work they were forced to protest in the streets and go on general strike.
During the Liverpool General Strike in 1911 Home Secretary Winston Churchill sent in troops and positioned the cruiser HMS Antrim in the Mersey.
The "Great Unrest" continued until 1914 in Britain and also in Germany.
Working class people, both men and suffragettes, stopped the economies of both Britain and Germany and other European countries demanding sufficient pay to feed their families.
The governments of the "Great Powers" came up with a solution and ended the Great Unrest by simply sending all of the working class men from both countries to go and kill each other. World War One was a massive culling of bolshie workers.
The new politics allows us, the people, in on the decision making process. Universal suffrage and the reduction of aristocratic power allows us to make the changes which the previous system of ruthless authoritarianism could never have given us. In the 21st Century we are able to influence decision making both at local council level and at Westminster level.
Yes, professional politicians and journalists are continually trading cliché and buzz words. They are forever packaging news and twisting the truth of the events into cynical entertainment. Nevertheless we have a duty to those who gave their lives to get the vote. We must not waste it. It is important that everybody eligible to vote should do so.
1) I got more emotional than I expected while reading this and it’s not even “political.”
2) feeling a bit agitated because I recall your way earlier posts & reporting on your part in protests and I feel so much of it has become a performance (even when not armchair via tweet thumbs) that something like your actions get engulfed with all of that.
3) absolutely LOVE Václav Havel.
4) I love Prague. Random trip in a winter led to a summer there and then once again in summer. I love its villages and people and artists and writers… ah. must go back.
5) most excellent essay. Thank you. I will now be sharing a link of it to anyone who wonders why I may *appear* not-political because I am not screaming from the Twatter Xwitter Chatter Toc Box.
There are two entirely different things called "politics". One of them is relatively new.
The old politics involved an authoritarian monarchy supported by a parliamentary discussion about the pros and cons of all suggested policies. The ordinary working people were not allowed into the political process and the best they could hope for was to go cap in hand to beg and plead for better conditions.
When the pleading didn't work they were forced to protest in the streets and go on general strike.
During the Liverpool General Strike in 1911 Home Secretary Winston Churchill sent in troops and positioned the cruiser HMS Antrim in the Mersey.
The "Great Unrest" continued until 1914 in Britain and also in Germany.
Working class people, both men and suffragettes, stopped the economies of both Britain and Germany and other European countries demanding sufficient pay to feed their families.
The governments of the "Great Powers" came up with a solution and ended the Great Unrest by simply sending all of the working class men from both countries to go and kill each other. World War One was a massive culling of bolshie workers.
The new politics allows us, the people, in on the decision making process. Universal suffrage and the reduction of aristocratic power allows us to make the changes which the previous system of ruthless authoritarianism could never have given us. In the 21st Century we are able to influence decision making both at local council level and at Westminster level.
Yes, professional politicians and journalists are continually trading cliché and buzz words. They are forever packaging news and twisting the truth of the events into cynical entertainment. Nevertheless we have a duty to those who gave their lives to get the vote. We must not waste it. It is important that everybody eligible to vote should do so.
A few things.
1) I got more emotional than I expected while reading this and it’s not even “political.”
2) feeling a bit agitated because I recall your way earlier posts & reporting on your part in protests and I feel so much of it has become a performance (even when not armchair via tweet thumbs) that something like your actions get engulfed with all of that.
3) absolutely LOVE Václav Havel.
4) I love Prague. Random trip in a winter led to a summer there and then once again in summer. I love its villages and people and artists and writers… ah. must go back.
5) most excellent essay. Thank you. I will now be sharing a link of it to anyone who wonders why I may *appear* not-political because I am not screaming from the Twatter Xwitter Chatter Toc Box.