What has been the effect upon UK citizens of the behaviour we have witnessed during the past few days, as negotiations over the planned televised debates between our political leaders appear to have reached their climax ?
For me, the way Cameron/his Party/his hooligan Press have conducted themselves has been utterly astonishing. Obviously the Tory decision to avoid the debates was taken ages back, for mendacious reasons. The signals since that decision was made have been clear. It was based on a close calculation of party advantage, with no reference to, or respect for, democratic process, or the needs of democracy itself.
This dodgy lot is not the first to have calculated on that basis, but the existence of precedents is no excuse, especially in our present climate of disenchantment with, and detachment from, politics and politicians. Cameron is actually not a coward and for opponents to call him one now is just to join the whole absurd charade, its script predicted and maybe even written in Tory Head Office. Cameron is a red-faced self-worshipper. He is also a calculating machine, utterly irresponsible, utterly without conscience. He is weighing his chances and trying his luck.
But worse, the brazen manner with which this has been done, under so many eyes, the lazily transparent dishonesty of the long succession of ploys and alibis, have had a quality of their own. The original decision was a corrupt and cynical one. But the manner in which it has been implemented has been still more corrupt, if that were possible. There is absolute contempt operating here, and it is dangerous. Cameron and his street gang are making a nonsense of us all, of the political process, of what that process is for, of our language, of our nationhood.
During the same week in which these contemptuous acts of hooliganism were taking place, we have witnessed the latest Prime Minister’s Question Time, which some have described as the most appalling yet. Repeatedly, the man occupying the high office of our Prime Minister did not see fit to answer our Opposition’s questions. To the orchestrated bayings of approval from the tail-wagging fox-hounds behind him, he merely chose his own topics to talk about, independent of the questions. More delinquent Bullington-boy abuse of our democracy, of due process shaped and developed over centuries. Whatever he can get awhy wiv, he will pursue. Knock it all dahn.
I struggle with the meaning of this. What does it mean to be Cameron, or his supporters, doing what they are doing ? These are calculated policy decisions they have made, in order to win advantage. But at what cost to all of us, themselves included, their own party, their own children ? Are they not awake to any wider concern ?
And what does it mean that people behaving in this rude-boy fashion, with the record they have of social fracture, injustice and division, deeply dubious austerity measures, savagely implemented, are level in the polls these days and might even win ?
Do we assent, after all, to being ruled by an unrepentant street gang, sleek delinquents, posh hooligans ? Is that what is left to us ? Is that what is left of us ?
In present conditions, the worship of self, of Me n’ Mine, the worship of the god of selfies, in defiance of community and trust, is similar if not the same as the ancient worship of Moloch. By all accounts, the ancient worship of Moloch required the burning to death of the nation’s first born, as propitiation. By the same token, if we do not want our children soon to die in a burning world, brought about by our greed and hooliganism, our maltreatment of Other, then we need to adopt a very different god from this baleful Me n’ Mine. The coming election is actually not a choice between left and right. It is a choice between gods.
Put it another way : over the past five years, and now as they prepare to fight for re-election, the people who presently run this nation’s government have revealed very clearly who they are and how they view the electorate. Their behaviour is that of juvenile delinquents set loose in the playground, unsupervised and utterly arrogant. But they are also transparent (unless we are choosing to be blind). Therefore, if they win the election, they will do so only because the electorate has chosen to share with them their surrender to hooliganism, this nihilistic dance of death.
It is as if we are all waiting for the adults to come home. Do we yearn for their arrival or do we dread it ? Will they come home in time ?