Election Blues

I'm two days back in Ireland now, still in Dublin. There are lots of lovely people here, but what a comedown in the matter of physical environment! This is not helped by the ubiquitous, though at this stage largely battered, election posters. What is the idea? Is this a beauty contest? Do people actually vote on the basis of the number of times they are confronted with a mug shot of this or that candidate? Or is it simply a matter of upping the hype so that a reasonable number of people can be induced to vote?

Trouble is they are all too busy rushing around, trying to pay for their exorbitantly expensive flat and their new car. Yes, sales of new cars have soared again this year. Why, the M50 is back on the way to being one big car-park! Yippee, aren't we all on the pig's back again? Who cares about politics, really? If one has a bit of spare time, isn't sport much more important?

Personally, I think the posters should be banned. If people have not sufficient interest to look up the record and ideas of the candidates, and even if they must a photo, be it on the internet or in newspapers, then on what basis can we assume that their vote is a matter of any consequence?

Most of the incessant chatter on the radio and tv is equally vacuous, with all that bandying about of statistics and laudable intentions which mean very little. So far I have heard hardly anything about what I consider to be the biggest issue, which is how to wean ourselves off fossil fuels, and fast. I quote from a friend who has just sent me an email about his effort  to do something about it in the UK:-

'For a long time now the default social principle has been to make society as wealthy as possible. We need to change that attitude.   Instead we need to put love and concern for the earth and all the creatures and people in it as our principle inspiration for life.'*  

Good luck to anyone who tries to sell that one to the electorate, though one might have thought that the Heavens had dropped some fairly hefty hints lately!

*See <http://www.climate100.co.uk/>