Five things I have learnt in the lead up to the referendum.

Here are just a few things that I have learnt in the lead up to the referendum vote.

1) We, the people, have taken our eye off the ball for too long.

This alienation, and then disengagement from the political process, has allowed individuals who lack the skills to represent us assume representational roles.

We have people that couldn't spell integrity making decisions on our behalf.

Dishonest rogues, liars and charlatans abound.

Yet whose fault is it that these people proliferate among every political party and hold office in every tier of government?

It’s ours.

The brightest and best were the people who we should have been supporting.

Instead tribal loyalties got in the way, and if we bothered to vote we did so for parties rather than the individual.

It’s been said that pin a certain colour of rosette on a donkey and some will still vote the donkey in, and it’s true.

We should have done better.

2) A wage and an expense account are more important than an ideology.

Every day we see politicians claim to speak on behalf of the people, but strip the hollow words away and what we are left with is protectionist rhetoric.

They want to protect their job, their wealth and their privilege.

They don’t just want to keep their first class ticket for the gravy train, but they want us to pay for it to.

3) A suit and tie and is a serviceable disguise for an idiot to pass himself off as a rational human being.

Consider UKIP.

They should be a fringe party with the amount of nonsensical rubbish they come out with, but put a suit on the village idiot and people listen to him blather on about floods being Gods judgement on homosexuals and respond as if it has some sort of relevance instead of laughing it off as the ravings of a fool.

4) The mainstream media in the UK is beyond being salvaged.

From phone hacking to being the mouthpiece for the political elite they are failing us on every single level imaginable.

Journalists of the present should hold their heads in shame.

Reportage has become infotainment and z-list celebs are as relevant as a child abuse scandal for the red tops.

How did that happen?

They say the people get the press that they deserve.

Is this our fault to? 

5) In the dictionary in Westminster words such as honesty, morals, fairness, compassion, equality and honour have apparently been redacted.

In fact the dictionary must look like a top secret confidential report with virtually every page only having a couple of words on show. 

Stanley Odd - Son I Voted Yes

Scottish hip hop to the outsider may well sound like an oxymoron, but when they shout never the twain shall meet we can quietly laugh at their ignorance as acts like Stanley Odd, Lusty, Loki, The Girobabies and Hector Bizerk rattle out rhymes that would stand triumphant in any rap battle.

When you really listen to them all you can hear the nascent sound of the punk revolution echoing down the years as their take on social commentary covers ground that the mainstream media dare not touch.

here's to them as they set foot on the ground where angels would fear to tread.
They are out there on the fringes breaking ground and all are worthy of our attention and support.

The belly rumbling blues.

I wasn't going to blog post anything about the UKs part in the Euro elections.

The reason being that I didn't feel that it would be worthwhile adding to the slew of articles, facebook updates and tweets as there is an element of political fatigue creeping into a great deal of the discourse.

I can understand why this is as regardless of the hue of the political flag being waived there is a great deal of fundamentalism and brain dead bollocks being shared, and that is always a turn off rather than a turn on.

Scottish independence yes voters and those who support the union are digging their opposing trenches ever deeper. The left and right are stepping further away from each other. UKIP, Britain First, and others of a similar ilk, are distastefully stoking the fires of fear, and the mainstream parties appear unable to make an utterance about anything unless the pros and cons are run past big business for their seal of approval first.

It’s all a bit too much of a tumultuous mess really.

If we carved out a pie chart then there would be a large portion that could be set aside for the people who feel more alienated than apathetic.

A very big slice fairly given over to those who feel that their psych has been battered and bruised by the strident tones of the people whose mindset is similar to a radio that has been tuned to transmit, but is unable to receive.

However, even with this being the case here I am writing an update and maybe providing the straw that breaks the camels back for some.

The difference is that I am not looking to ask you to vote for one party or another, or to follow a political ethos, or even argue with anyone.

Instead I am going to just ask for a few favours.

The first being that could those who don’t know what they are talking about maybe just take some time to look into the subject before promoting what you think is the case rather than what is supported by facts.

And yes I am talking to you who shared the Britain First meme about “illegal immigrants’ getting benefits.

Also could those who don’t know their Mahatma Gandhi from their Pol Pot maybe desist from voting as you may just provide us all with a party whose policies reflect more of the latter than the former.

Then there are those who as mentioned earlier have a knack for talking and not listening.

If you can support a view, and rationalize it, then that’s great.

Even if I don’t agree with you I will respect the fact that you have actually thought about it all and come to a conclusion.

Who knows, you may offer a factual nugget to me that will be the catalyst that will lead to my own views changing.

The only thing is that if I am extending you the courtesy of listening and engaging with your view then you better be open to listening to mine as long as I can support it with facts and reason to.

Also, and I have come across this a great deal recently, is the habit of some to turn off whatever part of their brain deals with reason if what is being said to them doesn’t fit with the conclusion they have already reached.

Just gonny no dae that.*

An example would be how I was recently told about why the firefighters shouldn’t be on strike and the person supported their view with factually inaccurate information.

When I pointed out that they weren't actually looking for a pay rise as thought, and the action over the last few years was really rooted in the pension goal posts being moved, safety issues through cutbacks, changes in hours and working practices that would negatively impact on how they actual do their job etc, I was met with……………nothing.

None of the above fitted with what was claimed, and in a way I think the person just internally overdubbed my response with the mantra “you’re an idiot, you’re an idiot, you’re an idiot” and because of this was reluctant to process what was said as ultimately all they could take on board was that I was saying they were wrong and no one likes that.

To anyone like that then all I can say is could you do me the favour of growing up?

Basically what I am asking everyone to do is think about what it is that they want to say and not base it on the surface buzz.

Actually think about it.

Please don't commit to an opinion or an action based on genuine ignorance.

If I was asked to comment about a subject I knew nothing about I would decline to do so until I had furnished myself with some rudimentary understanding of it.

Anything said prior to that would only highlight my own ignorance at the same time as I added nothing to the discussion at hand.

It’s stupid to do that. So please don't be that person.

So there you go.

If people in general stuck to maintaining a healthy debate and refrained from the spouting of misguided inaccuracies to bold lies then maybe, just maybe, others wouldn’t be so alienated.

Just a thought though.

*Translation – Don’t be a cunt.