There’s nothing that I can say that will be any more trite or any less original than that which has already been posited by the many, not just the few. Adding my two-penn’erth will make not the slightest difference to anything but I sit here on the morning of December 12th watching the minutes ticking away, knowing that the fate of mine, my family and friends’ future lies in two simple strokes of a pen that are being made on bits of paper up and down the country.
I know, because I’ve seen it on social media, I empathise, and I feel the same: a lot of people today are feeling sick and scared. I am trying really hard not to be but it’s difficult. My one vote, in the overall scheme of things is not going to tip a balance either way, but I also know that if I didn’t at least try to do something to effect a change in how the UK is being run and by whom, then I will be just as culpable as if I’d marked the cross in a different box.
I’ve only ever voted twice. I voted in the EU Referendum and I’ve voted today. I’ve never understood politics, never been interested, never wanted to get involved in case I ‘did it wrong’ and felt I’d damaged an otherwise sensible system. But (and maybe it’s me age or summin’) throughout the whole Cameron/May/Johnson debacle, I have watched with a growing sense (a GNAWING sense) of disbelief as I realise that these people are responsible for ordinary people’s lives. Not just mine, but the people I live with, have worked alongside, grew up with and yes, the people I have yet to meet.
It makes me sad that its so socially acceptable (or appears to be) these days to lie in order to get what you want, and televise this to the public masses as if it’s a perfectly reasonable thing to do if you have the means with which to do it. Something we’re brought up to believe is wrong (lying), we are being force-fed as if it’s nothing more than another little five minute comedy-drama designed to fill gaps in our viewing schedules. Subliminal messaging can take but a fraction of a second to alter the subconsciousness of a person’s mind, and so quite how much damage we have been consciously consuming is almost a scarier consideration than that of any sci-fi fantasy you could care to suggest. (Actually, Black Mirror may have already covered it).
I’m not sure how my parents voted; we didn’t discuss anything more highbrow than the Benny Hill show in any great depth; it was just something Grown-Ups did and we wouldn’t understand, so maybe I grew up thinking I would never actually BE grown-up enough to understand. Or even partake in. Best leave that to others who know better.
But I do. Now I do. I’ve never spent so many hours glued to debates on the television. I have been concentrating so intently on the two top (and by top I don’t mean ‘capital’ chaps) men in line for the toughest job in the country, that I can actually tell every time BJ (unfortunate initials but he lives up to them with his sloppy blustering gaggy noises) has had his hair trimmed. I’m good with visuals. And I can tell every time BJ (*slurp*) is lying. The punchline is that it’s every time he opens his mouth, but it’s not a joke. It actually IS. Anyone can see that. How can people be so fooled into supporting such a fool? We’re not voting for the best comedian or the best ventriloquist who’ll then go on to perform at next years Royal Variety performance to keep the tradition going, this is real life.
Real Life. This life. Not just your little one,the one that extends to the edge of your town or your particular comfortable circle, but THIS WHOLE ONE: the Greta Thurnberg one. We’re all in it together and whether we know it or not, everyone’s life depends on the life of the person beside them, and the one beside that, like an evolutionary family tree of life; if it hadn’t been for the person standing next to you, whose grandparents might have saved or ended a life in the war, who know how different your life might be right now?
We need to extend our arms, open our eyes and hearts; widen our perspectives, see further and believe–much like the rainbow–that the horizon will never be reached but it doesn’t stop us taking strides towards it and keeping it in focus.
I never thought I’d live to see a day when I actually felt more grown up and sensible, empathetic and sympathetic, than other people with better educations and more money than me.
I still feel like a spectator, watching from the sidelines and hoping that something might change for the better after today. I’m not holding my breath because that’ll make my head spin. I’m just glad I grew up ready for the time I needed to be grown-up about things and confidently made my mark.
Debs J Cooper 