People Power
20100224, 080034 - No commentI spent yesterday afternoon delivering leaflet in Trefforest, delivering news and promoting policy in the anticipation of an upcoming general election, I was led to observe that it seems that even now in 2010 one of the most effective methods for political communication still requires the mass murder of trees, and it still requires people out on the streets to actually deliver the propaganda. Whilst there are calls to reform the regulations on political advertising in the UK this is currently and I suspect will continue to remain for a while yet the status quo.
I was also informed yesterday that one of my friend’s acquaintances, Adam, is angry with me for my Town Council Election campaign, as they feel that Labour coming second by 8 votes was entirely my fault for contesting the election and getting 30 people to vote for me. Were I in the mood to argue with this person I would have to point out that Labour actually gained votes and that it was the formerly victorious Plaid whose vote collapsed to just 100, but there is a more important issue here.
Living in a democracy is more that about going out to vote every few years, it requires active participation, it requires people who are willing to put themselves through the election but it also requires many more people to stand up and promote their chosen candidate. It is all very well for Adam to sit in the pub bemoaning, and blaming me for the fact that Labour lost, but had he spent a little less time in the pub and a little more thinking of ways to help his chosen candidate then maybe he would have been happier with the result, instead of having to blame it all on me.
But then it is easy to sit in a warm, dry pub and moan, it takes a little more effort to get out into the snow and rain and actively participate in the democratic process.