The Ultimate Power Trip

I’ve read a number of articles recently expressing concern that the world is drifting inexorably into a Third World War, and possibly a nuclear war. I’m sitting somewhere in between “they won’t be that stupid” and “they are actually mad enough”, but doom-mongering by a media clamour to be first really isn’t helping the situation.

Essentially, three old men in suits control the destiny of a world population numbering 8.2 billion people: one sits on the sidelines waiting for his opportunity while the other two sabre rattle and posture to ‘caress the mighty egos’. They genuinely don’t give a shit about anyone else. They are on the ultimate power trip.

Waiting in the wings are multiple tin pot national despots, poised to do equal damage to their own populations. We have one such here in the UK, yet astonishingly, voters from across the spectrum (just as they did with that tyrannical buffoon Johnson) seem to think a bloke who smiles a lot, pretends to drink whole pints in pubs, wears sharp suits, and talks shit with confidence, is the answer to all our country’s ills. He isn’t. He’s a charlatan: another old man with a similar sized ego to the three referred to above.

Now here’s the thing: you can actually make a difference to this situation. I’m sure few would disagree that political instability is one of the main causes of conflict across the world. So let’s move to become politically stable. Changing governments every time they disappoint you will never achieve that, so to a large extent we need to learn to trust those who are elected to represent us, at every level, and to hold them to account when they fall short. Democracy is about the people entrusting elected representatives to their jobs.

Our political system isn’t perfect. No political system ever is. But without a stable political system there is either anarchy or autocracy. Neither of those is a good path to tread. So if you truly want a settled world for your children, your grandchildren, and the many generations to follow, engage with your political leaders at every opportunity, and make those public servants serve their public.

Peace.

John