From The Mind of Merc - Hypocrisy

Sometimes I find my mind wandering over various eclectic topics and occasionally I am inspired to write some of them down. Today I was thinking about Hypocrisy.

The Tories various failings to fulfil their duty to run the country (instead evidently preferring to run it into the ground) have led numerous people on numerous occasions to query the correct definition of democracy – which struck me as the Tories providing us with a valuable vocabulary lesson. It also occurred to me that they’re teaching us exceptionally well about another word – hypocrisy.

The most glaring and recent example has to be Boris Johnson’s declaration that bullying will not be tolerated in Whitehall… despite refusing to dismiss Home Secretary Priti Patel when an independent investigation found her guilty of exactly that.

But this is far from the only example. There is also the instance of the Tories on the one hand extolling to the public to do their bit to ‘Save the NHS’ and on the other undermining it, underfunding it, and selling bits of it off. They have since compounded their own duplicity with a parliamentary meeting in which 50 people crammed into a room that was only supposed to hold 29.

And let’s not forget the school meals fiasco with the exorbitant sum of free school meals meaning the government was loath to fund them… despite the fact that it’s equivalent to the amount they spent on  PPE contract for face masks (handed without tender to a wealth advisory firm with links to the Tories) that turned out to be unusable.

So if there’s one thing you can say about this government, it’s that they’re educational. Aren’t we lucky!

Bye Bye Bigot - !!!NEW!!!

A little parody song to celebrate the result of the US Presidential Election.

Bye Bye Baby Bye Bye Bigot not by Bay City Rollers

We still you hate you for all that you say
Can't stand that stuff any longer
So gonna tell you go away 

Bye bye bigot, bigot goodbye (bye bigot, bigot bye bye)
Bye bye bigot, your time is nigh (bye bigot, bigot bye bye)

You're the one man we never wanted
We were determined and were undaunted                 
We’d see you ousted
Couldn’t stand you you’re just so racist
With your Twitter you would not desist
Took so long but now you’re gone so

Bye bye bigot, bigot goodbye (bye bigot, bigot bye bye)
Bye bye bigot, your time is nigh (bye bigot, bigot bye bye)

Wish we could forget that you were here
When you leave town we all will cheer
Gee, how good it will be for we
Shouldn’t have got in last time so true
But now you’re done so won’t feel blue
You lost see and now we’re free so

Bye bye bigot, bigot goodbye (bye bigot, bigot bye bye)
Bye bye bigot, your time is nigh (bye bigot, bigot bye bye)

Bigot, bye bye (bye bigot, bigot bye bye)
Bigot, bye bye (bye bigot, bigot bye bye)
Bigot, bye bye (bye bigot, bigot bye bye)
Bigot, bye bye (bye bigot, bigot bye bye)
Bigot, bye bye (bye bigot, bigot bye bye)

From The Mind of Merc - Democracy

Sometimes I find my mind wandering over various eclectic topics and occasionally I am inspired to write some of them down. Today I was thinking about democracy.

This is a topic which could be discussed and debated at length so I will try to keep what I have to say succinct and short.

There seems to be an inherent issue with democracy. And to my mind it is that those in power have never truly grasped the concept – either through a lack of intelligence or a surfeit of arrogance.

When it first began to disseminate through society, those in power presumably thought they would be able to control it – through entities such as ‘rotten boroughs’ etc. Consequently those in power continue to fail to adequately and appropriately respond when faced with the voice of the people. They fail to listen to this crucial voice; presumably believing the people will do as their told. This is nothing new but in this modern age with the freedom of information etc it is less practical and less acceptable.

People will not be controlled but they will be heard – particularly in case of injustice and inequality - as has been demonstrated in the past by the suffragettes and by the more recent protests.

Democracy (from its original Greek origins) literally means ‘rule of the commoners’ and it should mean just that. If you are going to institute a democratic government then the voice of the people must be heard – otherwise it contradicts its own existence.

In a true democracy the voice of the people must be heeded and in the modern society cannot be ignored and the best response ultimately as to hear out those disenchanted with the current political paths being taken. If that means accepting that mistakes have been made and taking appropriate action then so be it but persisting with a flawed and unsubstantiated course of action can only lead to disaster.

A dictatorial leader should not be and is not accepted in modern day society. Any attempt to be so can and is being countered if it contravenes basic upheld laws and statutes. One such applicable ‘law’ in the current political situation is the Declaration of Independence which states that "…when a long train of abuses and usurpations…evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty to throw off such government and provide new guards for their future security." Ergo if a dictatorial leader wants absolute control and attempts to exercise said control in an oppressive way then it is the ‘duty’ of the people to object. To ignore, disregard or, worse, ridicule these objections is tantamount to incitement. Indeed, history suggests that doing so can only result in one outcome – see England 1649, France 1789 and Russia 1917.

However, as John Lennon said “When it gets down to having to use violence, then you are playing the system’s game. The establishment will irritate you – pull your beard, flick your face – to make you fight. Because once they’ve got you violent, then they know how to handle you. The only thing they don’t know how to handle is non-violence and humor.”

Ergo violence is not the answer as by getting violent you give your opponents ammunition, you sink to their level and you play their game. But likewise neither is arrogance, ignorance or disregard of widely held standpoints the solution.

In the end, ears must be open, all voices must be heard and only then can true co-operation take place and democracy truly exist and succeed.

From The Mind of Merc - Benefit Cuts

Sometimes I find my mind wandering over various eclectic topics and occasionally I am inspired to write some of them down.  Today I was thinking about the recent fracas concerning Mr Osborne’s latest budget.
(This originally appeared on my Facebook wall but proved so popular I thought I’d share it further)

Wouldn't it be great if the recent Benefit Cuts proposal was a test and any MPs who voted for the cuts have failed (as human beings) and have to clear their desks/offices, repay all claimed expenses and disappear off to the middle of nowhere?

Alternatively, let's put the MPs on a performance-related pay scheme - if they do nothing, they get nothing, if they do something but it makes things worse, they get a pay deduction and only if they do what they're supposed to do (i.e. something that has a positive effect or impact and obeys the basis of democracy and listening to the people) would they get paid. Then maybe a) they’d realise how ludicrous so many of their schemes are and b) what it’s like for the rest of us who can’t allocate ourselves ridiculous pay rises.

Or maybe they should try Life Swap (the MP equivalent of Wife Swap) where they have to try to survive on the average living allowance of a family on benefits with no expenses claims, no second home and no power to mess up anyone else's life. (And no ‘Get Out Of Sh*t Free’ card – otherwise known as ‘Phone (or Bribe) A Friend’)

The country's in debt? Here's an idea to fix that:-
a) get rid of MP expenses - you want it, you pay for it because you certainly don’t need it – if tampons are a luxury then helicopters definitely are,
b) no MP can vote to give themselves a pay rise (or if they can they have to up the minimum wage by that amount too) and, most importantly,
c) if you’re going to cut something, Mr Osborne, how about taking it out of MPs wages rather than those of people who need them (doctors, teachers, disabled people, low income families. Most MPs have second jobs/inheritances anyway and, as a little history reminder, in the beginning an MP's salary was precisely £0 so the fact that it is now £74,000 is absurd and, quite frankly, disgusting.

Voting to save money - fine. Voting to save money at the expense of those who really need it by those who really don't - definitely NOT fine.

Here endeth the lesson.