It's a stressful game is politics and manys the time I curse myself for getting involved. It would be so much easier to ignore what's going on around me and concentrate on favoured pastimes in my down time. Heaven knows, as an NHS employee working for a trust hell bent on meltdown I need some respite!Trouble is, the more I've learnt about the causes and consequences of where our society is at, the less inclined I am to bury my head.
So here I am, frustrated by intransigence, angry at injustice and motivated against greed. Despite this I have become determined and optimistic for two good reasons and one for which I have high hopes.
The first explains the why. My 8 year old daughter, pure and simple. I must contribute to ensuring I leave her a safe sustainable and just society to live in. It's not enough to help her develop life skills and provide funds to aid her education. I have learnt that our neoliberal consumer driven economy is causing far more harm than good. As the wealth inequality gap grows and resources are plundered mercilessly in pursuit of a non existent growth driven utopia constantly moved out of reach by the advertisers of dissatisfaction, all of us suffer.
The second reason is the one that gives me determination and optimism. Understanding causes and consequences is one part of the equation, the other is recognizing that there is a solution. Logical rational reforms of the banking and tax systems. Implementation of an economic model that supports the development of renewable energy sources and moves to curtail the influence of consumerism over our lives.
As for high hopes, I've pinned mine to the mast of the Green Party flagpole. I've read the manifesto online and was encouraged to find that they are a party I can align myself with. I also believe that, as much as I applaud, support and respect the work of certain pressure groups economists and political commentators, I am certain of one thing. Truly lasting change that will serve all in society will not be achieved from the fringes of the political system. There needs to be a cultural change in society which can only be led and driven from a position of power. This isn't to suggest we need a dictatorship, far from it. What's required is a government with the strength of character to implement reforms that create possibilities. Possibilities for us all to prosper, to be involved in society and to feel equally valued. Do that and the British people will, I believe, start making choices that will lead to a safer more sustainable society less addicted to the illusion of consumerism.
But my optimism has to be matched, and here I have concerns. Last week, the latest Yougov poll was released and the results weren't encouraging. Now I don't know how The Green Party stands currently with the electorate but if that poll was accurate, we have a mountain to climb because we weren't even mentioned! UKIP sat 4th with 8%. Whatever the excuses are for voter apathy, we aren't even getting our message across to those who do care enough to vote.The Green Party isn't here waiting for its chance to play it's version of consumer led capitalism. I hope we are here to lead change and reform because we understand that the earth's resources cannot sustain our current rate of exploitation. We are here to address the problems of climate change because, plainly, nobody else will despite time and opportunities running out. We are here to encourage the electorate, for the sake of us all, to make independent choices to reject consumerism and the laissez-faire approach of the markets. The Green Party's members do care but must become more assertive. We need to get loud and get involved everywhere, making our position known. There are several million voters who need to know we are here, who are starved of an alternative but aren't yet aware of what is possible. There are dozens of political pressure groups whose support we could welcome. They have goals which have a kinship with our own. Not to reach out to them and support to their protests will be a wasted opportunity. The next two general elections will make or break our society. For the sake of our children I'll do my level best to help it be the former !
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