Spa Tek

Political Terror

France is about to vote, probably against the plans for a new European Constitution. Where is Robespierre? Will virtue spring from this terror? Will anyone care? Politics is now concerned about consensus, trying to sense the mood of the middle ground and devising a strategy to dominate that arena, pushing aside any competition. Losers are granted a place in the House of Lords, which is the best club to be found in London.

Strange that we have allowed politics to fade away, despite knowing that these elected representatives take more than half of our earned wealth in taxes and often waste that money on spurious projects. Football, on the other hand, has all the pain, terror, and ecstatic joy that Robespierre would have understood. Last night one football team, from Liverpool, England, home of The Beatles, took its supporters through the whole gamut of emotions. Three-nil down at half-time, they came back to score three goals in six minutes, and then to win on penalties. Their goalkeeper Dubek became an idol. He was in the right place at the right time, sticking out an arm to push the speeding football away from his goal. Such joy, unbridled passion.

Politicians can no longer build such emotions. Do we need paranoia, fear and the promise of a new world or shall we continue plodding along? Give me the latter, Robespierre may well have said the same, if he had not faced the executioner himself. Fear begets fear, and makes us all turn aggressively. That road takes us into Sudan, to Palestine, to Iraq and many other countries. Or shall we be like Lenin and many dictators before him and see that a ruler needs terror.

Let's hope that the next leaders of the Conservative and Labour parties still see consensus politics as their road to valhalla.

posted by Suffolk Notes @ 8:29 am