No, Carol. Reasonable guess, though. John does hate all politicians, all right, but he also votes...because he hates the right wing reactionary ones a bit less than he hates the ones on the Left. ;-) So I'm guessing he voted Conservative. He figures the Conservatives are WAY too liberal, of course...but they're the only game in town for John as it stands at the moment. Heh!

It's another person I was referring to, but I shouldn't really say his name here. I don't think you've ever met him.


Jim Lad - Yeah. We seem to agree on that, eh? ;-)


Look, I know how this works. People acquire a natural and instinctive loyalty to one or another brand of politics, generally pretty early on in life. Chances are about 19 or 20 to 1 that they will simply see things from that angle on for the rest of their lives...and they'll think they're being totally logical and objective all the while as they do so...but they're not. They're replaying old repetitious emotional tapes, rehashing old loyalties and grudges, and they're filling in the "logic" and the "facts" afterwards to suit the emotion.

I acquired a natural loyalty to the Left early on. I have friends who think exactly the other way around...anything on the Left rings danger bells in their psyche, regardless of the circumstances, and they don't really know why. But they can come up with a million logical-sounding reasons why. Just ask them. I feel that way about anything on the Right...it rings danger bells in my psyche. I instinctively despise the Right.

The really sad part, though, is this: when it comes to all the other stuff in life, outside of politics...and I mean the day-to-day stuff that actually matters.....these friends and I find ourselves in agreement, although we can't agree on politics.

That's why I call politics the Great Divider. It's a curse upon our lives, in my opinion...because the way it's been set up with competing parties and idealogies it is based on conflict. You cannot often secure a healthy result in a society from a system that is based on conflict. A political campaign is a war without firearms, and wars are an attempt to destroy someone. Not good. Not good at all. It's a waste of our better nature.

That's why I'd like to see all political parties abolished...a seated parliament of independents with no party affiliation...and then parliament would be an assembly of equals rather than a division into the empowered and the opposition.

An assembly of equals can discuss things as equals and arrive at a sensible decision (with 2/3 assent necessary) together...NOT spend their time committing cynical character assassination upon one another, which is what our present system has devolved into.

The party system is a travesty, a lunacy, an obscenity, and I believe it will be recognized as such in some distant future era when people have adopted a far better and wiser system.