We live in a deeply political age. Fascism is on the rise in America, Hungary, and more subtly in many other places. Political debate is increasingly post-truth, with people being manipulated by puppetmasters to disregard inconvenient facts. Global warming is reaching a critical point, possibly having major practical effects already. There is the serious possibility that the next nominee for the USA’s Supreme Court could lead to the rolling back of gay rights and women no longer having the right to control their own bodies. Brexit will lead to the UK economy suffering, and probably to a deepening of Tory attacks on the NHS. Immigrants are routinely scapegoated for the effects that unregulated capitalism has on our world.
With so much to be negative about, it’s easy to get worn down. But there are reasons for optimism. Bernie Sanders and Jeremy Corbyn entered the leadership contests of their nation’s major left-of-centre party with the aim of merely influencing the debate, and performed far better than they or their advisors expected. Just this month the near-unknown Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez defeated a major figure in America’s Democratic Party to become their candidate for New York’s 14th Congressional District, a race that she is nearly certain to win. That implies that there is an increasing desire for real, grassroots-led socialism. A form of politics that empowers people to take control of their own lives, rather than having a world built and ran on their behalf. While the world is placed on the verge of darkness, it is possible that we might step back from the brink of oblivion, and into something bold, co-operative and ambitious.
It’s unfashionable these days to argue that the majority of people are decent, kind and clever. But it’s a view that I hold. People generally want to get along, to share jokes and help people in their community. If two or more people get together and look past the slogans and the othering, it’s usually possible to build at least a level of mutual respect. It may mean one or both of the participants being calm and patient to get past the anger, which isn’t always easy. But it’s possible.
The flipside to that is that the world around us is complicated, and the desire for clarity can lead people into making bad decisions over who to trust and distrust. The Tommy Robinson saga is a good example of this, with many people convinced that the story was an issue of free speech, rather a defendant’s right to a fair trial. To come to the right conclusions it’s necessary to accurately view the issues that we face. There are always people with an interest in spreading an inaccurate view of the world – whether that’s the upper classes trying to keep the people unaware of their economic oppression, or demagogues out to make a quick buck out of pretending to be oppressed.
To build for the future, first we have to be confident of where we stand. This blog is intended to function as a sort of diary, as I clarify my thoughts on some of the major political issues and ideas of our age, and keep together various bits of supporting evidence that keep slipping from my mind between political arguments. If this blog helps other people to clarify their beliefs then that’s fantastic, but I’m writing this blog mainly for myself. If readers want to debate me and point out what they see as contradictions in my stated opinions, then I’d welcome the opportunity to either learn or restate my opinions more clearly. I’m not too bright, and don’t present myself as any sort of authority figure, but the arguments presented in this blog represent factual reality as I understand it.
Since 2014 I have been a member of the Green Party of England and Wales. I stood as a council candidate in 2015, and I was the electoral agent for the Stockton South in 2015 and Stockton North in 2017 general elections. I’ve held a few organisational positions in the Green Party – Young Members’ Officer for the Teesside Green Party from 2014 to 2015, and Nominating Officer and Internal Communications Officer for the Stockton Green Party from 2015 to 2017.
I have a lot of respect for the socialist message of Jeremy Corbyn, but find myself infuriated by his lack of a stronger opposition to Brexit, and consider the level of dominance that Labour has in the northeast to be bad for the democratic health of the area.
My aim with this blog is firstly to clarify my own thoughts, secondly to learn to communicate my arguments more clearly, and thirdly to help others who feel infuriated and confused by the political noise around us. I’m not claiming to be an expert in anything, in fact I know very little. But my attempts to build up my own political understanding may be helpful to others. I’ll be aiming to keep most blogposts between 300 and 1000 words in length. This will essentially be me screaming futilely into the void of the internet, so I should at least keep those screams concise.
I have a writing blog at scififootball.com, which I try to keep politically neutral. I tweet at @Scififootball. Please feel free to get in touch if you’re interesting in debating respectfully.
Happy Sisyphus 
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