Friday 13 December 2019

Zebra's against Democracy


The election is over.

I don’t know the outcome as I scheduled this but I know the outcome I want.

This isn’t a post to moan about the party that is in power. This isn’t a post about how “we didn’t win".

I’ve tried to hold a neutral ground this entire election and only share facts and corroborated information.

Across social media I have seen friends and families sharing their political viewpoint.
Most of the time you find that you are surrounded by like minded people who are your “solid echo chamber”.

Social media leans to this understanding too.
Social media is a brilliant marketing tool. It collects all of your data!

In this sense the algorithm not only creates your echo chamber but produces an ideal marketing set up for political adverts.

I’m not going to get into that in this post. However, I would love it if you checked out Tim's post where he discusses this more. (He also highlights how the Tories have a better grasp on social media advertising over the other parties involved)

This election has been slightly different for me.

The echo chamber didn’t initially start off at the beginning of the election. Brexit and the discussion of Brexit actually changed the dynamics which allowed me to see posts from outside my echo chamber.

Brexit of course is a cornerstone of conversation in social media, friendships and this election.

Many, despite their voting choice, were more focused on the Brexit developments. This of course showed a different demographic in my newsfeed.

Due to this I saw 3 parties being placed across my feed; Tories, Labour and Lib Dems.

I found this fascinating. I had, for a period of time, a feed that showed other voting points of views. This lead to more discussions.

Everyone has a viewpoint. Everyone has an opinion of how things could be done. In fact, I believe half of the issues we face politically at the moment are down to this.

Everyone voted differently and for different reason.
In many ways the biggest lie of the Brexit referendum was that it was a simple choice of Remain and Leave.
Just as much as the biggest lie in this election is that Brexit will be done if you vote against Labour; only the first part will be done and that’s the withdrawal agreement. Brexit will last years.

At the time people were mostly voting for THEIR reasons. These reason may have come through advertising or media coverage but it was what related to that person that made a difference.

I saw one family split in 2. As a whole the adults were Remain and the 3 millennial children were Leave on initial choice. However, one adult and one millennial had to vote opposing their initial choice because it actually suited their work to either remain or leave.

Ultimately, they chose what was best in the long run for them.

Subsequently, you get many sub groups to why we should LEAVE the EU. Therefore, the Deal (or No Deal) will have many shouting “That isn’t the Brexit I voted for".

Then you get those who change their opinion, those who want to keep democracy alive by sticking to the vote despite their own choices and, finally, you get those who are so fed up they just want it done now.

The same I am sure would have happened in this vote. I would also bet that a lot of the election is closely based on the constituencies Brexit vote.

Yet, at the heart of it people will be taking their personal take when it comes to politics.

For myself, I voted for the party that I feel will benefit myself and my family in the long run.

This also raises the current problem and atmosphere in politics.

Everything has got personal.

With personal beliefs in line we are living in a fire pit of people exploding with offence.

This then leads to arguments, name calling, smoke and mirrors and tit for tat.

What seems apparent is that we are more concerned about what words someone used over what they have in their manifesto or potential policies.

What happened to debate, free speech and enlightened discussion?

As someone who loves politics I have delved into manifestos, paperwork and fact checking.

However, many don't. Subsequently misinformation is being shared across my feed and with each bit the fire was stoked and the division grew bigger.

A headline is read and now the headline is “fact”. Someone once knew a giraffe who had a fight with a zebra and that zebra shouted something about the NHS and therefore all Zebras are left/right wing nutters and are against democracy.

Race, creed and age gets thrown in. Names are called. Both sides shouting freedom of speech and ironically both calling each other Nazi’s.

This is perfect for many of the parties. In fact, it is a key advertising tool used by one party at the moment.

Distract from the real issue by placing a bit of misinformation and then have both political sides arguing with each other. The original point is lost and we’ve been distracted. Smoke, mirrors and well placed false flags and no one remembers what the real point was.

I would love a well thought out debate. I would listen. Understand. Chat about the problems. But, I would also freely correct misinformation with the hope that they gave the same common courtesy back. At the end we may have to conclude with a “agree to disagree" but wouldn’t we have a little more education on where people sit?

However, this isn’t happening and the political sides of the pendulum are swinging further and further apart.

Stereotypes are stopping the fundamental position to learn.

In my fact finding I found out why many people dislike Corbyn and Labour. Some are valid reasons and some are pure misinformation. The same can be said with Johnson or any of the other parties and leaders.

Whatever the outcome today the result will be bitter sweet.

It is guaranteed that many will be unhappy.

What we do NEED to do is stop.

Stop the name calling and finger pointing.

Instead we need to listen and talk. Delve a little deeper if needed. Find out where people are coming from and see if we can mend some of the bridges we’ve burnt.

If we don’t the next outcome may be worse.

In fact, I believe a lot of this left vs right wing bickering is what lead Trump into office. People spent so long mud slinging and telling people what to do that the pendulum swung in protest against the “progressive left”. Mark my words if this isn’t a close result it has a lot to do with a repelling swing of the pendulum!

We’re not all Nazi’s or Commies because we vote for a party. We don’t necessarily condone actions within each party or leader. We are just trying to fix a situation based on our personal experiences. That alone should be met with empathy.

Having conversations will highlight similarities and points of discussion. Having conversations will stop a certain amount of pushed information from parties.

Importantly and finally, having conversations, cutting out the name calling and quick blaming will create a better culture of politics. One, I believe, will be based on policies; giving many the opportunity to be persuaded on policies and not propaganda.

1 comment:

JOhn Adams said...

I really don't know what to say Martyn other than this election and the years preceding it have been dreadful. I thin only now the subtleties of why people voted a certain way are coming out and we have all been wrong to take such hardened stances against people who voted the other way in the referendum. And then by the looks of it they'll be a Scottish indyref in the near future as well and it'll happen all over again.