We Are The Problem

Via Mr E, the odious Blair government notes that the peasants citizens are revolting daring to speak their mind.

Tony Blair’s outgoing chief strategy adviser fears the internet could be fuelling a “crisis” in the relationship between politicians and voters.

As opposed, that is, to the venal, lying, mendacious, stupid, authoritarian control freaks in Whitehall.

Matthew Taylor – who stressed he was speaking as a “citizen” not a government spokesman – said the web could be “fantastic” for democracy.

Indeed.

But it was too often used to encourage the “shrill discourse of demands” that dominated modern politics.

Really? Wonder why that is?

“We have a citizenry which can be caricatured as being increasingly unwilling to be governed but not yet capable of self-government,” Mr Taylor told the audience.

Oh, I see. Mr Taylor has decided that we are incapable of self-government. Well, I suppose he has a point, we did put this bunch of fuckers into parliament, which does rather suggest a lack of sound judgement. Well, a lack of sound judgement on the part of the 22% of voters dimwitted enough to vote for them. The rest of us, however, are perfectly capable. It is politicians who have decided that we are not, that we need to be “managed” for our own good. Behold; the nanny state personified.

Like “teenagers”, people were demanding, but “conflicted” about what they actually wanted, he argued.

Au contraire, I know exactly what I want. I want politicians to get their noses out of my damned business and keep out. There’s nothing conflicted about that. Oh, and I deeply resent the inference that I am a teenager unable to decide what I want. Mr Taylor is an insolent rapscallion.

But rather than work out these dilemmas in partnership with their elected leaders, they were encouraged to regard all politicians as corrupt or “mendacious” by the media, which he described as “a conspiracy to maintain the population in a perpetual state of self-righteous rage”.

That is because they are mendacious. Didn’t I use that word already? Well, never mind. It’s a good word, so I’ll use it again. Blair has not only lied and lied consistently, he has been caught out doing it, so why should I believe anything he says? Yup; mendacious. His government seeks to regulate every wrinkle of our lives, to micro-manage us as if we are incapable of managing ourselves. As I have pointed out, I am perfectly capable of managing my life. Politicians merely pollute it.

He went on: “At a time at which we need a richer relationship between politicians and citizens than we have ever had, to confront the shared challenges we face, arguably we have a more impoverished relationship between politicians and citizens than we have ever had.”

And who’s fault is that?

“It seems to me this is something which is worth calling a crisis.”

And who’s fault is that?

The internet, he told the conference, was part of that “crisis”.

Ah, yes, I see where this is going… Nothing so simple as mendacious, venal, lying, power obsessed politicians then. It’s that new-fangled interweb thingy.

The internet has immense potential but we face a real problem if the main way in which that potential expresses itself is through allowing citizens to participate in a shrill discourse of demands.

If you look at the way in which citizens are using technology and the way that is growing up, there are worrying signs that that is the case.

What is the big breakthrough, in terms of politics, on the web in the last few years? It’s basically blogs which are, generally speaking, hostile and, generally speaking, basically see their job as every day exposing how venal, stupid, mendacious politicians are.

And in particular; it’s blogs that are to blame.

You arrogant, self-righteous, sanctimonious, patronising arsehole. How dare you pass responsibility for the failings of politicians onto those whom they are supposed to serve. How dare you, you obnoxious little shit! How dare you presume in your imperious tone to suppose that you are allowing us to participate. It is not your place to allow us to speak our minds. This is what is known as freedom of speech; a freedom along with many that is being systematically eroded by Blair and his diabolical cohorts; the corrupt, venal, mendacious government to which you so recently belonged. If there is a problem here is it your fault and yours alone. How dare you presume you have any authority to allow us to voice dissent in the face of your betrayal of our liberties. You arrogant shit-head. 

“I want people to have more power, but I want them to have more power in the context of a more mature discourse about the responsibilities of government and the responsibilities of citizens,” Mr Taylor told delegates.

Really? Really? And systematic lying by politicians is “mature” is it? Driving people to commit suicide is “mature” is it? Hyping up terror alerts to create an environment of fear is “mature” is it? Stealing people’s identities and franchising them back is “mature” is it? Attempting to bypass parliament is “mature” is it? Eroding habeas corpus is “mature” is it? You bastard! How dare you! Clean up your own back yard before you turn on us.

Part of the problem, he added, was the “net-head” culture itself, which was rooted in libertarianism and “anti-establishment” attitudes.

Doubtless it hasn’t occurred to this stupid little prick that the rise in libertarianism might just be inversely proportional to the erosion of our liberty indulged in by his now erstwhile boss and his henchmen? And, since when did liberty become a dirty word?

Oh, no, that we complain about our liberties being raped is our fault, not that of the perpetrators. Or, as Mr E puts it:

Blogs are merely loudspeakers through which ordinary people voice their frustrations with the way they are governed. And those who choose to sit at a keyboard to air those views are actually a more representative sample than you might think. If you’re going to be tough on shrill, be tough on the causes of shrill, too.

Quite.

Now… How long before they try to regulate us?