The fallacy of democracy is not limited to the sickness of the voting systems that are in place in nations which subscribe to that political
methodology.
My main issue with it is this. Lets say I cast a vote for the eventual winner of an election. I will have cast that vote, based on what I know about
the party for which I voted, the leader of that party, and thier campaign points, or promises. Personally speaking, I make an effort to know as much
as possible about the political situation in my country, and about the players and attitudes they hold, so that I know whose bandwagon seems to be the
best fit for my own thinking, who will support the things I believe in, and deal with those things that I believe are causing damage to our nation and
its people.
However, once that party has my vote, all its promises, and its apparant attitudes become nothing more than vapour, smoke on a stiff breeze. Once in
power, a party can, and does, do whatever the hell it pleases for the next four years, about which one can do nothing, save waiting until the next
election to vote them out, by which point more damage has been done.
A real world example is the Liberal Democrat party, joining a coallition with the thrice cursed Conservative party here in the UK. I was sick of the
Labour party, because they had stepped away from thier socialist and working class roots, populated now by at least as many toffs as the Conservative
party, and totaly incompetent to boot. The Conservatives have always been a bane on people of my background, because they mistakenly believe that
people who are not affluent are some sort of disease. The Liberal Democrats however were making all the right noises, talking about making the richest
pay the biggest share of the nations debt, making the banks pay back the money they lost us, raising the tax threshold so poorer people and families
do not end up being taxed money that they cannot afford which would prevent them from making advancements in thier lives and circumstances... All
sounded gravy really.
Thier veiws seemed utterly opposed to those of the Conservative party, and at no point was that as clear, as during the three way, live televised
debate that was shown here, between the leaders of those parties. When the vote was called so close that a coallition was a possibility, with no party
achieving numbers enough to lead alone, I was APPALLED when the Liberal Democrats jumped into bed with the Conservatives. It seemed to me that a) My
vote had been given under false pretence, because I had assumed that the Liberal Democrats would, like me, rather see NO government , than one that
contained a single Conservative thought or initiative, and b) that the resulting abomination of any such union, would be destructive and schizophrenic
at best, and a worst a total nightmare.
I, as an individual, and as a part of a growing number of people who think similarly, have no power to prevent my vote being used against my people.
Although I would never wish to live in a dictatorship, I wonder what democracy really means, when people who embrace it are betrayed on such a regular
basis by the people for whom they vote. At the moment, it feels very much as if all voting really achieves, is to give a government a stick to beat us
with, as if they are saying "Well, YOU voted for this, so bend over and take what you asked for!".
On a local level, I recently attended a town council planning meeting, which was open to be observed, but not participated in, by the public. The
discussion focused on plans for a new museum. The trouble is that the area they were going to use is historically important in terms of its old
buildings, and ecologically important, being part of a landsliped area, turned earth having sprouted several species of flora and given homes to
various small creatures, making it a unique environment, worthy of study. Also, being an area prone to landslip, placing a massive steel and glass
museum on it, is insane.
When others in the public gallery protested in vocal terms, the councilman leading the discussion in the chamber, announced "We are the
democratically elected members of this council. If you wish to participate on our level, then get yourselves elected. For now though, be quiet or you
will be removed from the premises!". Despite public protest, technical concerns from engineers and so on, the motion was passed.
What democracy is there, if people in power get to decide when it can, and cannot be partaken of by a citizen? What is the point of it, if the ONLY
power the individual has, can be wielded in such limited confines of time, of place? Democracy in and of itself, is not an answer to any question
worth asking.

