"When the government's boot is on your throat, whether it is a left boot or a right boot is of no consequence."
On the recommendation of Dick Puddlecote I purchased a copy of "Big Brother Watch - The State of civil liberties in modern Britain", which arrived this morning. It is an interesting work in that virtually each chapter is authored by a different person. In the chapter written by Philip Johnson (Daily Telegraph) one is reminded of two sayings prevalent during my childhood - and also, I would believe, with those a tad younger than I. The two sayings in question were invariably on the lips of adults during my childhood - and they are:
"Its a free country" - "There should be a law against it"
Johnson so rightly points out that the first is no longer true, not in the sense that previous generations would have understood the phrase; and that in respect of the second, whatever it is, there almost certainly is now a law against it.
How has this come about?
First it is necessary to recognise that under our present system of democracy there is no such thing as 'small' or 'limited' government - government is a self-perpetuating growth industry. Second that governments of recent decades appear to have a belief in the necessary regimentation of all our people, overseen by chosen individuals who, in turn, believe in a 'Common Purpose'. Third is the believe of governments that the people are half-witted and therefore not to be trusted with their own thoughts nor left to their own devices. Fourth is that governments today keep the people alarmed (and hence clamouring to be led to safety) by menacing them with endless 'scares', most of which are imaginary.
There is a fifth point that can be made and one that is the saddest of all: why do we continue to elect and allow the same bunch of politicians to carry on the process of 'grinding our noses in the dirt'?
2 comments:
I’m not sure politicians will ever do much about the problem. We are governed partly by politicians in government, but mostly by bureaucracies with significant input from pressure-groups. Bureaucracies and pressure-groups have become much more powerful in recent decades and no longer feel any need to respond to the electorate.
The growth of the EU should teach us that government as a whole no longer consults the electorate on anything important. Climate alarmism should teach us that government doesn’t even consult reality.
T:"I’m not sure politicians will ever do much about the problem."
Which is exactly why Tufty, that the people must take to the streets in the form of a mass demonstration and show those politicians that their paymasters are not happy bunnies! If no acceptable response then those unhappy bunnies need to become individual Oliver Cromwells, kick the bastards out of office and decorate a few lamp posts!
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