I am not going to write much on Smeargate because I have nothing much to add, except to say that it shows how little Brown understands the people of the country he claims as his own. Most British people will feel a sense of revulsion about Brown’s attempts to gain electoral advantage by making up nasty stuff about his opponents. Despite socialism’s salami-sliced attempts to destroy British culture, most of us still have a strong sense of fair play. This is why, for another example most people will see things like the car scrappage scheme as bad politics: for it gives a nice little fillip to a small number of people and one industry in particular at the expense of everyone else.
When de Gaulle said “non” because we are too culturally and politically similar to our American friends he was right. The English-speaking world sees the state and the law as servants. The continental model is for benign dictatorship. Heath promised to force Britain to become more French. In some areas the slice-by-slice coercion – to “bring Britain in to line with Europe” that we hear so often as justification for a major change in procedure – has made practical differences to the way we work. We now live in a legalistic environment where everyone needs a lawyer rather than one where people can guess what the law might be based on the application of common sense and fair play.
But you cannot change a culture by statute. Brown thinks that if he compels young people to be nice that young people will start to be nice. But this is Britain 2009 not Germany 1933. We do not need a Brown Youth. What Mr Brown has failed to notice is the great number of young people who are already nice. They are nice because they have been brought up to be, not because the state tells them to be. They are nice through their own free will. Do you know what that is, Mr Brown? Brown’s solution to the tiny feral youth which causes so much upset is to collectively punish all young people. Where’s the fair play in that?
Gordon’s refusal to take any responsibility for any of the horrific things that have happened under his watch is indicative. Brown is a prime example of the kind of culture he wishes to create: one where people are not expected to account for their mistakes; one where a tiny elite decides what is best for everyone and any transgressors are denounced. This is why Labour has criminalised all sorts of weird and wonderful activities while simultaneously watering down the punishment for genuinely heinous crimes.
What we all need is a culture of personal responsibility. Where the state holds criminals to account, where we all accept the consequences of the things we have done. That means paying off our own debts, earning our own income, looking after our own family and friends. It means parents are responsible for how their children are brought up. It means the state should not pick winners and losers.
Recently I slated David Cameron for not being strident enough. But in fact he has been drip-dripping excellent ideas out into the middle pages while Labour has been beating itself up on the front pages. Patently did a post on one of these ideas recently. An idea which is not a headline grabber but goes to the core of the relationship between citizen and state. We must have more like this. Mr Cameron must toe a fine line between radical small stateism and not scaring the electoral horses. I think Smeargate may have opened some doors for Dave, because it has shed a light on the attitude at the top of New Labour that many had not been willing to see before. Time to get radical, Mr C.
“one where a tiny elite decides what is best for everyone and any transgressors are denounced. This is why Labour has criminalised all sorts of weird and wonderful activities while simultaneously watering down the punishment for genuinely heinous crimes.”
If ever a phrase embodied the insidious nature of NuLab, this is it. It’s just a shame that those “tiny elite” seem to have such an overwhelming authority in the corridors of power. If we could just find the nucleus and blow it to smithereens …
I got a flyer through from my local conservative county councillor PLUS a glossy mini-mag from our new prospective conservative candidate. With it was a questionnaire which was so obviously designed to obtain the right answers that it wasn’t worth completing. It was good in that it showed how completely out of touch the conservative party still is and how they feel that because Brown is bad, Cameron must be good, he must be the only real alternative! Boy! Do they have a shock coming if they don’t start getting out there and stop the drip feeding and explode that great big policy / manifesto nuclear bomb that removes big central controlling government and goes back to the philosophies that inspired two big revolutions in the 18th Century because of the fear of government tyranny!
Mr P – ooh I like embodying insidious natures. Can the embodiment aid our riddance of said natures?
Ranter – yep with you on that. Cameron needs to stop being scared to say what others are thinking.
Had the same thing Ranter.
“Are you worried about the state of the roads”
Or local roads must be some of the worst in the UK. Potholled to death. They are very old. Everyone knows it,no one can fund it. But asking ‘would like us to fill in the pot holes?’ won’t do it.
‘Would you like a real choice in education?’
‘would you like a referendum before this country can declare unprovoked aggression on another sovereign state?’
‘Would you like a manifesto commitment on the Lisbon Treaty to mean something?’
That would hit harder.
Nice one BE. Obviously a chocolate rush! Your 3rd para. was pretty good too and strikes a chord with me, as through my job I regularly see some of the finest of our youth, their caring nature and their personal and collective achievements. That they should be swept up along with the `feral` detritus does exactly as you say and incorrectly labels the lot.
We have a culture confused by legislation, BE. This influence brings subtle change. We need little more to add to our ‘personal responsibilities’ and I suggest what we need is support for our personal values, which is not the same thing. Insofar as understanding what is going on, the Westminster List is already crowded with experts ready to provide the fullest account of sleaze, corruption, hypocrisy, Freemasonry, insider trading, social injustice and oppression in the UK.
To be spoilt for choice from such a wealth of cross party liars is only a well deserved reward for years of electoral apathy.
Quote: “What we all need is a culture of personal responsibility. Where the state holds criminals to account, where we all accept the consequences of the things we have done. That means paying off our own debts, earning our own income, looking after our own family and friends. It means parents are responsible for how their children are brought up. It means the state should not pick winners and losers.”
This is basic Thatcherism in a nutshell. I know the T word tends to incense people but the truth is the truth. Your words are pure common sense which is very heartening. You are obviously not alone so there is hope for our future.
If Cameron wants a landslide victory all he needs to to is promise the electorate a straight up referendum on the EU (whose policies Brown is hell bent on forcing down our throats) and DELIVER it. Pussyfooting around the issue and ignoring it in the hope it will go away will cost him. Cameron winning the next general election simply because he isn’t Brown will be a Pyrrhic victory at best. He appears to be coasting on this eventuality when he should be putting together a cohesive strategy for tackling the mess Brown has made. Thatcher did exactly what it said on the package. Dave’s box has troublesome question marks printed all over it. If he has a message it’s not being heard or understood.
I’m a disaffected Tory voter who won’t be voting Tory until Cameron takes a solid stand and comes up with a plan. None of the major parties are EU sceptics and that effectively disenfranchises a hell of a lot of people. We want deeds, not words. People are sick to death of vacuous spinning and BS. Sick to death of having our nationality stripped away before our eyes. Shame Dave doesn’t recognise that as a starting point instead of adding to the drip feed of vague utterances and death by a thousand cuts.
Sorry for the rant. You have an excellent blog. Keep up the good work.
Hi Wossat and welcome! I can’t say I disagree with a single word of that. Feel free to rant whenever you like. You are amongst friends here.
Thanks Blue Eyes. It’s gratifying to know that there are other voices crying out in the wilderness. I found you via Devil’s Kitchen and have bookmarked your site.