This Saturday is Cognitive Dissonance Day. Recently we see big single issues tending to unite, there is broad agreement, and power. Coal seam gas, Bruns foreshore, West Byron, are single issues uniting us in our desire to hand on good things to our kids. We are waking up to the Occupy movement.
Yet on Saturday many will also put on their different coloured party hats, to choose one of four corporations (aka parties) to be the administrator of another corporation (aka NSW state government), with no legal responsibility to do what they said they would.
That’s it, we can divide into arguing conceptual groups, and give our decision making power away! A donkey vote which then turns toxic and returns to bite us on the collective bum big time.
The green corporation has never had to play the corporate game of administrator, so they alone have the chance to talk intelligently (and I don’t doubt green voters’ sincerity) on some of the scary issues.
So compare these two ideas. We can join together on single issues to Occupy and ‘do no harm’ when it’s important to us. The Swiss do this, it’s called referenda, and we have the technologies to count votes.
Or we can divide, argue, hand over our decision making power in return for no legal contract (the corporation chosen will do what it’s told by its backers ).
Or do both – vote, but don’t expect it to be too meaningful, and get actively engaged with neighbours and others on issues close to your heart.
David Hall, Ocean Shores
As the saying goes “The trouble with voting is no mater who you vote for, you always end up with a politician” This applies equally to the Greens as much as to any other party.