This is why I'm Green.

Last weekend thousands protested in Spain’s major cities against new totalitarian laws. Not students or ideological radicals but very ordinary people with fresher memories than most of that term. But where Franco was a fascist dictator this seems to be the action of a bewildered, cornered government. One of the problems with democracy is that to gain power one must appease the electorate. This pretence of niceness is the basis of many failed marriages where underlying reality goes un addressed. Democracy thus tends to pretend government focusing on facile issues rather than long-term solutions to deep-seated problems. To me Spain exemplifies where you get to after a long period of pretend government. The government perceives it must continue to govern ‘for the sake of the country’ and the electorate, the wife in this case, has had enough of obfuscation. Spain’s new gagging laws and the public’s reaction become the equivalent of domestic violence, and England’s not far behind. The electorate, we, know there are issues needing to be addressed at a fundamental level, global warming, education, the wealth gap, corporate dominance and tax evasion, fracking, the NHS, mental health, housing etc, and that tinkering and spin are no longer enough. We are disillusioned with pretend government and where it’s leading us. Our government cannot see alternatives to what they’re doing, aren’t imaginative enough to grasp the fundamental problems or bold enough to forge solutions. Their only perceived option is to police our discontent. A divorce of sort is already happening with voting numbers falling but we do still need active government. In this situation a vote for any party that is not bold or perceptive enough to see the underlying problems and tackle them is wasted. That’s why I’m joining the Green Party. They may not win but at least my vote won’t be wasted.