Benjamin Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 Political Euphemism U.K. 2012 “MY RIGHT HONOURABLE FRIEND”......... (Bastard who claimed more expenses than I got away with last year!) “WE'LL RE-BALANCE SOCIETY!”........... (Tax cuts and rebates for us rich... and screw the fucking plebs!” “STREAMLINE THE NHS”…. (Starve it of funds so it can't function---sell all the best bits to our friends. Tally-ho and fuck the plebs again!) “OVERHAUL EDUCATION!” “Treble uni. fees--- freeze the fucking plebs out of it.” “HELP THE JOBLESS AND DIS-ABLED INTO WORK!”.... (Cut benefits and starve the bastards-- blame 'em for being poor and feckless.... Fucking plebs!) “CREATE MORE JOBS IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR” …... (Pillage pensions of public employees, devalue incomes and employment terms—-sack 'em in thousands and blame 'em when they protest.... Fucking plebs!) “GIVE ALL WORKERS A LIVING WAGE!”........ (And a boss to sack- 'em -on-the-spot with no come-backs! Fuck the plebs! ) “UP THE MINIMUM WAGE!”...... ( Yeah right up it! .Exploit cheap foreign labour and blame the lazy fucking plebs!) “IT IS RIGHT TO SELL THE MIDDLE EAST ARMS!” …...... (Oodles of oil money to suck up there...stuff the ethics. Oh!....And don't forget to fuck the plebs!) “WE'RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER!” ….... (Yeah right! I don't give a fuck if this ship sinks--- I've got my trust fund to cling to don't cha know! Go drown somewhere else you fucking plebs!) “COVER-UPS?” (Too late we've all closed ranks! ….. Fuck me! That rhymes with banks!) “I DON'T RECALL!” …... ( Fuck you! I'm not answering that!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dedalus Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 I can't say I agree with every last bit of this but I certainly understand where the anger and frustration is coming from! Britain was definitely going through the doldrums in the 1970s but the so-called cure, in the form of Mrs Thatcher and her divisive policies, was extreme, and far in excess of the correctives that were definitely needed at the time. Britain has never quite recovered from her handbagging of the social contract ("There is no such thing as society") and as soon as she was gone - good riddance - the amiable but indecisive John Major was a target for vicious Tory infighting. This brought on Tony Blair and "New Labour" in 1997 which was only new in the sense that it wasn't the Labour Party any more. Clem Attlee and Aneurin Bevan would have rolled over in their graves. Kinnock was the last of the true believers and his defeat in the 1992 election was, I believe, a tragedy for Britain. Nevertheless, it's an old resilient country and remains the recipient of a powerful political tradition - including an Empire for two or more centuries - and in spite of the much-deplored yob culture and Hello! magazine fascination with here-today gone-tomorrow celebrities it remains the home of a generally creative and intelligent core of active people who do continue to make a difference not only at home but beyond the nation's borders. Britain still has a great deal to contribute to the world. The recent Summer Olympics were seen as a 'feel-good' factor and possibly the last hurrah of the aging toothless British Lion. I don't think so at all. Any nation that can take the piss out of themselves (and everyone else, don't forget, however so gently) and go on to compete as well as they did is far from finished. Speaking as an Irishman I could be accused of treason for saying some of these things, but I also come from a free country - no thanks to the Brits of the past - and therefore have become accustomed to saying exactly what I think. And what I think is that Britain is far from finished as a significant European and even world player. It is going through a rough period where trust between politicians and the electorate is at a low ebb. Kindly look around at most of the other democracies that still exist and struggle on in our overheating and ever-shrinking world and tell me if they are any different, the USA included. One thing the USA can learn from Britain - their former colonial ruler - is that you cannot have a democracy at home and an empire overseas. It doesn't work. The Romans tried it and failed. The Brits tried it as well and then made a very difficult and necessary choice in spite of massive opposition from deeply entrenched groups within their own society. Yes, Margaret, there IS such a thing as society! One day, and not too long in the future, America will need to do the same. It remains to be seen whether the Security State and the exercise of untrammelled power abroad will defeat, or be defeated by, the very clear and simple principles set out by the Founding Fathers. Sorry for the essay. It didn't start out that way. It didn't begin as a literary crit of a poem, either, but then this was more, or perhaps less, than a poem ... wasn't it, Ben? Quote Drown your sorrows in drink, by all means, but the real sorrows can swim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benjamin Posted November 12, 2012 Author Share Posted November 12, 2012 I take a keen daily interest in what goes on around me and in the world at large.Also how ordinary people's lives are directly affected by political ducking and diving. Some things just rankle and stay at the front of my mind so I find it therapeutic to write them down. You make valid points and though my comments were of a political nature (for politics is at the heart of most things) my real reason for posting this is the ironical use/abuse of language . It's rather like the memory of whoever called that instument of torture "The Iron Maiden" had a genuine sense of grim humour, although little empathy for the victims. The recent American elections prove what we already know in the UK-- that public opinion has evolved into a broader vested interest for those other than the traditionally privelidged. The English language also has evolved into segregated spheres that are virtually indecipherable to many. Whether it be: colloquial, legal-ese, politicking, doctor-speak, bankster-ese or even poetry. Were it not so serious, it would be cynically amusing for there are only two columns that ultimately matter--- in business, 'net income and expenditure'; similarly in any relationship those columns transpose to 'give and take'. In life: a lie is a lie, a pain is a pain, a fraud is a fraud and as a lady once said... “a rose is a rose is a rose.” Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dedalus Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 I grasp your point about the use/ abuse of language since one would need to be a blind deaf dumb and ignorant fool not to see this! This discussion, should it continue, promises to be open-ended. There is no telling where it will go. That's fine with me. I have opinions, some of them still unknown to me, but no pre-conceived notions or ideological agenda. I was involved in institutional politics (The Japan Association for Language Teaching, http://jalt.org/main/home) for a number of years, ending up as the vice-president of the national association. So what, you might say? Well, it was a bloody good introduction to dealing with extremely difficult people! University professors, almost by definition, are away with the fairies. I could go on about this in colourful detail, and possibly will. Not now. I spent a couple of years pissed off at the organisation from the outside as a local chapter leader until I decided to get in and run the national organisation by myself, which I more or less managed to do after a period of 4-5 years through a series of election campaigns sort of moving up the scale, a good base of support, and a compliant President who more or less let me run the show. What I discovered was that people in positions of responsibility worked extremely hard, myself included, and did make good financial and strategic decisions which saved the organisation from going bankrupt. It remains the largest and most influential language-teaching association in Asia. In return we got nothing but abuse from the members in our incoming correspondence. One must presume the satisfied members stayed silent since our team was easily re-elected. What I am saying (I think) is that you have to see politics from both sides. It's all very well to mount demonstrations and sling mud from the outside but it's a very different matter when you are trying to keep the walls from falling in, and to keep things going from the inside! Quote Drown your sorrows in drink, by all means, but the real sorrows can swim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benjamin Posted November 12, 2012 Author Share Posted November 12, 2012 During the half century that I've been eligible to vote I have learned one thing above all others. That the more radically a government behaves, the further the pendulum will swing back when its opposition are eventually elected. More and more hard working people in once safe middle reaches of society become undermined. We cannot escape the ideology of left or right in our UK political system only perhaps moderate the pendulum's swing. Neither can we escape the politics of any workplace and its respective funding. In my life-time I've witnessed first hand, nasty divisive politics and the full weight of state turned against the ordinary working people of my own home county.Legal repercussions still threaten to resurface after decades. I agree that change was necessary at that time although I never thought I would live to see that type of government prevail again in my lifetime. I recall the distant past of my early youth: farms and factories with 'tied' cottages for workers who, if they retired or could not work, lost their homes. Yet they always seemed to vote for what was in their employers best interests, rather than what was best for themselves. Understandable. Perhaps I am naive-- and some things really have changed greatly for the better. With hindsight I should not have posted this item for this is not a political forum. I appreciate you taking the time to make lengthy comment on what was not so much a poem but more the emotive burblings of an old man. I have great respect for you as a knowledgable writer and poet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyv Posted November 13, 2012 Share Posted November 13, 2012 Enjoyed the discussion. Though this is not a political forum, the submission is a work of art, a poem, and it does not endorse some candidate. Rather it demonstrates how language is artfully applied when used in propaganda. Jargon, whether it's corporate, political, or what my firends and I have come to call "playaspeak" (stuff like "I'm about doin' a good job") is usually downright ridiculous, but it nevertheless becomes wildly overused. No, this is "epic." It's not "a fail," and it's certainly not an "epic fail." Tony PS -- you used an appropriate content warning. Thank you for being mindful of the rules. Though a simple [R] would suffice, there's nothing wrong with using a more detailed warning. Quote Here is a link to an index of my works on this site: tonyv's Member Archive topic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcmarti1 Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 I abso-friggin-lutely loved this work. Passion is passion, and a poem is a poem, and this was both. Spot on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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