ENOUGH ALREADY
Prime Ministers Questions, [PMQ's], should be scrapped. It is an embarrassment beyond rescue, and should be replaced by a monthly grilling before a House of Commons Committee, possibly made of of all the Committee Chairs.
To watch it yesterday was to watch a demonstration of all that is most ghastly about our current system of political representation. The predominance of suited boys, the continuous heckling and emission of zoo noises, the toe curling sycophancy on the government benches, whose MP's ask non questions, - “My constituency is lovely, will the Prime Minister agree? Will he also celebrate with me the fact that we have a wonderful government that is creating jobs in my constituency and spreading joy amongst it fortunate citizens?” I mean do the MP's who spout this puerile juvenile piffle imagine that these asinine statements do anything other than produce a weary sapping away of the will to live.
However the most striking feature about PMQ's is the absence in the Prime Minister of any intention to answer questions, particularly if the questions are put by the Leader of the Opposition. To any question, not matter how clear or succinctly put, our current prime minister offers up obfuscation, goes off on strange tangents, talks about the failings, real or imagined, of the leader of the opposition, will if offer up the reasons he is in charge of such a wonderful administration, what he will not do is answer the question.
The truth is that in age when a significant portion of the population have become disillusioned with representative democracy this kind of dreary spectacle is no longer simply irrelevant to ordinary peoples lives it has become dangerous. It feeds a cancerous cynicism about democratic politics. The first stage in the death of any democracy is when democratic institutions start to be despised. When events reach that stage it is not long before the would be saviours of the nation appear declaring, to great applause; “Away with this bauble!”*
Occasionally, hardened that I am to the preposterous, I am still taken aback. So it was yesterday when I read the following headline in The Independent Newspaper.
'Saudi Arabia criticises Norway over human rights record.'1
The best way to explain the Yiddish term chutzpah is with a joke.
A young man is about to be sentenced for the murder of both his parents. The judge turns to him prior to passing sentence. “Is there anything you would like to say before I pass sentence?" He asks.
“Yes, your honour, I would like you to take into consideration the fact that I am a poor orphan.”
Thus we have Saudi Arabia, an absolute monarchy, a country whose idea of a human right is an obligation to read the correct verses from the Koran before you are flogged. A country without the least comprehension of the concepts of free speech, due process or religious liberty, passing judgement on Norway, a free open and humane society. Indeed one of the Saudi's primary complaints was that the Norwegians had taken no steps to outlaw insulting the prophet Mohamed! To add insult to considerable injury Saudi Arabia was joined in its criticism by Russia. At this point further comment feels redundant.
These criticisms were levelled at Norway as part of the United Nations' Universal Periodic Review [of human rights], under which UN members take turns to go under scrutiny.
Now I am a good old internationalist liberal, in favour of multi-national forums as a vehicle to foster the peaceful resolution of disputes and promote greater international understanding, but there comes a point when absurdity breaks in and we have surely reached that point when it comes to the United Nations as a forum for upholding human rights. I would propose that all those states that currently adhere to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights break away and form their own forum, leaving countries like the preposterous Saudi Kingdom exposed as the medieval theocratic prison that it is.
* Oliver Cromwell's words when he took away the Mace, the symbol of authority in the House of Commons, and abolished parliament.
Having visited this page I would be grateful for your feedback, either tick one of the boxes below or make a comment via the comments button.
To watch it yesterday was to watch a demonstration of all that is most ghastly about our current system of political representation. The predominance of suited boys, the continuous heckling and emission of zoo noises, the toe curling sycophancy on the government benches, whose MP's ask non questions, - “My constituency is lovely, will the Prime Minister agree? Will he also celebrate with me the fact that we have a wonderful government that is creating jobs in my constituency and spreading joy amongst it fortunate citizens?” I mean do the MP's who spout this puerile juvenile piffle imagine that these asinine statements do anything other than produce a weary sapping away of the will to live.
However the most striking feature about PMQ's is the absence in the Prime Minister of any intention to answer questions, particularly if the questions are put by the Leader of the Opposition. To any question, not matter how clear or succinctly put, our current prime minister offers up obfuscation, goes off on strange tangents, talks about the failings, real or imagined, of the leader of the opposition, will if offer up the reasons he is in charge of such a wonderful administration, what he will not do is answer the question.
The truth is that in age when a significant portion of the population have become disillusioned with representative democracy this kind of dreary spectacle is no longer simply irrelevant to ordinary peoples lives it has become dangerous. It feeds a cancerous cynicism about democratic politics. The first stage in the death of any democracy is when democratic institutions start to be despised. When events reach that stage it is not long before the would be saviours of the nation appear declaring, to great applause; “Away with this bauble!”*
Saudi Chutzpah
Occasionally, hardened that I am to the preposterous, I am still taken aback. So it was yesterday when I read the following headline in The Independent Newspaper.
'Saudi Arabia criticises Norway over human rights record.'1
The best way to explain the Yiddish term chutzpah is with a joke.
A young man is about to be sentenced for the murder of both his parents. The judge turns to him prior to passing sentence. “Is there anything you would like to say before I pass sentence?" He asks.
“Yes, your honour, I would like you to take into consideration the fact that I am a poor orphan.”
Thus we have Saudi Arabia, an absolute monarchy, a country whose idea of a human right is an obligation to read the correct verses from the Koran before you are flogged. A country without the least comprehension of the concepts of free speech, due process or religious liberty, passing judgement on Norway, a free open and humane society. Indeed one of the Saudi's primary complaints was that the Norwegians had taken no steps to outlaw insulting the prophet Mohamed! To add insult to considerable injury Saudi Arabia was joined in its criticism by Russia. At this point further comment feels redundant.
These criticisms were levelled at Norway as part of the United Nations' Universal Periodic Review [of human rights], under which UN members take turns to go under scrutiny.
Now I am a good old internationalist liberal, in favour of multi-national forums as a vehicle to foster the peaceful resolution of disputes and promote greater international understanding, but there comes a point when absurdity breaks in and we have surely reached that point when it comes to the United Nations as a forum for upholding human rights. I would propose that all those states that currently adhere to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights break away and form their own forum, leaving countries like the preposterous Saudi Kingdom exposed as the medieval theocratic prison that it is.
* Oliver Cromwell's words when he took away the Mace, the symbol of authority in the House of Commons, and abolished parliament.
1http://www.independent.co.uk/news/saudi-arabia-criticises-norway-over-human-rights-record-9301796.html
Having visited this page I would be grateful for your feedback, either tick one of the boxes below or make a comment via the comments button.
