My name is Daniel John Dispain, a British citizen who has decided to ride a bicycle around the world. As a consequence I will meet many people from many different lands, some of which will have very different ideas to me, some of which will have similar ideas to me. Now whilst in Moscow I met a nice chap and we had a long chat about Democracy. "Russia is democratic" he said. I was curious to see where this was leading. "Russia is democratic. Show me where you do have true democracy? In the United States where you have one party led by a load of fat lawyers, and" there was a little pause here for effect, "another party led by a load of fat lawyers!" Now I left the conversation agreeing with him to an extent. Where is democracy and what is it? By this I mean what does it truly mean to the individuals living in the democratic nations of the west? And at this point please don't give definitions of universal suffrage and the right to vote. I want to know what it truly means to live with "Democracy."
At present in the UK we are 5 months from a general election and the four main parties all tend to follow the same neo liberal paradigm except arguably one is a bit racist, one is a bit nasty, one is a bit useless and one is a bit hypocritical. Do we have a one party system where people no longer vote for policies but for personalities? Images of Farage drinking a beer and smoking appeal to some voters. Not what he says. The two Ed's queue outside Greg's to prove that they are in touch with the common man. No news on what changes New Labour would make in the event of electoral victory however. To an extent it does not surprise me that voters feel disenfranchised and do not vote. But where could this lead?
Earlier in 2014 elections for the EU parliament occurred. Turn out was poor, around 42% for the EU as a whole and 34% in the UK. Of those that did vote many voted for Euro skeptic and extreme parties on the left and right as a protest. The European Parliament is often accused as being poorly run, bureaucratic and inefficient. I personally am pro European, and I feel that bringing people closer together can only be beneficial. I remember as a child the division between east and west in Europe. The Wall, check points between friendly nations. barriers everywhere. That now has largely gone. They lie redundant on the side of the road, boarded up and covered in undergrowth. Monuments to a restricted past. Freedom of movement in Europe and other Co signatories of Schengen can only in my opinion be good. I look at the European parliament with confusion tho. But then I think there must be an explanation for this. Could it be that here we have a parliament that is largely not voted for, and of those that do vote vote for extremists like Golden Dawn, UKIP, Front National, Jobbik, Lega Nord etc. Fill a room with monkeys and typewriters one does not end up with the works of Shakespeare but ends up with shit on the walls, bananas everywhere and broken typewriters (if my monkey based stereotypes are correct). But should I blame the voters here? No, not really.
Where do people get their information on the world and current events? The media I suppose. Friends I suppose, relatives, personal experiences. What nuances are out there that shape a persons mind? Are people really interested in current developments in such and such a parliament or are they more concerned with daily life? Getting to work, buying clothes for the little 'un, looking for cheap deals at the local supermarket. Newspapers in the UK are often read so as to have ones own ideas reflected back and confirmed, there by one can feel good about themselves or outraged at some other current event. A form of entertainment perhaps. Left wing people buy The Guardian, right wing people buy The Telegraph and The Times, (imbeciles buy the Daily Express). Perhaps left wing people should buy The Telegraph and Times, and right wing people The Guardian (and no one The Express!) so as to get opposing view points. If that would change things I do not know.
I rode through China on my way to where I sit now (Vientiane). Another "Non democratic" nation. It is lovely, the people amazing. Friendly beyond compare. It is not a restricted open prison of evil tyrants oppressing the people as the western media would have you believe. But a nation full of people getting on with their lives. People go to work in the morning, come home in the evening, flop down on the sofa eat dinner and watch TV. A popular Chinese TV show at the moment? Chinese Pop Idol. If only these people had democracy, then things would change! The people of China, Russia and elsewhere seem to me to be just as bewildered with what is happening in the world. Putin is no more representative of the average Russian as Cameron is of the average Brit. And no, Russia is not full of ultra right, ultra orthodox homophobic nationalists. The Russians I met were people just the same as anywhere else, with similar hopes and dreams and just as confused about the world as anybody else. Wonderfully warm, welcome and curious about this foreigner on his bicycle. I don't think anyone really knows what is happening, people have ideas, thoughts, opinions. They act on them (sometimes) but most often people just want to get on.
At present in the UK we are 5 months from a general election and the four main parties all tend to follow the same neo liberal paradigm except arguably one is a bit racist, one is a bit nasty, one is a bit useless and one is a bit hypocritical. Do we have a one party system where people no longer vote for policies but for personalities? Images of Farage drinking a beer and smoking appeal to some voters. Not what he says. The two Ed's queue outside Greg's to prove that they are in touch with the common man. No news on what changes New Labour would make in the event of electoral victory however. To an extent it does not surprise me that voters feel disenfranchised and do not vote. But where could this lead?
Earlier in 2014 elections for the EU parliament occurred. Turn out was poor, around 42% for the EU as a whole and 34% in the UK. Of those that did vote many voted for Euro skeptic and extreme parties on the left and right as a protest. The European Parliament is often accused as being poorly run, bureaucratic and inefficient. I personally am pro European, and I feel that bringing people closer together can only be beneficial. I remember as a child the division between east and west in Europe. The Wall, check points between friendly nations. barriers everywhere. That now has largely gone. They lie redundant on the side of the road, boarded up and covered in undergrowth. Monuments to a restricted past. Freedom of movement in Europe and other Co signatories of Schengen can only in my opinion be good. I look at the European parliament with confusion tho. But then I think there must be an explanation for this. Could it be that here we have a parliament that is largely not voted for, and of those that do vote vote for extremists like Golden Dawn, UKIP, Front National, Jobbik, Lega Nord etc. Fill a room with monkeys and typewriters one does not end up with the works of Shakespeare but ends up with shit on the walls, bananas everywhere and broken typewriters (if my monkey based stereotypes are correct). But should I blame the voters here? No, not really.
Where do people get their information on the world and current events? The media I suppose. Friends I suppose, relatives, personal experiences. What nuances are out there that shape a persons mind? Are people really interested in current developments in such and such a parliament or are they more concerned with daily life? Getting to work, buying clothes for the little 'un, looking for cheap deals at the local supermarket. Newspapers in the UK are often read so as to have ones own ideas reflected back and confirmed, there by one can feel good about themselves or outraged at some other current event. A form of entertainment perhaps. Left wing people buy The Guardian, right wing people buy The Telegraph and The Times, (imbeciles buy the Daily Express). Perhaps left wing people should buy The Telegraph and Times, and right wing people The Guardian (and no one The Express!) so as to get opposing view points. If that would change things I do not know.
I rode through China on my way to where I sit now (Vientiane). Another "Non democratic" nation. It is lovely, the people amazing. Friendly beyond compare. It is not a restricted open prison of evil tyrants oppressing the people as the western media would have you believe. But a nation full of people getting on with their lives. People go to work in the morning, come home in the evening, flop down on the sofa eat dinner and watch TV. A popular Chinese TV show at the moment? Chinese Pop Idol. If only these people had democracy, then things would change! The people of China, Russia and elsewhere seem to me to be just as bewildered with what is happening in the world. Putin is no more representative of the average Russian as Cameron is of the average Brit. And no, Russia is not full of ultra right, ultra orthodox homophobic nationalists. The Russians I met were people just the same as anywhere else, with similar hopes and dreams and just as confused about the world as anybody else. Wonderfully warm, welcome and curious about this foreigner on his bicycle. I don't think anyone really knows what is happening, people have ideas, thoughts, opinions. They act on them (sometimes) but most often people just want to get on.
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