Well, this week marks the second general election in my home country since I came to live in the U.S. The outlook for this one (at the time or writing) is that it will be pretty much the same as last time; a solid win for Labour. I feel that I should make some comment on this, that there should be some aspect of electing a government in the home of the modern democracy that elicits a reaction from me. But I can't. There isn't. And I'm wondering why.
The truth, as far as I can tell, is that I just don't care. This isn't some general sense of disinterest in the process of democracy, nor is it a feeling that the democratic process is somehow fatally flawed. Rather, I just can't engage my emotions. I get more passionate about the differences between Pepsi and Coke than I do about the differences between a Conservative or Labour government. Britain is a country with many flaws, many failings and much that could be improved. Nevertheless, none of these failings are of a particularly pressing nature. It seems that there is no great moral peril, no lurking shadow of oppression on the political horizon, no tremor of social upheaval to galvanize the passions and fire the blood. Nothing, in short, to get worked up about. Oh, I suppose I should take some kind of stand on the question of European unity or the long-term future of the pound, but frankly there just seem more important issues to worry about, like whether I should wear shorts today or stick with long pants. (long pants - Ed.)
I guess in the end one has to face the truth that in a stable country with a population that, on the whole, agrees about most of the fundamental issues that face them, politics gets rather tedious. Whenever you're engaged in the business of selling something, one of the key issues to overcome is product differentiation. For political parties in Britain, describing this as a 'challenge' is like calling the Titanic 'a little on the damp side.' What does Labour *really* stand for that, say, the Liberal Democrats don't? And does anyone care?
What it comes down to is the usual beauty pageant with vague mouthings to the effect that the world will come to an end if the other side wins, even if there's no apparent difference between parties anymore. Of course, give that Labour look like they are going to have yet another huge win, this approach appears to work.
I don't know why the political parties in Britain don't just eliminate the risk of having actual human front men and replace them with entirely predictable, perfectly formed animatronics. The policies would stay the same but the MPs would probably be a lot nicer to look at and far less likely to be found rogering someone they shouldn't, or selling their vote for a job on the board of a large oil company when they retire. Of course, knowing the way politics works in Britain, it would seem likely that the parties will just buy cast-off Disney models, rather than ante-ing up for new gear. So, if Abe Lincoln or Genghis Khan makes a sudden return to active political life, we should be wary. On the plus side, I'd personally pay good money to hear the entire House of Commons united in a chorus of "It's a small world, after all." Wouldn't you?