We, the sheeple...

I’m no monk. Whilst I like to sit in quiet contemplation of the world, my febrile mind rarely allows me the peace to devote myself entirely to the cerebral; I have to be doing, even if it’s not very much. As for anything beyond my own personal existence I’m so atheistic as to wonder whether that isn’t in itself a religion of sorts. It’s not, by the way, I’m not fanatical about it; the depth of my atheism is such that I really, really don’t care what you believe in except to be fairly certain that my solid lack of belief is far more healthy than whatever depth of delusion the faithful wade about in.

I give in to temptations, to cravings, just as you do but I’m probably better at doing without than most. It certainly seems that way, for even as I stop spending when I hit my limits and cut my cloth to suit, I inhabit a world where to exercise such self-control seems to be folly when somebody else can pick up the tab; this is a time where all you have to do to deserve a reward is to want a reward. I scoff at the professionally needy but, like I say, I’m no monk and it is almost impossible to live a life out of earshot of the clamour of our very odd society.

All around I hear and see the frantic calls to take up cudgels on behalf of some cause or other, the more obscure the issue the louder the voices. We used to be tolerant but that term has been abused and now tolerance is taken to mean bending over backwards to accommodate and assist. It’s not the same thing. Tolerance without activism is somehow not enough any more and we must now take sides with the various apologists; and there’s a growth industry all right. There are apologists for rapists, murderers, islamic fundamentalists, Roma gypsy crime gangs… apologists for the obese, the stupid, the indolent, the looter, the *insert name of favoured nasty here*.

But we don’t have to tolerate everything, why should we? Objecting to something isn’t automatically racist, or whatever other imagined bigotry label you want to apply. Finding something objectionable isn’t a crime, surely? But it’s worse than that – we are even expected to care about things that have nothing to do with us and don’t impact on our lives at all. Why can’t we just be allowed to not engage? We don’t have to be angry about everything but the current trend seems to be to create yet more laws against daring to commit the outrageous offences of not only not being tolerant enough but not actually caring enough.

This is the problem when everything is left to governments; when people are not allowed personal discretion. The more decisions are taken away from individuals the more dependent the sheeple become and sheeple never learn. “Baaah-aan it!” they cry as they demand control of the press, control of speech, control of even thought itself, imagining that this will create a world where we are free of offence. The only freedom granted by statism is the freedom from liberty.

I may not quite manage to be a monk, but I’m damned if I’m going to be a sheep.

A long time in politics

Wow, what a week it's been and what a sorry reflection on the 'grate' British public.

• Last summer's riots were blamed on anybody but the rioters themselves.
• The Tories got caught in a Blairesque cash-for-favours affair.
• Francis Maude idiotically scared stupid sheeple into panic buying fuel, causing utter chaos.
• In the absence of any real policy the opposition counter-attack on George Osborne's budget amounted to nothing more of substance than pasties. 
• Then, when their attention was focused on being photographed in pie shops, Bradfordistan voted in their very own artificial Ayatollah in the form of preening narcissist 'Gorgeous' George Galloway, sycophant to Islamic tyrants the world over.
• And to cap it all, a fool in York sets herself on fire by decanting petrol while cooking on gas.

How in the world will we spot the spoofs, come April First?

Well, all this confirms what I've long suspected. You, the British public, in common with people the globe over, are basically quite, quite stupid. (Not the ones reading this, obviously) You put showboating before logic; you vote for personality rather than ability and you will probably jump to the rhythmic click of my fingers and the hypnotic tone of my voice if I feed you enough of the right kind of chocolate biscuits.

"How many biscuits?" you incisively ask, "And how much chocolate?" you demand to know. And, of course, now I've got you. While Newsnight debates the level of sugary, biscuity bribe that will get your vote, I've had my henchmen peek into your shallow souls and count up your worth. We'll be having your principles melted down for our gain even as the chocolate melts in your mouth. That's politics.

Gosh, how cynical, you gasp. Do I really see the human race, populated almost entirely by slack-jawed, entitlement-focused, undeserving yokels?

Yes. Yes I do. I said so, right from the start: It all started here.[link to first ever Batsby blog]

Now, be off with you, peasants, while I get on with my reign... and my weekend. (PS: Have a nice day!)