WELCOME TO THE DRAYTON BIRD BLOG - Commonsense about marketing, business and life

Leave now if easily shocked or politically correct. Otherwise, please leave your comments. Statements such as "brilliant", "hugely perceptive", "what a splendid man" and "can I buy you dinner at the restaurant of your choice" are all greeted with glee.

If you like, I'll e-mail you each new dollop of drivel when I publish it. Just click here to subscribe. If you want to succeed faster, get my 101 helpful marketing ideas, one every 3 days. People love them - maybe because they're free. Go to www.draytonbirdcommonsense.com and register. You also a get a free copy of the best marketing book ever written

Tuesday 24 June 2008

Who will bring these remote, irresponsible, money-grubbing wretches to account?

Did you, like me, jump for joy when the Irish said “No” to the European constitution, misleadingly re-packaged as the Lisbon Treaty?

Are you, like me, enraged by the way our lives are constantly being interfered with by bureaucrats we never elected?

Do you, like me, feel the liberties our ancestors died for and we took for granted are being stolen away one by one?

Do you, like me, feel that the world is more and more being divided between us and them.

Who are they?

The opinion formers, the pundits, the politicians, the committee members, the Eurocrats, those who know better.

The great European scam is only one example, where out of all the many millions affected throughout Europe, only in one small country, Ireland, were the people allowed to give their views. In every other case we were just told, “This may stink to high heaven and taste nauseating, but it is good for you. Swallow it.”

And when the Irish said “no” the bureaucrats said, “Never mind the rules, we’re going ahead anyhow, because we make up the rules to suit ourselves. Go away, stupid Irish who don't know what's good for you as well as we do and we'll wait for you to come to your senses."

For those not involved, I should explain that a while ago a European constitution was formulated by the people who run Europe – people who are not elected but nominated. (The parliament is just a talking shop with no power, populated by failed national politicians - mostly crooks who fiddle their expenses.)

This new constitution involved Europe taking control of a number of important areas – like defence and foreign policy - from the individual member countries. When it was put to the vote it was rejected in some countries, so the wretches in charge repackaged it with a new name - even they admitted it retained 97% of the original, some even boasted of how they had fooled us - and re-presented in a way that allowed them to push it through without a vote. This the reptiles – Gordon Brown is one, naturally – did.

Happily, the Irish constitution made this illegal, and they alone voted – with a big “no”.

Some dictatorial Brussels Sprouts suggested the Irish didn't know what they were voting against. There are two answers. One is that they were teaching the odious bossy Sprouts a lesson. The other is that if they didn't understand it is because the Sprouts deliberately avoided explaining it clearly.

In many countries in Europe, notably Germany and France, there is a tradition of central control. In fact the closest thing to the current European arrangement was proposed by a certain A. Hitler, also to be put through without a vote. Prior to that, N. Buonaparte had a try.

But many nations, especially the Scandinavian ones, have a more democratic tradition. Significantly the Danes have never joined the Eurozone, and seem none the worse for it - in fact for the last two years they were voted the happiest place in the world. (And as an aside, if you want to be a Danish citizen you have to speak Danish).

But in nearly all countries, no matter how they are run, I suspect there is a growing gap between those who run things and the rest of us.

We ask ourselves why thieving bankers are given millions as a reward for ruining our lives. We wonder why the difference between the salaries of the bosses and the workers gets greater every year, even though the bosses have screwed things up. We wonder why our voices are heard less and less. We wonder why when elections come the choice is too often between equally unpalatable alternatives. We wonder why central power ignores local needs and overrides local views.

We ask ourselves why the simple, obvious, right things are not done, and the stupid ones are. Why are millions pissed away on silly "initiatives", while soldiers go ill-equipped into battles we never should have fought? Why are the trains slower and the postal service far worse now than they were 100 years ago? Why do we pay hundreds of thousands to protect fanatics who would destroy us without a thought - and have urged others to do so.

“Every action has an equal and opposite reaction."

In 1848 there was a great rising in many European countries which sought to change the autocratic way of things. Today in Europe the move towards central control is resented by many. This country itself is increasingly run by diktat, where central planners constantly override local views.

You can tell there is a real problem because the jargon-mongers have coined an ugly new word for all this: it is called a "disconnect". We are disconnected from our rulers. Rather, they have uncoupled their luxurious Pullman car from our crowded cattle wagons.

I wonder what form the reaction to all this will take.

Will it be the terrorist way - blow things up and kill people as there is no alternative? If we are not allowed to vote on things that affect us, what choices will we have in the end?

blog comments powered by Disqus