The Government.
I think our idea of what a government should stand for, is wrong.
Yes, I'm V for Vendetta's biggest fan, but it's true:
People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people.
We need a government, especially in this individualistic society of ours. The world is so big, with so many people. We need to be kept safe, to have roads and schools and hospitals, to pay taxes to support the young, the old, the disabled... There's no doubt, there will always and must always be a power at the top. And, of course, I believe democracy is the best way to do it.
The government here in Australia (and Queensland- we got a double dose) has a lot of people riled up. They're not really representing anyone- making cuts everywhere, increasing taxes, killing the environment. No one I speak to is happy. I, like so many others, are angry at them every day. There's been marches going on stating a non-confidence in the government's policies, and petitions against policies with more than 8 million signatures.. which have led to the government just ignoring and carrying on anyway.
Obviously not everyone is going to be happy with all of a governments' decisions- it's just not feasible. But if a government can ignore 8 million votes of non confidence (out of, what, 22 million people in Australia?!), and just go ahead and wreck the country anyway- what is the point of such a body of power?
Government should reflect the public's views, and lead. Not control. Not keep people blind to what is going on in the world, and not instill fear.
The drinking laws here just allows me to explain part of my point. The price of alcohol (and cigarettes, for that matter) here is out of hand; they pile tax upon tax to try to stop people from drinking. Clubs have to lock people out after a certain time in the morning, have to stop serving after a certain time, and have various crazy restrictions and licensing laws. Some pubs aren't letting people with tattoos come into drinking venues. We aren't allowed to drink in public. There are strict lines on the ground that you're allowed to stand in if you have a drink in your hand. These are some of the strictest, and most enforced rules in the world. And you know what? The way Australians drink is just embarrassing. We don't hold our liquor at all! We (yes, me too), just binge drink like crazy. We drink to get drunk. It's not social drinking. We pre-drink heaps so that we don't have to buy drinks out, because they are just too expensive. We buy a bottle of bourbon, for example, rather than premixes, because those have extra tax. Whereas, I've seen with my own eyes, people in Europe before a concert just casually having a few beers in the beergarden out the front of the venue, drinking slowly and socially. I've seen people walking up the road with a beer no worries, or people having some wine in a park. And it's not a big deal! I would love to see stats on binge drinking, alcohol poisoning and alcoholism between a freer country and ours. I would assume that we Australians are the bigger idiots.
And I think the fact that we're told not to, and it's made a big deal of, is a contributing factor. Now, I don't want to see 11 year olds drinking- they should enforce a drinking age, because kids are not mentally capable yet to make an informed decision about taking drugs. But, I am an adult. I know the risks of alcohol, and weed, and cigarettes, and not wearing a helmet, and crossing rail tracks, and the list goes on. But fact is: I am capable of making my own decisions, and should be allowed to- provided they don't hurt anyone else! They should tax alcohol a little bit I suppose, to raise some funds to educate people in school/through advertising, about the proven risks of drinking. That's great. But if in the end, I decide that I want to go for a walk in the park with a beer in my hand, I should be allowed to. If I decide to go out partying, and drink with friends and stay out until 6am, I should be allowed to. If I'm being drunk and disorderly and upsetting some families, sure, the police should pull me into line. But if I'm hurting no one else, my right to make decisions about what I do, who I see, where I go and whether I drink, should not be taken from me.
Alcohol is one example. We're controlled, in every way. What we say, do, wear.. I just feel like my body and mind is being controlled, by a power I've elected (well, not me personally. God, don't blame me for that!) to lead, and take some taxes from me to bring up the next generation in the best way possible- that is- free and informed, and to look after the elderly, and students, etc. No one questions it critically, we just have a whinge. No one stands up for their rights, we all just get butt-fucked.
And it's easier than ever for us to be controlled. Social media companies are selling information to the government. That should not be happening. My every move is traceable; my thoughts, feelings, things I'm interested in and opinions easily detectable, who I see and where I go can just be looked up.
I just hate it. A government should be helpful, supportive and attentive- not fear-instilling and controlling. It's just history repeating itself once more. It's people becoming depressed and anxious, or just distracting themselves with useless material possessions, or the world of video games, or sex, or dumbass TV, because we're all so God damn unhappy. We're hardly human. A major discerning factor of our species is our ability to THINK. To critically analyse, and make decisions. But it's being taken away from us more or less. I don't feel like anyone is LIVING, truly LIVING. With choice, and risk, and survival, and real human emotion. I'm certainly not, and I feel like a fucking rat in a cage. A rat with a big flat screen or something, but still a rat.
^^ Well hell, that conclusion was intelligent, haha. End rant. I feel slightly better.
