Tuesday 5 March 2024
Draping the canker
For a moment, the Abbé Mauduit found himself once more in the middle of the deserted drawing-room. He looked, through the wide open door, on the crush of guests; and vanquished, he smiled, he again cast the mantle of religion over this corrupt middle-class society, like a master of the ceremonies draping the canker, to stave off the final decomposition.
Émile Zola - Pot-Bouille (1882)
This is what the BBC does, it has usurped the role of Abbé Mauduit but on a much grander scale. Yet it’s one of those quotes which sets too many hares running as all the mainstream media do it.
As for the UK general election, the only question seems to be, which party colour do you prefer for draping the canker? Which political leader should take the role of Abbé Mauduit?
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9 comments:
It's astonishing that it has come to this. I look online and sample the mainstream media, and listen to what people in the cathedral congregation talk about. It appears that there are thousands of people who are still cheerleaders for the main parties. They actually believe that Starmer, or Sunak, or that odd pug-faced bloke who runs the Lib Dems, have some big secret which will make everything OK. Or at least much better than now.
Yet here I am, opining with people who think that the entire system is shot, and that something very seriously different needs to happen, but it probably won't. The main-party lot seem to be completely deluded, stupefied, and lacking some basic faculty of perception.
Sometimes I wonder whether it's me, or the world. I normally settle for the world, but it's good to keep an open mind.
I believe the political situation is such that the next General Election cannot resolve matters. There are too many vested interests trying to keep the gravy train running.
However I also believe that the political situation is such that the General Election after the next will see a substantial change. The gravy train is wobbly and won't contain enough gravy to run much longer.
So I hope that this General Election will unsettle the cosy incumbents (vote Reform or any other disruptive party) paving the way for real change at the next General Election.
In my heart of hearts I believe the disenchantment begun with BREXIT and the Boris Johnson pledge to 'get Brexit done'. And that was why Boris was 'managed' away from disrupting the gravy train. But hopefully a short term setback.
I propose draping the canker in that striking dress that Penny Someone wore at the Coronation. A most attractive colour. Teale?
Sam - I generally assume it's me and other sceptics and the world always was this gullible, dishonest and incompetent, always will be but usually not enough to cause serious collapse. Another assumption is that increased complexity causes increased incompetence and the "not enough to cause serious collapse" has become dodgy.
DJ - I agree, the next General Election cannot resolve matters, but what might happen afterwards feels very unpredictable. The vote could give us a pointer. A huge Labour victory would suggest that not enough voters realise that their vote cannot resolve anything. A narrow Labour victory would be more encouraging, but anything more constructive than that seems unlikely.
dearieme - apparently she's selling the dress because she can't wear it again for some reason. I don't think it's anything to do with canker though - hope not.
I think you're definitely right about increasing complexity causing increasing incompetence AK. And the enlarging of the reach of government is continuing to exacerbate this, to the point where government has broken down, or is perilously close to it.
Tammly - yes, government is trying to do far too much and failing. It's what the EU does, reaching too far into the detail. Our government should be drawing back from that but the habit seems to be too well established.
Shirley Penny Maudant can only sell that dress if she paid for it? If it was paid for by the taxpayer, so that she can carry out an official role at an official function, then any money raised from it's sale should go to the Treasury, where officials are, admittedly, looking for another deep hole to throw the money into.
Penseivat - she's quoted as saying she's selling it so maybe she bought it herself. If so she could auction it, but Eddie Izzard might buy it.
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