| The Art of Shoeing |
| You will probably associate this picture with the saying "A great shoe fits not a little foot", although I'd personally prefer "Let the cobbler stick to his last". Be this as it may, I'd like to urge you never to allow yourself to be put on the defensive. Make a full-blooded switch to a radically different topic if you must, having first said "I know what you mean". |
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I have no idea what came first, God or the curse, but voting is more or less the same thing: it used to be compulsory and that's something you never get over. The difference with the old days is that now one wonders why, having omitted to do what one is supposed to do. As a concerned citizen I would nevertheless suggest that we contribute in alternative ways even if our obsession with filing objections does not meet with acclaim. It remains very much to be seen whether as citizens we would actually like it if our opinions were taken to heart, for you can bet that I'll feel wonderfully cleansed once I have completed this article even without looking forward to any response. It is not unlikely that it is my irrepressible need for compensation which has instilled in me this urge to contribute to the havoc which the political scene has the electorate wreak. In so far as it is abject disenchantment with the incumbent administration, there is a risk that those who have ideas of an alternative solution might shy away from political freebooting, as the complexity of social business - that fine euphemism for politics - far and away exceeds the simplicity of sound-minded citizens. There's so much to be good at that the straightforward feeling of civic well-being is simply snowed under. That this insight has reached even the most elevated political circles is reflected in the use of the word "condoning", which has been thrown down by way of a last resort, to turn the tide of increasing criticism, but which has been misapplied or rather, which has been excessively linked to illegal appendages and more in general, to the ailing enforcement policy of the government itself. It's fine that something should be done about it, but by all means find a better heading than "condoning". The deeper meaning is much more positive: the complement of compromise. As citizens we suffer the concordant implausibilities of election programmes, hankering for the negotiation skills of our role models. We are aware of having at least partially to tolerate the interests of others by way of national policy. In fact, we have to tell ourselves that it would be most unsavoury if we didn't. All we need to do is stand by this and success should be ours, thanks to genuine condoning. But I should stop distracting you. Let me suggest the following, to get the ball rolling: - An additional box is added to the ballot paper for the voter to colour in in so far as he or she is unable to identify with any of the parties. This would avoid the conscientious voter having to stoop to an alternative which he considers to be less objectionable than any of the others as well as making it clear whether the changing patterns of electoral behaviour, if any, are accounted for by the attraction of what's new and "on the bias" or by rejection of the incumbent coalition. Of course one need not necessarily rule out the other, but it might considerably clarify the insight into what the silent majority think. - The urgent establishment of a Civic Council whose members are under the obligation to say out loud what many secretly think but dare not share with others because it is illegal, incorrect or simply "not on". In the current situation too much time goes by before a serious problem finally surfaces. Sometimes it takes years before the shit hits the fan due to the fact that despite many years of strategic bandying about, we still refer to "bell ringers" when someone finally blows the lid off some scandal or other, and that person will survive only if he or she has the opportunity to resort to blackmail. The members of this Intolerable Council should be granted immunity in respect of such topics as they are charged with. They could be seen as the mouthpiece of partially dubious Dutchmen and women who in their heart of hearts would prefer striking an acceptable compromise between their own inability and that of someone else, as long as they're allowed to talk about it out loud. To get back to the footwear metaphor, the shoe is something which best performs when paired off with its twin. Two recommendations should therefore more than suffice for a non-sectoral extravagance to render my involvement as a Dutch citizen plausible until the next elections. |