Don't make your vote reactionary. Please.

I want to talk about politics. Which is surprising really, considering that politics is a major influence in all of our lives, whether we like it or not and whether we pay attention to it or not. I know that less than a year ago, I didn't. Not really. It was boring and a profession filled with old and women who never really seemed to be able to get it together or even make sensible decisions. Nothing's really changed. I still don't think they ever really manage to make sensible decisions. But I have changed my mind about the people themselves. They're not all old and they're certainly not all stupid.

I could say that all politicians should be unbiased. I could say it but I shouldn't. And that's because of one simple fact. That's because it's impossible. No one in the world can be completely unbiased in any situation. There is no such thing as impartiality. Which presents us with a problem. If impartiality is impossible, then surely so is objectivity. If everything is subjective, then not only is politics subjective but so are politicians and the decisions that they make. If the decisions that they make are not subjective, then they must have been influenced by something. In some cases, that is all too clear. For instance, the motivations behind the war in Iraq. The foremost reason was, of course, the terroist attacks on the World Trade Centre. A tragedy, certainly, but also the catalyst for a larger series of events. The second reason; oil. The third reason; could it be neo-Conservatism? I, personally, think that Leo Strauss was insane. I think that his ideas were cruel and unusual. The only problem is that his theories were completely flawless. He was quite correct that people can be brought together by a common enemy. But positing the idea that said enemy could be manufactured? That creating a scapegoat was an acceptable method of uniting a country? That, in my mind, in just wrong.

Now, whether or not you agree that this is what President Bush did when convincing both his own country and the UK to go to war, I'm sure we can agree that blaming a large group of mainly innocent people is wrong. Blame the individuals within that group and deal with them how you must, if you must. But don't kill innocents. It's not right and in the long run, it'll hurt your cause, not help it.

In UK politics, I can see a case where the motivations are perhaps not so clear. Well, they are, but I don't really want to believe them. They make me feel sick. I feel even sicker when I realise that these people may, very soon, given the upcoming election, be governing the country in which I live in, the country that, despite its many faults, I love.

The Conservative Party. I'm sure some of you support them and some of you don't. Fair enough. I can understand why you would. I don't. I don't understand the mindset which promotes fox hunting and lower taxes at the cost of low student fees. Yes, I'm biased. I don't want to have to pay a higher student fee just because people want lower taxes. But that's because of one simple reason. You can afford the taxes you're paying now. You can afford them for the same reason that you have to pay them. You have a job. I don't. It's not from lack of trying. I have fourteen GCSEs, seven of them As. I recieved three As and one B in my AS levels. Not boasting, just simple facts. Facts that still won't get me a job. Not in a recession. I can't afford the student loans I'll have to get when I go to university in September. But I'll have to go, otherwise I'll never get a job. And anyway, I want to go. Then there's fox hunting. There is a ban on fox hunting for a reason. If you remove that ban... Well, it's tatamount to murder. Actually, forget that. It is murder. It will be murder. If the Conservatives get into power, they have promised to try and lift the ban. Again, I just don't understand the mindset. Foxes are beautiful creatures. They have feelings, they're intelligent, and they're gentle creatures when not provoked. Then there's the treatment of the hounds. By nature, they're docile creatures. Bred to be vicious and treated badly, trained to attack foxes, their very nature is perverted by simple human sadism. Hunting is not a sport. It's barbaric. It's hurtful to the foxes and it's hurtful to the hounds. Surely the law should be tightened, not removed.

And if you don't believe me, check out this man's site : http://brianmay.com/brian/brianssb/brianssb.html
Brian May is the guitarist from the well-loved and insanely talented rock band Queen. He's also a man who feels very passionately about animal rights and believes strongly that fox hunting is wrong. He's very persuasive. He's also right.

So please; don't make your vote reactionary. Don't vote Conservative just because you dislike Labour or because you're unsatisfied with the way our country is being run. Don't forget, it's not just Parliament. It's all of you. You make this country, not politicians. That's what a democracy is. The sum of its parts. I can't tell you who to vote for, although I know who I'll be voting for and it won't be the Conservative party. Just think before you vote. Take the time to find out all the facts. I'm genuinely terrified for this country. You should be too.