So Saturday Icelanders went to the polls and elected themselves a couple a new people and a lot of the same old pack.
Whoopdeefuckindoo.
I spent the day cleaning up both "my" garden and the upstairs neighbor's garden, put a second coat of paint and some more plaster up in my kitchen, studied for my tests, did laundry, and cleaned the place up.
All this after putting up a sign about the futility of elections in the driveway right across from the polling station.
I spent the day with a slightly guilty feeling of moral superiority.
After all, I don't vote. I don't vote because I hate having to choose the lesser of multiple evils, and because taking part in such a system legitimizes said evils. Basically, I have to go with Ol' George Carlin on this one. Its not people who don't vote who "can't complain", its the people that do. After all, they took part in and helped legitimize this bullshit.
I had planned on the sign reading "The definition of irrationality is to do the same thing over and over but expect different results", 'cause really, in the long run, that's what politics is. It didn't quite fit.
Then later that night, Ragnar unexpectedly arrived from Caracas looking to hit the town. So I met him at Rosenberg, listened to a great concert, started blowing money on beer, went with him to friggin' B5 of all places (where my intense hatred of all things Yuppie nearly got me thrown out), then English pub (where I blew 3000+ krona on the magical beer spinny thingy) and finally wound up on my own at Dubliner, where I proceeded to get my Capt. Ahab on*.
It didn't work.
I wound up tired and cranky and broke at 7am in friggin Amsterdam of all places before finally deciding to haul my ass home.
Now, going out to see a friend I rarely get to see is one thing. Going out a concert, ditto. But I don't even like going out when I'm shizzle-faced anymore.
But I keep doing it.
Following exactly the same pattern.
Hoping beyond hope that this time the result will be different. Some heavenly creature will fall into my arms and all will be hearts and orgasims.
Just like the voters I quietly mocked earlier that day.
Hey, I'm black kettle...
* C'on! If you can't figure that one out, you're reading the wrong blog...
1 comment:
I disagree that elections are pointless. I just think most people misunderstand what they are for.
In an election in a place like Iceland, you don't actually have the power to vote FOR any ideas or policies, because those are decided in negotiation between the parties that together form a coalition government.
You can hope to influence the relative weight of different collections of potential policies in said negotiations, but that's a bit like trying to use an inflatable hammer to fix a watch. You might get lucky, but that's about it...
However, what the general public can do in an election, is get rid of people who cause trouble. And that seems to have worked, neither Framsókn nor Sjálfstæðisflokkurinn are part of the current coalition.
So, the system works, after a fashion. Calling it democracy is misleading at best, but it's miles better than a dictatorship...
...
Regarding the getting drunk with friends: I'm glad we got a chance to do a little of that while I was in Iceland. More next time! :-)
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