- 06 May 12, 22:54#302253
Race wins:181Drivers' titles:12Constructors' titles:8
Fantasy F1 Team = Bridewell Palace Racing
I have now found a small bit of time with which to air my political views.
I think there are many different factors which shape our political stance; our upbringing, our professions and where one fits into the class system to name but a few. My origins lie deep within a grim mill-town background in northern England, where hostility towards Conservatism is still very much part of life there, following the hardships of the Thatcher period. As a boy, like most other children in my town, I grew up with the idea that the Conservatives were nothing but trouble and did nothing for the working classes or their interests. This was my early political advice. I was born into the Thatcher era, was a little boy throughout Major's time, and grew up under New Labour and then, of course, the coalition.
Moving to London to pursue my chosen career taught me many things. Transferring away from home certainly does open one's eyes, and I learnt a lot in my student years. A team of professional actors is a highly interesting and diverse group of human beings. One cannot survive in the arts without being in possession of an open mind. Within the arts, there is little discrimination against race, sexuality, gender, etc. I think when one takes it upon oneself to read literature, poetry, plays and novels, you see the whole of human life in such a way as to make certain things seem obvious.
I'm kicking the tyres a little here, but what I mean is, the arts community is more or less distinctly left-wing. While right-wing supporters are far outnumbered in the arts, they are often people who've experienced no hardships or felt the need to fight for themselves or their work. A lucky few, to say the least. Most actors are part of the theatrical trade union (Equity) and campaign for better pay (a serious issue within this sector), working conditions, health and safety, pensions and such things.
Look at the work of Brecht, Orwell, Laurence, Osborne, Bennett, Dickens and even Shakespeare. All human life is there, and within it is contained a rallying cry against division, social injustice, oppression, etc. Issues still relevant today. Dickens slammed the appalling conditions of the working classes, yet thousands of children in the UK remain in poverty. Shakespeare wrote gay characters into his plays, and yet homophobia is still rife in certain areas of England. Orwell forewarned an era of censorship, and while totalitarianism seems a long way off, some of his predictions have become disturbing reality.
I feel I've not made a clear point, but the fact is the current crop of political parties are wholly unsatisfactory and wishy-washy. The Conservatives have drifted centre, and out of it all, odious organisations like UKIP have been allowed to grow - a cesspit of disillusioned Tories, who think the main force of the right-wing and the rich has gone too soft, and so they've jumped ship to pursue Victorian schooling, extreme national pride and the conservation of everything that should be "British"...a vague title, which has changed face many times over the centuries.
And then, you have New Labour, a confusing organisation which has long since abandoned its Socialist background and drifted centre also. I feel obliged to vote for this party, as they are the only force that'll give a realistic voice to those who haven't been "privileged" enough to be festooned with an Etonian discipline or a riotous few years in the Bullingdon Club. Even so, they are far from satisfactory.
But vote I do. Why? Because we have one, and it's there for us to have a voice. Our lives are, to a degree, in the hands of those who govern us, and I simply cannot pass up the chance to have my say.
The Arts sector has been trampled on and spat at by the Conservatives. The price of attending the theatre is enormous, as is training. Schemes to help young artists shape and develop their career have been lost in the mudslide of careless disinterest. I cannot, and never will, vote Conservative or any other vicious right wing establishment. There's nothing about the current situation, or in times past, that I wish to Conserve and so the way ahead for me is shiningly clear.
I think there are many different factors which shape our political stance; our upbringing, our professions and where one fits into the class system to name but a few. My origins lie deep within a grim mill-town background in northern England, where hostility towards Conservatism is still very much part of life there, following the hardships of the Thatcher period. As a boy, like most other children in my town, I grew up with the idea that the Conservatives were nothing but trouble and did nothing for the working classes or their interests. This was my early political advice. I was born into the Thatcher era, was a little boy throughout Major's time, and grew up under New Labour and then, of course, the coalition.
Moving to London to pursue my chosen career taught me many things. Transferring away from home certainly does open one's eyes, and I learnt a lot in my student years. A team of professional actors is a highly interesting and diverse group of human beings. One cannot survive in the arts without being in possession of an open mind. Within the arts, there is little discrimination against race, sexuality, gender, etc. I think when one takes it upon oneself to read literature, poetry, plays and novels, you see the whole of human life in such a way as to make certain things seem obvious.
I'm kicking the tyres a little here, but what I mean is, the arts community is more or less distinctly left-wing. While right-wing supporters are far outnumbered in the arts, they are often people who've experienced no hardships or felt the need to fight for themselves or their work. A lucky few, to say the least. Most actors are part of the theatrical trade union (Equity) and campaign for better pay (a serious issue within this sector), working conditions, health and safety, pensions and such things.
Look at the work of Brecht, Orwell, Laurence, Osborne, Bennett, Dickens and even Shakespeare. All human life is there, and within it is contained a rallying cry against division, social injustice, oppression, etc. Issues still relevant today. Dickens slammed the appalling conditions of the working classes, yet thousands of children in the UK remain in poverty. Shakespeare wrote gay characters into his plays, and yet homophobia is still rife in certain areas of England. Orwell forewarned an era of censorship, and while totalitarianism seems a long way off, some of his predictions have become disturbing reality.
I feel I've not made a clear point, but the fact is the current crop of political parties are wholly unsatisfactory and wishy-washy. The Conservatives have drifted centre, and out of it all, odious organisations like UKIP have been allowed to grow - a cesspit of disillusioned Tories, who think the main force of the right-wing and the rich has gone too soft, and so they've jumped ship to pursue Victorian schooling, extreme national pride and the conservation of everything that should be "British"...a vague title, which has changed face many times over the centuries.
And then, you have New Labour, a confusing organisation which has long since abandoned its Socialist background and drifted centre also. I feel obliged to vote for this party, as they are the only force that'll give a realistic voice to those who haven't been "privileged" enough to be festooned with an Etonian discipline or a riotous few years in the Bullingdon Club. Even so, they are far from satisfactory.
But vote I do. Why? Because we have one, and it's there for us to have a voice. Our lives are, to a degree, in the hands of those who govern us, and I simply cannot pass up the chance to have my say.
The Arts sector has been trampled on and spat at by the Conservatives. The price of attending the theatre is enormous, as is training. Schemes to help young artists shape and develop their career have been lost in the mudslide of careless disinterest. I cannot, and never will, vote Conservative or any other vicious right wing establishment. There's nothing about the current situation, or in times past, that I wish to Conserve and so the way ahead for me is shiningly clear.
Race wins:181Drivers' titles:12Constructors' titles:8
Fantasy F1 Team = Bridewell Palace Racing
