Vote? Does It Matter?

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Green Tea

Politics. Don’t fall out with your friends about it. Don’t talk about it. Thing is,  at varying levels, we all do. Most of us are talking from a point of little real knowledge of what is going on at the seat of Government. We tend to have our own, often ill-informed ideas, and we tend to read or listen or watch the media channels that reinforce our political views and values.

Winston Churchill once said “It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried.”  It’s a valid statement, in that in democracies, we often feel that we don’t get any real say in what happens; that the politicians that are supposed to represent us don’t; that said politicians say one thing, and do another; that it really doesn’t matter who we vote for, or even if we vote at all, as nothing ever really changes anyway.

What are the alternatives? Perhaps the best one would be that which doesn’t exist – a truly benevolent dictator, who had everyone’s best interests at heart.

Still it is important to vote, even if we end up with pretty much the status quo. By not voting, not only has the individual greatly lessened their own claim to whine about the state of the nation, but also increased the possibility of letting in an extreme fruitcake instead, who is usually even less likely to represent their interests!

My Thoughts on Superbowl Sunday

IanI’m not a sports fan. Period. Occasionally, I’ll watch a bit of F1 or cricket, but it’s barely more than a fleeting glance. Why am I writing this post then? It’s really in response to a friends Facebook posting in which she bemoans all the disdain exhibited about the event.  Yes, Superbowl is Superhype. One of those things that the American media excels itself in.

It’s full of over-commercialism. Everyone and their dog that can make a buck or two goes all out for it, to the point (and beyond) of tacky.

Some make more of the Half-Time Performance than the game itself.

The players arguably make way too much money. Of course, the money comes from all that commercialism, in various ways.

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But wait a minute…

Many folks actually enjoy following their team, and for them to appear at the Superbowl is THE big event of the year. Possibly bigger than Christmas even. It’s like one big national party. Even people that don’t follow football enjoy the party atmosphere, or at least the beer and snacks.

Talking of too much money, if some football players earn too much, what about some actors and musicians?   Lets not forget those at the top of those huge faceless corporations. Heck some of those CEOs really don’t seem to deserve their pay given their lacklustre performances!

So, I don’t watch these big sporting events, because it’s really not my thing, but I certainly wouldn’t look down on those that do.

New Year Resolutions?

I’ve always poo-pooed the idea. Why? Well, we make resolutions to improve some part of our lives, or those around us, and it seldom lasts beyond the end of January, let alone a year. Furthermore, shouldn’t we making such resolutions all year through, not on some arbitary date?

Having said that, I think I’ll try a few this time around.

  1. Be nicer. I mean, I’m not inherently evil, but perhaps I should make an effort to complain less, and smile more.
  2. Lose weight. Yeah, that old chestnut. Well, since my return from the US, I’ve put on 30lbs, and I really need to lose 50lb to regain my ideal weight. I’m going to try harder. No stupid ‘diets’. Just portion control, and more sensible food choices more of the time.
  3. Save more. Add more to my pension pot, save more for a rainy day. I’ve already made a start on that, by going to the pub a lot less (which helps #2 above too, of course).
  4. Be more productive. That means making better use of my time outside of current job. There never seems to be enough hours in the day to do everything I want to do as it is, so trimming the fat (no not referring to #2 above this time), is a good idea.

Happy 2015 to y’all.