I shied away from writing anything about this year’s election a little bit. It seemed like a bit of an obvious topic, and I’m sure that the very few of you who haven’t reached saturation point with politics (and perhaps more accurately politicians…) are well on your way.
But then it got to now – the weeks following the general election – and it seemed sillier not to have written something. I’ve been scribbling down quotes for the last month or two as I came across them, with half an eye on writing a piece on the election. But then I got to thinking – I didn’t want to tell you how I’m voting, or how you should vote, we’re all adults and we’ve all got our own key issues and ideas on that. So, instead of an opinion piece (I was thinking about the possible ramifications of the pro-United Kingdom parties rightly or wrongly demonising the nationalist parties pre-election), I thought I would just share with you the quotes that I’ve noted down. You can decide how (or even if) they apply to your mindset around this election – but they all chimed in some way with mine. Enjoy.
1. “People like Coldplay and voted for the Nazis. You can’t trust people.” – Peep Show’s Super Hans on the voting public.
2. “It’s like Shawshank Redemption – only with more shovelling through shit and no f*cking redemption”. – Malcolm Tucker, an absolute hero of mine, on working in politics.
3. “Power resides where men believe it resides. It’s a trick, a shadow on the wall.” Petyr Baelish, ‘Littlefinger’ in Game of Thrones
4. “I have so many ideas. Some are simple, like bring down traffic lights and eliminate the Post Office. The bigger ones will be tougher, like ‘bring all this crumbling to the ground’”. Parks & Rec’s Ron Swanson on working in government
5. “If you put yourself in a group of people that you cannot work with, then it’s obviously going to be a disaster”. David Cronenberg on making films (or coalition governments…)
6. “People never lie so much as after a hunt, during a war, or before an election” Otto Von Bismarck, who knew about all those things
7. The healthiest competition occurs when average people win by putting above average effort”. Colin Powell
8. “The Government should not prop up a failed business. That would be like giving food to a dying animal instead of properly utilising its meat and pelt.” Ron Swanson, again.
9. “People are smart. They can handle it.”
“A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky, dangerous animals”. Tommy Lee Jones in Men in Black
10. “The best argument against democracy is a five minute conversation with the average voter.” Winston Churchill
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