Some thoughts to ponder

Professor of politics, John Keane of the University of Sydney, writes: “ Young citizens see few intelligent political leaders who speak their language, actively represent their interests and work for equitable political change. For many 'liberal democracy' is phantom democracy, a game played by rich and powerful men trading in broken promises. They see that 'Big Money' and 'Big Lobbying' disproportionately win, and that the rhythms of parliamentary government are out of whack with environmental catastrophes. Parliamentary democracy seems reactive, dragged down by its inability to address large domestic & cross border issues. Especially worrying, many young people say, is the growing resort to executive rule. From drones & nuclear weapons to imposed fiscal austerity and environmental policy, decisions of basic importance to the lives of millions of people are being decided [or blocked] arbitrarily behind closed doors.” Whether he is right or not, the decline in 'Party' membership coupled with the decline in the numbers bothering to vote means that our leaders should be giving these thoughts very serious consideration. It is all very well for pensioners like the writer of this post to be politically active & turn out to vote but we are not the future.