1 of 1

Write now Article Tools

Page 2 of 2

for social reform allowing the poor and needy to have all the rights and dignity they deserve.

Some might ask 'why should I care?' We mostly have it good after all. We live in societies where such luxuries as cars and the internet are taken completely for granted. The answer to this is simple. Our basic human freedoms are being stripped away by those we elected, and they are being stripped away in a manner which would not be possible without the media creating a culture of fear within our society. In Britain we are constantly told of the impending doom which is threatening our very lives, brought about by shady terrorist organizations which exist within our very country. As a result, various pieces of legislation seem completely necessary to protect us from this evil : ID cards, information databases, surveillance measures and so on. Now roughly 20% of the world's CCTV cameras watch our daily lives as the horror of George Orwell's 1984 slowly become a reality. We are no longer seen as citizens by those in power, we are consumers. It is now our solemn duty to spend everything we earn to help the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Our views and opinions are controlled as much as possible to ensure that we stay loyal to our country, ignorant of the truth and subdued to inaction while our basic human rights are systematically removed without our knowledge.

Moreover, we should care about who we vote for because our governments have far reaching consequences for millions of people internationally. Britain has long been an empiricist, seeking to control entire nations for our own gain. After the British empire collapsed, western powers sought new methods of controlling nations, one which doesn't involve physical control. The USA is currently one of the biggest economic powers of the planet due mostly to the way in which it dictates the economies of many nations. Entire countries are stripped bare and sold off, at the same time destroying all rights of those who live there and removing all hope of a life which they deserve as human beings. In the west we have minimum wages so that everyone who works has a decent standard of living, we have social security so that even those without jobs can live out of poverty but such measures are far from the minds of the CEO's of multinational corporations who force people in poor countries to work tirelessly for an amount of money which can barely feed them. Over the years the USA has backed over 50 coups, replacing many democratically elected governments with those willing to sell off their country to US interests. Of course, the rich of such countries end up with the kind of lifestyle many would dream of at the expense of the millions of others forced into abject poverty. This is capitalism in action, generally carried out in the name of freedom and democracy. Or at least, we are told that such actions are carried out in the name of democracy by the media, and who are we to argue? It's not like anyone is going to go on holiday to Iraq now is it?

So what can we do about it? Thankfully we have something which no business or media can take away from us. We have democracy. In theory at least, but it can still be used. The person who rules our society is still the person who gets the most votes. So we need to vote with the knowledge of what is really happening in the world. We need to spread the knowledge of what our governments are really doing and create a sense of freedom and power that comes from being part of a democracy. We need to march against those who oppress the people of the world and remove them from the positions which they don't deserve. We don't just need to do this for ourselves, we need to do this for the concept of freedom to survive.

Learn more about this author, Angus Macdonald.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

• << previous page
• 1
• 2

Add your voice

Know something about UK Elections: Why it is our duty to vote for democracy and freedom?
We want to hear your view. Write now!