Not one hundred years ago, in most countries of the world, women were not allowed to vote because they were considered too "hysterical" to form an opinion. The etymology of the word means "from the womb" meaning in other words that women needed a good "cavorting", then back to the kitchen with them. Are things that different today?
UK, Bombs Away! What again? Yes ladies and gentlemen there goes the US-led alliance bombing people again, imposing freedom and democracy from 30,000 feet in the sky, this time supported by the Gulf Cooperation Council (Saudi Arabia, where women cannot eat with forks because, and I quote, "A woman putting four hard prongs into her mouth at mealtimes can give a man bad ideas", Qatar, with its equally abominable human rights record, Bahrein, with an even worse human rights record, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates, with a human rights record that is better but by no means "kosher").
And of course, after a vote in Parliament, Britain is in, as we can see on British television interviews with members of the public who look the camera full in the face and yell "Gi' it to 'em" (Give it to them). Here in the USA, it would be "Give them Hell!" And of course France, eager to bomb in Iraq but less so in Syria.
So here we go again, ladies and gentlemen, bombing the crap out of regions thousands of miles away from the US of A, thousands of miles away from the United Kingdom and France, its new bedpal. Bombing the crap out of houses and homes and roads and vehicles and hotels and schools and hospitals, once again. Targeting the bad guys but whoops! Sorry! Oh deary me, shucks! Didn't mean to, eh what? Bombing children, blasting the faces off kids, blasting the legs off babies, destroying maternity wards, strafing homes for the mentally ill. Precision bombing they call it, and we have seen it all before. KA-BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM! (screams) Welcome to Washington's external policy. This is after all the development they promised at Gleneagles, the 0.7 per cent of their GDP.
We have seen it in Afghanistan where wedding parties were bombed because people were firing Kalash's into the air (as people do in that part of the world), we have seen it in Iraq where the Shock and Awe campaign ranked among the most inhumane massacres in history, cheerleaders who else? The US of A and its wannabe sidekick, the UK. We have seen it in Libya where NATO forces accused Muammar al-Qathafi of strafing his own people (lies) but then they themselves took part in an internal conflict, aided terrorist forces against the Libyan authorities and once again used military hardware against civilian structures.
And the word "terrorist" is pertinent, because the Government of His Excellency President Saddam Hussein al-Tikriti was keeping terrorists out of Iraq, just as the Government of Muammar al-Qathafi was keeping terrorists out of Libya, just as the Government of Bashar al-Assad is trying to keep terrorists out of Syria.
And there goes the West once again, involving itself in a complex region, trying to enter Syria this time by the back door, after allowing Islamic State to form in the void which the West created.
Back to the word politics, and back to etymology. The origin of the word "Politics" is the Greek, Politikós, meaning pertaining to citizens. And here we go...
One hundred years ago women were not allowed to vote because, it was felt, they needed, and I apologize, a good "cavorting" in bed, and as such they had no participation whatsoever in the affairs of State. They networked, they became politically active, they managed to bring their cause to the front line of politics and then won the right to vote.
Alongside women, workers' movements and social movements won victories which are enshrined in the Constitutions or status quo visible in all societies today: universal healthcare, universal education, women's rights, children's rights. These were victories won with the blood of heroes representing the four corners of the Earth, from Australia to America, from Russia to England, from Cape Town to Copenhagen.
These were victories which were the result of heroic efforts by extraordinary, selfless, brave and visionary people, men and women, providing for a better and more dignified life for the generations which were to follow.
Hitler and his minions ruined the next generation, but the victories remained. After the storm had passed, the Social (Welfare) State, providing public services for all, appeared, along with universal healthcare programs, universal education programs, the gains that had been won with blood, sweat and tears seemed to be sacrosanct. While the Soviet Union and COMECON existed, providing these public services for free or at heavily subsidized prices, the West followed suit.
In the Soviet Union and the countries which asked for its support, education was free, at all levels (primary, middle, secondary and higher), healthcare was provided for free, many Westerners went to the USSR for treatment because it was excellent, a job was guaranteed, meaning zero unemployment, a house was guaranteed, meaning zero homelessness. There was safety on the streets, there was security of the State, there was meritocracy, there were youth movements, there weren't serious drugs problems or porn or paedophilia. No western filth.
When the Soviet Union and its system was gone from the political scene after the voluntary dissolution of the Union, things started to fall apart the world over. Education became a business, healthcare became a business, public services have been eroded, the right to work has disappeared, giving way to a situation in which the entire work market has become slave labor.
Increasingly, to get a job you have to work for free as an intern, or else pay for an induction course, which does not guarantee you a job. The interns get two 6-month prolongations of their work contracts if they are lucky then a boot up the posterior before the permanent contract is to be signed. The result is that the entire work market has been undermined. Those who get jobs are those willing to work 18 hours a day for the minimum wage, and when it is time for the permanent contract to be signed, they are replaced.
This happens in journalism, this happens in medicine, this happens in commerce, in engineering, you name it.
As regards getting a house, as regards getting an education, as regards getting healthcare, as regards having a secure professional and personal life, as regards being able to walk around the streets near your house as and when you wish, the bottom line in the West is the word "drama".
On the international front, how many more wars and bombing campaigns are the western "democracies" going to get involved in and to what extent do the citizens of these countries agree with another bombing campaign? To what extent are the daily lives of the citizens affected in the countries responsible for the appearance of Islamic State through their own incompetence and illegal intrusion in the sovereign State of Iraq? To what extent have these citizens been given access to the political process, to the decision-making process and the discussion process around the decision to bomb?
Have things changed much since a century ago? No, they have not. Today the voters are involved, not respected, once every four or five years before an election campaign when they are fed lies and promises, which are broken, and are excluded from the entire decision-making process during the term of the Assembly or Parliament. How democratic is that?
It is as democratic as the exclusion of women from the vote a century ago, since when we have had two horrific world wars. The people are today as far away from the political process as back then and the result is the fewer people involved in policy-making, the worse the policies are. Let us just take a look at the world around us.
Photo: Emily Davison, Sufragette, heroine for women's rights, martyr
Timothy Bancroft-Hinchey
Pravda.Ru
(timothy.hinchey@gmail.com)
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