Wow

That was crazy. The papers got it wrong. The television news got it wrong. Even the great mass of people on the street ended up confounded. How on Earth was that not a hung parliament? How did the Conservatives (no judgements at this point) get in with a majority? It seems most bizarre. No-one came even close to predicting this, although I suspected there would be a majority, but without knowing who would come out on top. Madness! Madness! It's even madness to be talking politics on the Quirky Muffin, but it was nominated as a topic and must be tackled.

Politics, the thorny issue that underpins the governance of our country and all others, and the greasy pole that all politicians try to climb to the very apex in order to better serve the country or service their own massive egos. Has it all gone wrong, or have we gone wrong? It would be far too easy to bury one's head in the sand and try to ignore the state of the world, but sometimes a little courage is needed to address reality as we see it. Is there anything wrong with the electoral system? Or is it something wrong with us? I would tend to believe in the latter idea, as the electoral system hasn't changed and we as a population have. Our reading age is constantly going down in the UK, in case you're curious, and we generally become more ignorant with every passing year. Does that sound arrogant or defeatist? In a land where I'm the odd one out in believing in unity and people working together instead of self-interested nationalism, anything is possible. Is it wrong to discredit alternative electoral systems as they encourage and expand representation of extremist parties? Probably, but it does make sense so to do. Odd one out, always.

People love to argue about what other people choose to believe in, never understanding that it is entirely possible to believe in multiple conflicting ideas at once. That is the great and rarely comprehended human ability to be irrational and rational and delusional in the same moment, preventing what would otherwise be a total nervous breakdown. Politics and religion are the most argued and divisive topics of all, as we tend to be intolerant and fearful of differences as a species instead of revelling in diversity. Diversity is wonderful. Why become so obsessed with building walls between ourselves instead of teaming up to enrich the society as a whole? Why, why, why? I'll never be a nationalist, as the whole concept seems to be fuelled by fear of others, by hatred and xenophobia. Is that wrong, too, or simplistic? Haven't most of the wars been caused by nationalism or its religious equivalent? Doubtlessly this is too naive an outlook, but people do get scared by what's different..

Anyway, wow, it was a shock result. Let's hope it turns out nicely, and that it's not going to be an asset stripping, service cutting, privatising nightmare. We can, at this point, only hope.

O.