I fear for our politicians in the era of crowd domination

When we returned to the air, the argument continued again. In fact, I think we both enjoyed the game. This is how it should always be – it’s a business, it’s not personal.

For example, I can’t stand Sinn Féin but I still have plenty of time for Louise O’Reilly. I just wish she was in the job rather than the Shinners.

The same goes for Richard Boyd Barrett – although I have more than a furtive suspicion that my reluctant respect for him is not reciprocated. But that’s okay, we’re all big boys (and girls) and if you can’t stand the harshness of being in politics or the media then there are always other career paths to follow. .

But the past few months seem to have witnessed a massive deterioration in the respect that existed between politicians and the people. The murder of Tory MP David Amess by a suspected Islamist terrorist is one of the most shocking things many of us have heard about in a long time – well, certainly since Jo Cox was so cruelly murdered by the cowardly fascist Thomas Mair.

Amess was a devout Catholic, he was pro-life and against same-sex marriage. He was also a strong advocate for animal rights and was one of the very few Conservative MPs to campaign against the fox hunt. In other words, he was a man of principle and it was striking to see so many Labor MPs paying homage to him the day after his death.

They might not have shared his point of view on many issues, but many of them said how nice and kind he was and that he was always ready to give advice and advice to newcomers. deputies, regardless of their party affiliation.

It was a testament to the man’s decency – in fact, even though he had voted against same-sex marriage, his Labor opponent, Chris Bryant, pointed out in the Commons that: “Although I never convinced David on the issue of same-sex marriage, he always asked after my husband.

But in these increasingly fractured and balkanized political times, where someone with opposing views is automatically judged not only wrong, but positively bad, the mere fact of being a decent human being with a set of values. different is no longer sufficient.

Put it this way, when the ghastly Angela Rayner felt happy to say that the Conservatives were all “scum” she was simply representing the growing opinion that anyone who does not share your values ​​should be exposed. Frankly, I still don’t know what’s worse – Rayner’s heinous insults in the schoolyard or the fact that she had the temerity to pay homage to a man she called a scum the week before.

A perfect illustration of the degradation of our society came with a tweet from transgender activist Eli Erlick, who posted: “Did he deserve to die? Probably not. Will people in Britain be better off because of his death? Definitely yes. “

But it is not just the UK that is suffering from this degradation of the debate – we ourselves are moving quickly in that direction.

Over the past few months, we have seen mobs invade the private homes of politicians like Leo Varadkar, Simon Harris and Stephen Donnelly to harass them and intimidate their families.

On these occasions, crowds have been anti-vaxxers, but ultimately any group of demented extremists will now feel emboldened to swing up to a stranger’s front door and start shouting curses. in the mailbox.

It is now reaching a point where young people will soon decide that politics, with its long antisocial hours and the inevitable abuse associated with it, is simply not worth it. It is a major issue for democracy.

American journalist Greg Gutfeld used to joke that in 15 years there will be no politician under 50 because they were caught talking nonsense on social media when they were children. But it’s now gone beyond that – it’s not the silly posts they may have made, it’s the current trend of vile abuse and death threats that make a career in politics so unattractive.

We are entering the era of mob rule where various crazy, eccentric and disaffected feel free to do and say whatever they want about someone they have never met and that is. become completely corrosive. I sincerely fear for the future of democracy.

How long before one of the invading Irish mobs decides to do to his target what the murderer did to the late David Amess?

Trump’s tribute to Powell proves he’s just a horrible individual

Speaking of dead politicians – my, what a happy chronicle we have today! – I was saddened to see the death of Colin Powell.

I always thought he or Condoleeza Rice would have made good presidents. They were measured, thoughtful, intelligent and astute. I’m not sure any of this can be said about a real president, Donald Trump, whose reaction to Powell’s death was barely concealed joy.

In his ‘tribute’, Trump called Powell RINO (Republican In Name Only), then complained about affectionate obituaries in the media before adding, for good measure: “He made a lot of mistakes! in Iraq, however, may he rest in peace!

I’m in the odd position that I would have supported Biden against Trump if he had run for Hillary Clinton, but if I had voted in the last election I would have gone for Trump because Biden is clearly unfit to occupy a position at this stage. to organise. Frankly, he’s just embarrassing.

But Trump just can’t help it. I never joined the whole visceral Never Trump movement and history will be more supportive of his record in power than people attribute to him.

Yet the story will not be kind to the man himself because he has repeatedly proven himself to be just a horrible individual. Powell was haunted for the rest of his life for believing in the myth of WMD, which spurred the invasion of Iraq, but he was man enough to admit and apologize for his error in judgment.

It’s not something we can expect from Trump, a man who now reminds me of one of those Japanese soldiers who hid in the hills for years after the war but still thought they were fighting.

Interestingly, for all of Trump’s sworn enemies, who are legion, his greatest enemy is himself.