Seriousness has been out of fashion for a long time but has been creaping back in with the hipsters who get geeky about home brew, baking or crafts. Can we be serious and be funny, without being earnest or flippant? I remember at university realising pretty quickly that cycnicism is the short cut to sounding clever - implying that you're not naive, you've experience the world, you're knowledgeable. Cynicism is healthy but never allowing yourself to get committed to an idea, or serious in its pursuit is the same vein as apathy.
I've been amused to watch the debate around Russell Brand's rant on democracy. It takes me back to working in a left wing think tank nearly a decade ago where i worked in the 'democracy team'. I can just imagine them all now clammering to get him booked to speak at their next seminars and conferences. My job was to help research ways in which to improve voter turnout and a lack of engagement in politics. It was a lot of fun. I only realised what a great job it was when i left -i had been surrounded by lots of young, cool, super clever and engaged people - and was paid to research and think about ways to make the world a better place! Awesome.
Yet I came from a generation that was least engaged in politics. I didnt even think about it at university, until we had one impassioned lecture from our philosophy lecturer. He went off message, scrapped his planned talk about wittgenstein and instead explained why he was angry, how little he was paid, how he felt he wasnt giving us the education we deserved and that we were now paying for (the first year to have to pay for it) but mostly he was angry on our behalf.
'Why arent you protesting? Why are you not demanding a better deal?' He couldnt understand our apathy. He had become politicised at at uni during thacherism. It was part of his youth culture and now his identity.
After that lecture, we wandered off to get a coffee and talked it over. I remember us all nodding our head, 'yeah he's cool, he's so right, we should do something'. What did we do? Started planning our night out, headed out, got wasted, listeded to good tunes, forgot all about it. We were anaethetised by a stable economy and cheap drugs.
Going to work at a thinktank was part of my effort to re-engage with the world, to try to do something that would 'make a difference', contribute in some way, having spent too many years after graduation drifting around the music scene trying to figure our my place.
Low voter turnout was a big concern in think tank world. So to hear Russell Brand say that we should all not vote, and encourage a 'revolution' instead, brought back all those months spent agonising over how to get younger generations to vote. The problem is, no matter how disappointed you are with the three main parties, the alternative seems worse - what would a revolution usher in? And do people in the UK in 2013 really want a revolution? Not really. They just don't want to be screwed over by self serving politicians. There is no doubt we are lucky to have our democracy. So making it better is where our focus should be. And actually perhaps the first thing we should do is encourage people that we like and respect to become politicians rather than put them off by dismissing them all. Spoil the ballot paper or engage in civil disobedience. These are actions that will bring about change. But thats' definitely a nuanced not so cool message as waving a flag saying revolution.Which is why i think that while Russell Brand might genuinely be pissed off at politicians, rightly so, he doesn't really want to engage in solutions. It feels more like a Che Guevara pose in front of a photographer - a good look for 2013 and to impress his new political girlfriend.
Some very interesting research has shown the impact that non violent civil resistance can have. A government cannot sustain its rule if more than 3.5% of the population mobilised against it. We are massively lucky to be living in a country that while may be governed by some very unlikable identikit men in suits, is not a ruthless dictator or violent regime. We have a system of government that works when its citizens engage in the process and demand better. This is a privilege and to turn away from that especially when affluent feels a little spoilt .
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