That cheeky chappie Russell Brand just won’t go away. He’s still all over the media, and yet the media seem largely to misunderstand him. The media are stuck in the Westminster Village, along with the three main parties; they seem to think that is the epicentre of political action. It simply is not. Look at where people are putting their energies. Membership of Avaaz has grown from zero to nearly 29 million in 7 years, while membership of the three main UK political parties has declined to well under half a million from over four million back in 1950, and is declining in most so-called democracies. The media still portray those that don’t vote as apathetic. Some are. More are angry. Also more are highly motivated and keen to see meaningful democracy reinvigorated: they just don’t see mainstream political parties as playing much of a role in this. Russell Brand plays the role of the wise fool or the court jester; he makes funny yet highly articulate exposures of the ridiculousness of our system, as in the story of the child and the emperor’s new clothes.
Russell Brand, like most of the world’s people is desperate to see a better world focused on social justice and ecological sustainability. How could anyone who cares about social justice and ecological sustainability not but be disappointed or disgusted with our three main parties. Margret Hodge on the BBC link below rightly claims to have beaten off the ghastly prospect of the BNP getting a seat at the last general election, but how anyone who believes in social justice can still be a member of the Labour party I find quite baffling. Inequality rose under Blair and Brown. Not to mention illegal wars and the rest. Keeping even worse parties from being elected seems to be the main selling point for all the main parties! Each claiming all the others are even worse than they are!
BBC 6th Nov http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-24832816
Guardian 5th Nov http://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/nov/05/paxman-politics-russell-brand-voting
Radio Times 4th Nov http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2013-11-04/jeremy-paxman-i-understand-why-russell-brand-doesnt-vote
Declining party membership http://www.parliament.uk/briefing-papers/SN05125
Avaaz http://www.avaaz.org/en/