A Dangerous Precedent

Now and again I will write an opinion piece on my blog about something that I feel strongly about.  Most recently it was my yearly post that I write about the Grand National. 

My aim was to create a bit more awareness regarding the number of horses that die as a result of horse racing.  I wanted to dissuade people from betting but as with everything, you can only present the facts and let people make up their own minds.

When I published my Grand National post this year I received a comment on Twitter asking why I bothered even writing it, as most would never read it and even less would change their minds.  My response was that I would rather speak up and put my opinion forward rather than keep silent.  Silence accomplishes nothing.

I know that mine is only a tiny voice, speaking out amidst a sea of other voices and opinions, but I would always rather say what I think than keep quiet.  Did I change anyone’s mind this year about horseracing?  I don’t know, but I’m still glad I wrote it.

So here I am today, with another opinion. 

UKIP.  When I see a party like UKIP, I truly get scared for the country.  You do not have to be a political genius to see that voting for them would send the country down a path going backwards in time and to places that are beyond our imaginations.

One of the problems however is that unlike the BNP and EDL who carry a thug mentality with them for which they are infamous for, UKIP have that most dangerous of things, an outwardly nice looking veneer.  The head of their party looks like Rupert the Bear.  Harmless.   The man standing for UKIP in my area is an ex local police constable.  Trustworthy.

I’m not going to give you the whys and wherefores about why you shouldn’t vote UKIP.  It is each person’s decision to vote for whom they choose.  All I really want to say is actually look into who you are voting for.  See what they stand for.  What their policies are.

I’m unfortunately from a place where the BNP always won seats and carried favour with many (absolutely not me).  The problem was, just as is the problem with people voting for UKIP now, is that people are seeing one particular point that they agree with, usually about immigration, and voted accordingly.  They don’t look at the bigger picture.

I was talking to someone recently who had decided to vote UKIP.  Their reason was purely because of their immigration stance.  When I mentioned other points that UKIP want to bring in, such as scrapping maternity pay and introducing a flat tax system, their face went blank.  This is why voting without research is dangerous.  

Whilst people need to vote and not simply give up on the system; they also need to think.