This morning I am musing over Tony Benn’s five questions to people in power. „If you can’t get rid of the people who govern you, you don’t live in a democratic system.“
I am finding I can’t even talk about the people who govern me. Avenues of political debate are closed off from both above and below, with the EU seizing bank accounts of people and organizations whose political speech conflicts with EU-permitted paradigms. German police arrest people for speaking „From the river to the sea“. UK police arrest people for speaking „I support Palestine Action“. For coworkers politics are distasteful subjects for discussion, and at any rate the problem is clearly AfD and Trump. There is no discussion of Ukraine, of Gaza, of Merz. These topics are literally beyond discussion. Several times I’ve encountered very explicit incredulity when I’ve shown an interest in discussing the causes behind and the possibilities to resolve the war in Ukraine. To be considered are only the anodyne: what television shows do you enjoy streaming?