Two cheers for idiocracy

I see that the creationist Sarah Palin went down a storm with her "keynote" speech to the Republican National Convention and is perhaps on her way to securing herself a place in the annals of American idiocracy alongside such political heavyweights as Dan Quayle and George W himself. Although my disrespect remains fully intact, I'd better qualify my remarks by making it clear that I think everybody has the right to a say in how they are governed and if the majority favour a blundering dunderheaded troglodyte, then they have an absolute right to choose the said troglodyte. And, of course, to vote him or her out if they come to their senses.

That's democracy - not pretty, but better than a system of government where those in power rule by fear, deception and force rather than by the consent (at least to some degree) of those they govern. I made a lazy joke in my last post about how scary it would be to have this know-nothing from a frozen offshoot of the Bible belt with her finger on the nuclear button. But looking at recent history it becomes apparent that the very worst man-made tragedies have been unleashed not by elected idiots, but by unelected dictators - no democracy, I think, has ever killed so many as Stalin in the great famines and purges of the 30's or Mao in China's own famines of the 50's and the Cultural Revolution which he unleashed in the 60's, (mostly, as far as I can see, to defend himself against those Party elements who actually realised what a disaster he'd unleashed in the previous decade). So no cheers at all for unrepresentative government.

So when I'm rude about democratically elected politicians, I do mean it, but I do also acknowledge that having the option to throw the bastard out and to be as rude about them as I want to be without being censored, locked up or forcibly, and perhaps permanently silenced by a bunch of heavies is way better than the alternatives on offer by more authoritarian forms of rule. At least two cheers for democracy, even when you can't stand the dork who got elected and three big, hearty cheers for the freedom to be disrespectful.

And here's another controversial opinion on a topic of great importance - my son was watching CBeebies the other night. Whilst we were waiting for In The Night Garden to come on, they played an episode from the new series of Andy Pandy (well relatively new - I think it was made in 2002 - I mean the one which wasn't made in black and white with the strings showing). Goodness me it was terrible; a bored sounding narrator, really pointless, stupid new characters like Missy Hissy the snake and Orbie the ball. I don't know who thought that remaking the series was a good idea, but they were wrong, wrong, wrong. It's not even as if the original was that great. Give me Iggle Piggle any day.