Ok so I didn’t turn my back I just lost heart that people of this country and the world, are really beyond hope. Brexit and Trump (et al) completely crushed me, and I don’t think I really recovered until recently. There are a few more reasons, but let’s not get into that now.

There I was merrily floating through life (for merrily floating through life read becoming super weird, blowing myself up and trying to rebuild myself anew) and some nice chap comes to my front door on behalf of the Lib Dems. A little bit of background, Dominic Raab is my local MP (yes him, the alleged bully and living proof that loyalty trumps talent every time), I live in the bluest of blue areas, not so much a red wall as the Blue Garden. This nice man asked me some questions and told me that voting anything other than Lib Dem in the area would be a wasted vote. He is right, there are so few red types here it’s laughable, I believe we are considered unsightly. As he asked me lots of questions for his database, he kept asking if I would do this or that for the Lib Dems, as I was being polite I kept listening to him and in the end he realised he had stopped getting through to me. He then said the following;

“Do you like Dominic Raab?”

“No, I think he is a c**t,” I said, and here is the the killer line coming up…….

“So what are you going to do about it?” He said, and just stared at me. The silent close, damn you that’s my move.

It worked, and now I am doing something, anything. I felt helpless during all the Brexit madness and all of the different moments that have seen our country crushed into whatever the fuck it is today. I don’t think of myself as a Lib Dem person, I associate with the leftest of left wing views, I’m a socialist and I am definitely going to tax the fuck out of rich non dom pricks and their wives (I am looking at you Sunak), but I started to have a think. (BTW this blog is not about getting you to become a Lib Dem)

I started to think about the energy that is in all of us and how many of us there are that feel this way, and started wondering what I could do to tap into it. That was exhausting and a little overwhelming as I realised isn’t that what all politics is trying to do, so I went back to making my life simpler. Do something, anything, literally anything at all to move in the direction of travel that you want, and in this way even if you dont inspire others to do the same, or at least be speaking from a position where you are credible in terms of your thoughts and actions being consistent and authentic.

My adventures with the Lib Dems, have so far had me delivering leaflets (surprisingly fun and also surprisingly rewarding feeling from doing it), writing the leaflet I am delivering, several zoom call meetings, several pub meetings a fundraising quiz (sweet, but frankly utterly surreal) and canvassing. I have also met some lovely people that just want to make their local community and their country better. What I can tell you is that should any Lib Dem candidate ever get elected whether to the Local council or to parliament, then it is down the work of a lot of really dedicated people over a really long period. The limitations of infrastructure are breathtaking.

For me, I see it as me making a contribution to the end of people like Raab and their time in power. My contribution can only be measured in fractions of 1%. But, I made it and I will have done something to bring about the end for this group of people. I did a thing, and it happened to be a good thing.

Coming face to face with people as an affiliated political person is quite a thing. If you have never canvassed please try it, it is an extraordinary experience. My political spirit guide (the guy who called at my door for the Lib Dems) says that canvassing is not about convincing people it is about making friends. I like that and it takes the pressure off the whole thing. Because let’s be honest it is a bit daunting ringing someones door bell and asking them if you can count on their vote. There are 3 types of responses.

1. You have caught the right person at the right time who has the same sense of what is going on and you have a pleasant chat. You both are tapped into the same bit of the zeitgeist and you are delighted to find another person that feels the same way. In my area this is the majority.
2. People who glaze over, because…. politics, in my area this is about a quarter of all doors knocked
3. People who still want to vote Tory (barely any Labour supporters here and my Lib Dem friend was right there is no point voting Labour in this constituency). They are the minority but are they really because the Cons (never has an abbreviation been more apt) keep winning!!!!!

Now category 3 are my favourite, because they have something which the rest of us don’t. They can see the something of value for themselves with all that is going on. No information, facts or literally anything will make them change their view that whatever the conservative party are doing, no matter how awful, no matter how many people suffer, it is better than the alternative, which I am going to assume is an armageddon which is reminiscent of Thomas More’s Utopia. I envy you category 3 people, I really do, I wish that all the crap I see in our country (literally take your pick) could be acceptable to me, I wish that I could be sure that it is going to be better, even when everything suggests that it is not. I wish I could close my eyes and think that Cameron, May, Johnson, Truss (fucking Liz Truss, henceforth known as Lynn from HR, credit to @superstanskii) and now Sunak (a Goldman Sachs banker and Hedge fund manager, who doesn’t even know how to fill his car with petrol) have all made the country better. How is it better Category 3 people?

I often think I am operating in a netherworld, where I can see the fires everywhere, but I am constantly being told everything is ok, so why do I keep getting burned? Politicians have taught us that lying to get what you want or that obfuscating the point is winning an argument and that the countering the argument is as important as solving the problem. But let’s stand back and look at what we actually see, not what we believe. Is it really good enough? Have we really progressed as a country and a society? Is there any sort of big idea with which we can engage?

Ask yourself ……. What are you willing to do about it?