Late night rambling
Late, late Friday night, I found myself in a poncey pub with an architect, a civil servant, the marketing manager for a particularly evil-bastard multinational and a councillor for a local authority. The cynicism about our respective professions was palpable, with endless complaints ensuing throughout the night about building regulations, various lobby groups, NGOs and quangos, the media, local councils, politicians generally, voters, the general public, everyone in the world ever etc. etc.
To an extent this is par for the course with late night drunken, disillusioned and stress-relieving conversation, but I think we were almost all most shocked by the vitriol that came from the mouth of the local councillor. Cynicism about the political system, disillusionment with the party, scorn for national politicians and disdain for the disinterested voters in his constituency – all poured out with the provocation of a few drinks. And because of his day-job and because of our general resentment towards expense-claiming politicians (local or otherwise) we took him to task in a way that we didn’t each other. ‘How can you possibly say that? You’re a politician – show some respect!’ we shouted across the table, confident in our self-righteousness.
But since then, I’ve been wondering why. Why were we surprised by his attitude? Why don’t we expect our elected representatives to feel the same negativity, cynicism and despair that we do about our own jobs, and indeed, the political system? Why would we expect them to keep up the pretence when we don’t?
I think that part of the answer to this lays in the question I wish I’d asked him: ‘Why exactly are you doing this job and if you really feel that way, why are you still doing it?’ Sometimes we all probably need to ask ourselves this.
Tags: hell in a handcart
November 11th, 2009 at 12:46 am
Whilst I admire his ’speaking up’ as it were, we all have to pay the bills, and alas there are many more of us doing jobs we hate and\or don’t believe in.
In the ideal world, we’d all do something that we loved for a living, but I know very few who do.
I think people who go into politics\local councils on the whole probably go into it with the right attitude, and want to put things right and make things better. But making waves is not good for your career and I think you soon end up toeing the line and voting for things you don’t believe in because
a) you’ll keep your job; and
b) it’s probably far less grief
Sad but true. Interesting post.
P
November 11th, 2009 at 8:40 am
I wonder if people like that ever feel that to profess sincere commitment, or to talk about genuine ethical beliefs, just wouldn’t be, well, hip? Sneering cynicism is the order of the day; act like you ‘mean it, man’ and you run the risk of being seen as a naive fool, and who could bear that? Better to be seen as a hard-faced bastard.
I think Malcolm Tucker has become something of a role model in certain circles, as monsters often do (Alf Garnett was another, created as a joke against bigots but ending up becoming their icon.). I’ve met a few people in grassroots-level politics over the last couple of years, and have heard from them that ‘yeah but it’s all bollocks really’ subtext that you’re describing. It just makes me weary. Having said that, well done for challenging him. He was probably expecting you to chuckle along at his creative use of the word ‘fuck’, and agree with him that nothing really matters very much. The tosser.
November 11th, 2009 at 4:27 pm
I think you may be right Piley – annoyingly enough! You start off young, ambitious and full of plans to put the world to rights, then you end up jaded, cynical and compromised. Like Gordon Brown. haha. I wish I had asked him what his original motivation was. If you want to change the world, why would you be a politician? Why not work for an NGO, a lobby group or even work as a teacher?
ISBW, I think I had a very different reaction to you. I am actually used to the opposite – all I hear in my line of work is bleeding heart liberal leftie passion, belief and dedication to the cause. Cynicism is taboo. It gets very warying. From that perspective I found him, although shocking and annoying, a refreshing experience – which is probably why I was questioning my actions the next day. I would probably have had a different response if I knew a lot of jaded Malcolm Tucker types.
November 11th, 2009 at 6:10 pm
Ha! You don’t work in the NHS, then. Wall-to-wall cynicism, at every level. After a few years you get to believe it must be everywhere. Though I can imagine that wall-to-wall earnestness could get just as wearing. THAT would make me mischievous.
November 11th, 2009 at 9:09 pm
Typically you only get to see the off-duty, dress down side of political speak once politicians have left office – Portillo, John Major, Bill Clinton all have shown a more relaxed aspect now they’re not in the spotlight. If they’d do this while they were in office, they’d probably in longer.
November 11th, 2009 at 9:22 pm
ISBW, don’t worry, we’re not a complete bunch of freaks – there is some cynicism about office politics and that sort of thing, but it is not de rigour to question the ethos. Which can be tempting at times yes… but by and large, it is better to believe in the value of what you’re doing than not.
Mondo, I think that if you are referring to a particular, say ‘jolly’ or even ‘approachable’, side to politicians then, yes that could work. However, if Gordon Brown and David Cameron were so off-duty that they referred to the voters as bunch of numpties then it probably wouldn’t be so good. Honest yes, but good for the career, no!
November 11th, 2009 at 10:27 pm
The organisation I work for (a social housing provider so about as left-leaning and right-on as they come) is going through an Organisational Review which, depending on who you believe, will lead to anything between a handful and a dozen people having no job to go to. We’ve all got to consider our options and have interviews, which in some cases means effectively ‘applying’ for a job you’re already doing.
The response has been interesting- I think the workforce is becoming polarised between, on the one hand, those who think it’s all a carve up by those at the top who ‘already know who they want rid of’ and on the other hand, those who argue that ‘this place is in need of a shake-up, let’s face it’.
Myself, I tend towards the second position, but not too loudly, as the prevailing cynical view would cast anyone adopting the sunnier disposition as (at best) naive and (at worst) some kind of toadying apologist for the despised upper order….
Most of all I can’t wait till Christmas, by which time they say it will be all over. Mind you they said that about the First World War.
November 12th, 2009 at 10:39 am
This is a difficult situation Jonathan and I empathise. On the one hand, organisational reviews can be a source of positive change, putting much-needed new life and ideas into a place. On the other, everyone knows damn well that one of the best ways of legally getting rid of people is to make them re-apply for their own job. But doing this kind of thing just before Christmas really is just plain nasty (which doesn’t help the non-cynics cause does it?). Mmmm, I hope you make it through the next few months unscathed.