Gnarr by Jon Gnarr Read Free Book Online Page B

involved, we neglect democracy, and it evolves accordingly. In one way, what prevails in the Western world is a kind of political inbreeding. True newcomers are extremely rare; after all, things are not made easy for them. A new arrival gets in the way and is therefore unattractive. In the few cases where anew arrival succeeds, such as the Pirate Party in Berlin, which fights for transparency in government and open telecommunications policy, or the Best Party in Reykjavík, new political actors immediately find themselves in the spotlight of world opinion. This is stressful and takes some getting used to.
    Everyone knows the feeling that creeps over us just before elections, the sense that we really shouldn’t go and vote. That in any case, there’s nothing on the ballot to stand by or identify with. And so we just choose the lesser of two evils. That makes things awfully complicated. And behind it all, behind the politicians, political parties, and movements, stands the System, the apparatus that ultimately holds the reins in our society. And there again everything is based on rules and laws, but also on customs and traditions, and not infrequently on the views or personalities of individuals. In many democracies there is, besides the actual, official system, a second power structure that blossoms and flourishes in tandem with it—a System based on corruption, organized crime, opportunism, sleaze, and the black market.
    Everyone wants freedom and direct democracy and individuals with the power to decide. But when it really comes down to it, only a tiny number want to make use of this power. Why? It’s obvious—those who decide must also take responsibility themselves. Having power is always good, and freedom too, of course, but both are connected with responsibility. Withoutresponsibility, freedom turns into chaos and power to dictatorship. Perhaps this is exactly the problem that the modern democracies face. Take responsibility? Who wants to do that? It puts us off. How often have we seen a politician being put through the mangle in a live interview or talk show, or seen how the slightest error earned him a place in the newspaper headlines! We expect politicians to be infallible and superhuman. In so doing, we deprive them of their humanity. When they make a slip of the tongue, we make fun of them. If they have personal problems in their marriage or with other people, this gets exploited mercilessly.
    Change requires courage and initiative. Grassroots movements promise only limited success. The System does not sleep and now knows exactly how to cut off new political movements from below—well before they are developed. We are all familiar with images of angry crowds battling it out with cops in bitter street fighting. Such actions generally achieve nothing. A lot of effort to no great effect. What they do achieve is in convincing society, the politicians, and the System to set up more surveillance cameras, or send out more policemen with even better equipment and more weapons. The only realistic way to change things is direct participation in democracy. Direct involvement. If you find politics dumb and boring, and politicians too, then you just have to create your own party or platform. If you find the politics of the others dumb, it’s up to you get in and make it better.
    Are you mad at the politicians and the conditions prevailing in this country? Would you prefer to write something in a blog or organize a demo? Why not use your time and creativity to find out how you can actively participate in democracy? Found a party or run for office!
    How do you do that? It’s actually pretty simple—you need a little imagination and some courage, and the rest follows. But before you begin, you need to make a few principles clear: What bugs you? What’s wrong? Where’s the problem? You’re committed to environmental protection, but there isn’t a Green Party in your country? Then just found one. Or there
is
a Green