Football or politics

A conversation with my son in law can only ever go one of two ways, football or politics. This time it was the latter. We don’t always see eye to eye on everything political though we are mainly in tune. I’d hate for you to think we were like Alf and Michael in ‘Til Death Us Do Part’, both of us are more Michael. One thing we both agree on is our dislike and abhorrence of Johnson.

We both struggle with his blatant lying and the undeniable breaking of his own laws. It galls me that he gets away with it so easily when you can see his misdemeanours from space. It bothers me most, however, not that he gets away with such things but that fellow conservatives and many in the wider public let him off the hook.

We should expect better from those who represent us, much, much better.

This was where our conversation got interesting. My son in law drew a parallel with Trump and the way that his supporters could see no wrong in him. The more outlandish and irreverent he was the more they came to accept it, even expect it. The same is true of the Prime Minister. The public have become immune to his falsehoods and shenanigans. They (we) have become inured to his awful and, in any other sphere, unacceptable behaviour.

It no longer matters how many lies he tells or how many parties he had. That’s just Boris being Boris. Every new scandal and the squeals from those who oppose him just makes it easier for people to ignore his behaviour. He is a soap opera, with a dramatic ending in every episode. It all feels so unreal. Unfortunately it is not, we can’t just turn over.

I and people like me have become part of the problem. Because there is so much to complain about, our protestations have become background radiation or muzak. Nobody hears it any more.

Something needs to be done. Side with the Conservatives by all means, we are still in a democracy of sorts, but to side with liars and cheats is a step too far for me, as it should be for all of us. Are we really prepared to ignore such behaviour?