The Turkey Shed is a noisy place in the spring.
Indeed the whole farmyard can be a noisy place in spring.
But the Turkey shed tends to become quieter the closer it gets to the years' end as if the Turkeys realise that every little noise they make can make it seem that they are voting for Christmas (or Thanksgiving if they are American Turkeys!).
Whilst being aware of the danger of voting for Christmas I've always thought voting was important.
George Orwell caricatured the undemocratic nature of Soviet Style 'Democracies' in Animal Farm by pointing out that any society which regards it citizens as equal must offer the opportunity to elect a new government periodically, otherwise the principles of democracy will be eroded until it becomes accepted that whilst 'all animals are equal, some animals are more equal than others'.
That's why, because I can't attend the polling station in person, I have asked for a postal vote in the forthcoming election.
I want to exercise my right to make my opinion matter and have my vote counted.
Universal Suffrage is too hard won a right to let slip away through lack of use. It is a right that we enjoy in our democratic society, even the result of the last election, whilst disappointing for many, reflected the general mood of the country and the sense of ennui that seemed to affect most of the electorate.
If you didn't really want any of the offers on the table at least the outcome of a coalition gave an opportunity to experience a different approach, even though in some ways it has turned out to be much the same approach.
Current events in Egypt and Libya emphasise the desperation of people who don't have the right to vote and who are taking to up protest and arms to ensure a change of Government, one that will reflect their hopes and aspirations.
One that they can elect.
And the power of the vote is remarkable. In Iraq and Afghanistan the opposition simply tried to stop people voting by intimidation, but the queues formed and held firm and people left the voting station with their fingers, dipped in purple dye, having had the sense that they had done something that was important (it was also brave).
Most of the significant changes that have occurred in the modern world, have happened because of the ballot box. Perhaps the most significant being the election of the ANC in South Africa.
In republics, presidents have to be re-elected and even though it seemed to be only yesterday, President Obama will soon be hitting the campaign trail, seeking a new mandate from the American people.
On May 5th we are being asked to change our voting method from a single vote cast for a single candidate to the alternative vote.
A group of senior academic historians have challenged the thinking behind the change arguing that it flies in the face of the English democratic tradition which had its beginnings in the Magna Carta.
The view appears to be that each time your alternative choice is triggered it gives you an 'extra' vote, so it is no longer one person, one vote, but one person, two, three, four votes.
It is also thought that the Alternative Vote could have an adverse effect on the outcome of an election.
This could happen if in the first round no candidate received fifty per cent of the vote, then, when second preferences were transferred, a candidate who might have been leading could fall behind and second or third choice candidates emerge as winners.
I have voted in an AV election process. But have usually only voted once because I didn't want second or third choice candidates to benefit from my transferred vote. Clearly faced with the choice of listing candidates some voters may well simply write one, two, three right down the list of names.
I am sorry that the leader of the Labour Party has come out in favour of AV not because I am worried about more hung parliaments or more coalitions but because, if I want to vote for one party, I want to vote for them to win the election. Even in a safe seat, I would rather vote for my candidate of choice even if I knew that they couldn't win.
It would be likeTurkeys voting No to Christmas as their first choice, then opting for Boxing Day and Easter as their second and third choices, unless of course fifty one percent of all Turkeys voting, voted No ........
Indeed the whole farmyard can be a noisy place in spring.
But the Turkey shed tends to become quieter the closer it gets to the years' end as if the Turkeys realise that every little noise they make can make it seem that they are voting for Christmas (or Thanksgiving if they are American Turkeys!).
Whilst being aware of the danger of voting for Christmas I've always thought voting was important.
George Orwell caricatured the undemocratic nature of Soviet Style 'Democracies' in Animal Farm by pointing out that any society which regards it citizens as equal must offer the opportunity to elect a new government periodically, otherwise the principles of democracy will be eroded until it becomes accepted that whilst 'all animals are equal, some animals are more equal than others'.
That's why, because I can't attend the polling station in person, I have asked for a postal vote in the forthcoming election.
I want to exercise my right to make my opinion matter and have my vote counted.
Universal Suffrage is too hard won a right to let slip away through lack of use. It is a right that we enjoy in our democratic society, even the result of the last election, whilst disappointing for many, reflected the general mood of the country and the sense of ennui that seemed to affect most of the electorate.
If you didn't really want any of the offers on the table at least the outcome of a coalition gave an opportunity to experience a different approach, even though in some ways it has turned out to be much the same approach.
Current events in Egypt and Libya emphasise the desperation of people who don't have the right to vote and who are taking to up protest and arms to ensure a change of Government, one that will reflect their hopes and aspirations.
One that they can elect.
And the power of the vote is remarkable. In Iraq and Afghanistan the opposition simply tried to stop people voting by intimidation, but the queues formed and held firm and people left the voting station with their fingers, dipped in purple dye, having had the sense that they had done something that was important (it was also brave).
Most of the significant changes that have occurred in the modern world, have happened because of the ballot box. Perhaps the most significant being the election of the ANC in South Africa.
In republics, presidents have to be re-elected and even though it seemed to be only yesterday, President Obama will soon be hitting the campaign trail, seeking a new mandate from the American people.
On May 5th we are being asked to change our voting method from a single vote cast for a single candidate to the alternative vote.
A group of senior academic historians have challenged the thinking behind the change arguing that it flies in the face of the English democratic tradition which had its beginnings in the Magna Carta.
The view appears to be that each time your alternative choice is triggered it gives you an 'extra' vote, so it is no longer one person, one vote, but one person, two, three, four votes.
It is also thought that the Alternative Vote could have an adverse effect on the outcome of an election.
This could happen if in the first round no candidate received fifty per cent of the vote, then, when second preferences were transferred, a candidate who might have been leading could fall behind and second or third choice candidates emerge as winners.
I have voted in an AV election process. But have usually only voted once because I didn't want second or third choice candidates to benefit from my transferred vote. Clearly faced with the choice of listing candidates some voters may well simply write one, two, three right down the list of names.
I am sorry that the leader of the Labour Party has come out in favour of AV not because I am worried about more hung parliaments or more coalitions but because, if I want to vote for one party, I want to vote for them to win the election. Even in a safe seat, I would rather vote for my candidate of choice even if I knew that they couldn't win.
It would be likeTurkeys voting No to Christmas as their first choice, then opting for Boxing Day and Easter as their second and third choices, unless of course fifty one percent of all Turkeys voting, voted No ........
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