All Or Nothing

So the upcoming election leader debates.

Simple: EVERYONE whose name is on the ballot should be invited. That’s it.

I don’t care if you’re the BNP or the Greens - or even Al Qaeda. If you are on that ballot that means you are a legitimate option in what is supposedly a mature democracy. People can tick the box next to your name, even if you represent an odious view. Shouldn’t we hear those views? How can we ever learn what our ‘enemies’ believe if we don’t hear it - that’s oppression. That’s us being told what to think. In order to debate those who hold odious views we have to allow them to participate. Anything else is not freedom and i thought that’s what was supposed to be important?

Of course what’s really happening is obvious: Cameron wants the Greens to split the vote. He knows the Tories are unpopular, he knows he cannot win over the NHS and that austerity has spiralled out of control. So he wants to shore up his vote and have Farage be exposed by the Greens who are proving, despite what UKIP and Ofcom seem to think, quite popular.

However the bottom line is this: we are supposed to live in a democracy. That means all views should have as much of an opportunity to get heard. That this is not the case is disgusting. That powerful institutions such as national broadcasters can decide who gets to speak is repugnant to me. Either everyone participates or it is not a democracy.