Campaign

 

 

They’ve been a sleazy bunch, this lot,

but I trust them with my taxes

[having no choice in this]

and not to over-step the line,

 

but the line is only dashed in chalk,

like hopscotch grids, fated to be mourned

by children on a rainy day, when April’s

steady drizzle chases it down the drains.

 

 

I trust them not to go insane

and take to torching the houses

of Tory voters [although sanity

in this context is a subjective concept

 

some would say], but discriminations of a

different kind exist; Asian kids stopped

and searched ‘randomly’, while white travellers

take their seats on commercial planes.

 

 

I guess I trust them not to construct

Muslim ghettos, and not to outlaw

anti-government art, and other

stuff that would cause an uproar

 

[although protest restrictions have been tightened],

and I supposed I should trust them not to spy

on me [we’re captured daily on CCTV,

but that’s for our own protection].

 

 

So I could vote for them next election,

despite their compulsory identity scheme,

which surely isn’t sinister and won’t infringe

on my privacy; it’s merely so they know

 

who’s who and where, and whether they try

to disappear [whoever would want to escape

the clutches of good ol’ Labour?] If you’ve

nothing to hide, you’ve nothing to fear.

 

 

That’s the slogan for this programme of Guilty

Until Proven Dead; terrorism and

immigration have triggered problems, but we

can’t tackle the roots or reasons, instead

 

it’s easier to regard the entire nation

with suspicion, stick them on a computer

and force them to pay for plastic intrusion,

taking advantage of their ignorance.

 

 

So, to show I trust this lot

 

I must

 

accept flashing my right to exist on command

and having my fingerprints taken like a criminal

and my iris scanned when I go to the bank

and medical assistance denied if the card is in my other wallet

 

and my whole life stored in a database

and that database being open to identity theft

and risk the threat of fraudsters stealing my existence

and being heavily fined if I refuse to comply with this

 

because I trust them.

 

Kind of.

 

 

But what about the next lot, the ones after that…

 

or after that…

 

 

or…?

 

 

So what about the next lot? How can anyone

guarantee me that this country will forever be

a [semi] democracy? I want to be able

to believe I’m left with a chance of evading

 

any future [further] corrosion

of our liberties.

Author's Note

I'm the co-ordinator of Coventry's NO2ID group. NO2ID is a non-partisan organisation opposing the UK government's proposal of comulsory biometric ID-cards.
To find out more, please visit www.no2id.net.
Thanks for reading this.

Does the rhyming seem too inconsistent, or does it just about work? Thanks.

Reviews

[Anthony Morningstar]

Yeah it's so great to live in time like this where everything that you do or don't do for that matter can be monitored from somebodies desk for whatever reason. It's really good that we are wealthy enough to be able to divide groups that can afford to and groups that can't. Remember to keep the poor on the bottom so rich can stay dry and die in a bed as opposed to in the streets. Fear rules all of us and there's nothing that we can do. Or is there. Glad to hear that you fighting the good fight.
Think it's not illegal yet.

[Nik Dendera]

What gets me about these damn ID cards, is that we're expected to PAY for them! I don't think it would bother me as much if, as a UK citizen since birth, I didn't have to fork out extra cash for it.

Well, I'm with you on this. I checked out the site after you sent me the link, I'll take some time to have a proper look. Great piece, the last part was spot on.

"and my whole life stored in a database
and that database being open to identity theft
and risk the threat of fraudsters stealing my existence
and being heavily fined if I refuse to comply with this"

Makes you wonder just what the point is when you vote, huh? I sometimes wonder if they just do that for show, its already decided behind the scenes. Ok, I sound paranoid and weird, but it does beg the question...

I'm working on a novel at the moment ('God Knows I'm Helpless'), an old one from a few years back. I think you might appreciate some of it-its todays political situation pushed to the 9th degree.

The rhyming is fine. Its the message thats important, not the technical side of it. Loved this.

[mick weller]

In a hundred years can I imagine someone writing this with regard to anti-chipping..?
- your use of the word `trust` here is disturbing... do we `trust` when we put our `signatures` on the ballott paper? Is politics about`trust`?
What do the `others` have to say about ID cards? I don't know... `cos I dont `trust` them either...
convince enough of the people... some of the time...
I think this works - the gravity of the subject outweighs its presentation...
thought provoking to say the least...
The biggest single ally of any `new` system is, of course, apathy...
scary stuff

[R J Askew]

still a great read second time round and I do like the hopscotch grids but can't remember when i last saw one now!

[grg]

hi c,

maybe for british readers...but i think this orwellian rant has a global ring...this reminds me of the some of the beat poets...ever heard of diane diprima...she had a great book published by citylights out of san francisco... a small publishing company run by lawrence ferlinghetti (that spelling is wrong)...her book was called revolutionary letters...she came out a little later than the beats...anyway it stirs up my paranoia and fear of big government...that i will give in and passively surrender to gov't control...this could be any average joe anywhere surrendering to encroaching totalitarianism and talking himself through...scary and real...i enjoyed the hell out of this...i have to go now to register for the draft down at the post office...have a great night and peaceful dreams...glenn

[PianoandPage]

i can definately relate to this here in america considering the patriot act and all that which our congressmen passed without even reading it. hah. fear is an amazing thing aint it?

[Rain]

Who was it that said " I hope you live in interesting times." Well, we certainly do. Interesting, dangerous, invasive. confusing times. And we pretty much go along with it. I disagree with you on some points, but others I'm standing beside you. I don't know...maybe I look Asian, but I am constantly singled out at airports. Once the mideastern guy carrying the Koran, with no luggage was waved through and they pulled me to the side. lol I think we have fallen victims of technology. If we "can" do it..we do it. Hight tech geniuses created more spying devices and so we use them. That's scary. Computers tell them who and what we like..so do our TV's. Your piece really makes you think. Safety...safety...safety...from ourselves. Good write.
Rain..

[Jenny Davis]

Oh wow! I am glad I came to check this piece out! It seems I am not the only one with rants about their country! The part about the finger printing and eye scans, really hit a nerve for me as I believe this will come into reality for many people in many countries sooner than we know...The New World Order? Anyway, you did an amazing job with this, your metaphors are biting and stunning...I wish I had a constructive critique, but I honestly find nothing wrong with grammar, etc.

[Damien Dsoul]

I wouldn't be so quick to say that this work is mostly for British readers, since lots of folks out in the world are also well abrest of your country's tightening immigration laws and all the rest it entails. But my, my, my, your sarcasm sure is evident in here, and it sparkles with wit and angered humour. And that rhetoric in the end's a classic.

[Narnie]

I think I would be more up in arms if 90% of the British public didn't already subscribe to a form of ID card to increase corporate profit - ie. store loyalty cards. Part of my wants to believe that it was part of the government conspiracy to get people used to those kinds of cards to make the integration into a government based system more acceptable. Store cards are more invasive than any government based body and they are under no restrictions of how they use our information. The government is just following the never ending bandwagon that it seems that we, the British and every other person on this planet, are powerless to stop.

[Spoken]

A great portrayal of the government tightening the riegns as their citizens slowly watch freedom slip away. Though it's written for the British readers I can relate many things in this to my part of the world. We all have our qualms with our leaders and the system. Great rant!