Amazing how we in the UK seem to have developed a somewhat tenuous grasp of the meaning of the over-worked word 'democracy'....
I totally repudiate the concept of absolute freedom of speech and deed: that takes us down a Crowley-ian path towards hedonism & anarchy. But I have been criticised on a public forum for daring to question how my - your - subscriptions to a conservation organisation are being spent, so I feel I'd like to reply on my own blog where I am still able to voice an opinion without the risk of being barred!
The point is not whether I like the new Parrinder or Island Mere Hides, nor even a matter of aesthetics: it's a similar situation to the recent Olympics: spending billions in the middle of a double-dip recession surely required some form of consultation with taxpayers?
Your opinion and mine are beside the point: it's the fact that we were not asked! As members of the RSPB (and of UK PLC) we are entitled to have a say in how our money will be spent! This is the same casual approach to 'democracy' that led us into two wars in Iraq and an unwinable conflict in Afghanistan: I would like to be asked in future, please!
No comments:
Post a Comment