In Britain, the term popped out is used innocently to mean 'gone away for a short time'. Of course, popped out has other connotations, but that's a future blog (pics included).
This item was prompted by the release of a new book by Peter Oborne: The Triumph of the Political Class in which Oborne describes the insidious takeover of the traditional British Establishment by a new political elite. The central idea of this book is dear to the heart of The Impressionist, who has banged on about this sort of thing a lot, usually to an empty room.
Oborne's point is that politicians have insinuated themselves into our lives by reflecting the wishes and desires of that minority group which has the greatest impact at election time - the floating voters. The views of this group are endlessly canvassed with the result that the two main parties now have political agendas which are, to all intents and purposes, identically centre-right.
This should not come as a surprise to anyone. The cynicism of politicians has been accepted for a long time. That they should pick up the methods of business and commerce (whose success they admire) to sell their own product is inevitable.
What is less obvious is why we should have let them get away with it. As anyone who has tried to complain to a large company or corporation will know, getting a straight answer is well-nigh impossible. Perhaps a desire to see an end to the apparently counterproductive adversarial politics of earlier times led, in the minds of the focus groups, to the idea that consensus is always desirable. Dissent has become a cardinal sin in the PC age - the era of the smuggy-huggy is upon us.
Thus the old divisions of class, politics and wealth have been diminished by the pretence that we are all included. The pop culture is alive and well in politics and we're all invited to the party.
Sadly, reality rears its ugly and unfashionable head. Anodyne schemes of the sort touted by Gordon 'Greedy' Brown are very difficult to counter because they state the bleeding obvious. It's not easy to stand up and deny that sick people should have more resources. But talk to people who have recently endured health care in Britain and you'll soon find out that any additional resources have not gone into looking after the sick.
Oborne's hypothesis is probably true. But then it has always been true - in ape societies there will always be a group that enjoys higher status. The alpha male or Prime Minister; the matriarch or the Queen; the terms are different but the meaning is the same.
Pop concert audiences pay a lot of money to sit on hard seats for hours, stand in toilet queues and pay over the odds for junk food and teeshirts just to be part of a large crowd of the like minded. What luck for the populist Establishment that people are so easily manipulated.
Click OK to remove this item or Cancel to keep it in the list
Click OK to empty your shopping cart or Cancel to keep it as it is
Sorry - your shopping cart is full so you can't add any more items.
We have only XITEMSINSTOCK in stock so some of your order may be despatched later. Please contact us if you need more information.
We have only XABSITEMSINSTOCK available. Please contact us if you need more information.
(incl. discount of XLINEDISCOUNT)
XTOTALDISCOUNT
You will now be redirected to PayPal's secure checkout page. This may take a few seconds to display. You do not need to create a PayPal account to pay this way.
Please use your browser's bookmark button to add this page to your favourites.
You have selected one or more patterns that you must download yourself to your own computer. IMPORTANT! Please read carefully the page that follows payment for the instructions on downloading (we will also send you an email). Please click OK to confirm that you wish to proceed, or Cancel to return to the cart.
We regret this item is currently unavailable. It is possible that someone else has recently purchased the last one.
Please select a delivery country before proceeding to checkout.
The shopping cart cannot be displayed - you may have an old version of cart software. Please refresh this page or shut down and restart your browser.
Important!Please click I am in Western Canada if you are in British Columbia, Alberta or The Yukon
Due to severe and persistent delays at the Vancouver Customs facility we have suspended deliveries to British Columbia, Alberta and The Yukon until a normal delivery service is resumed.
We offer a variety of secure payment methods for your safety and convenience:
Mastercard or Visa credit and debit cards
PayPal®, the world's leading on-line payment processor
Cheque Payment (£GBP only)
No-quibble money back guarantee
Telephone supportin UK: 0207-100-3509 in US/Canada: 206-886-0514 International: (+)44-207-100-3509
"I have received my chart I ordered yesterday ,what excellent service 24 hour from placing order to receiving the chart. I will certainly use your company again and pass your name on to like minded friends. Thank you" - VB, Yorks., United Kingdom
"Dear Arts and Designs, Just a note of thanks and to let you know the cross stitch arrived yesterday (Thursday). It was very well packed and in perfect condition and thank you so much for your prompt despatch. Yours sincerely" - DS, QLD, Australia
"Just wanted to say a big THANK YOU for the prompt manner in which you filled my order. I just ordered three more kits and I am sure this will not be my last order. Its refreshing to find a dealer that delivers exactly what is promised. Also the directions in the kit were very detailed and left nothing to guess work. Thanks again to my newly found friends across the pond." - MD, CA, United States
