A political fantasy

May 30, 2003

I just finished reading Terry Pratchett’s _Night Watch_. For a Pratchett novel it’s on the weak side, but I don’t think you can beat some of the direct political commentary that’s creeping into his stories.

For example, towards the end of the book, Winder (the Patrician of Ankh-Morpork) is assassinated* by revolutionaries. The revolutionaries install their new patrician, Snapcase, who immediately makes decisions that do not sit well with those who brought him to power:

bq.    ”Here comes the new boss, same as the old boss,” muttered Doctor Follett.”
   ”I counsel patience,” said Slant. “He’s new in the job. He may settle into it. The city is good at working around problems. Give him time.”
   ”And we want someone who is decisive,” said someone in the hurrying crowd.
   ”We wanted someone who decides the right things,” said Madam.

Earlier, when Captain of the Watch Sam Vimes is told by a new watch recruit “we need a man like Snapcase, he listens to the people!” Vimes thinks, _I listen to the thunder, but I don’t do anything about it._

That’s two important points to keep in mind during the run-up to 2004:

# Decisiveness does not qualify one for political office. Many people have been decisive but made the wrong decisions.
# Just because someone listens to you does not mean he or she cares.

Policies and past performance, people: that’s what we need to be looking at. Not whether the candidate talks a good game or *says* things you agree with. Dean. Edwards, Graham — they all talk a good game: but will they deliver?

Of course, even Lieberman would be a small improvement over the current occupant. But the primary is not the time to choose the lesser of two evils. If we make our decision well here, we may have reason to be excited after the convention.

Posted in Archived Unsorted