Dangerous Rhetoric in David Cameron's Speech Outside No. 10

Yesterday, in a speech outside No. 10 Downing Street, David Cameron addressed the nation with regards to the riots. In his speech, he used words and phrases which were not only dangerous but also presenting viewpoints and solutions not necessarily of a constructive nature. His rhetoric did in no way adress the deeper, more complex causes of the disturbances but aimed rather to cure the symptoms in a tone of populist demagogery.

Dire times does to some extent call for stern measures and this is undoubtedly Cameron's greatest challenge so far in his PM career. It is, however, doubtful whether this way of addressing the issues at hand does not make for a widening of the chasm between the conflicting parties and makes later measures more challenging to implement.

To really understand the nature and wider connotations of Cameron's rhetoric, take an initial look at the excerpts below. They are taken out of context in order to show their dangerous implications more clearly. Then, read them in context.

"

it is quite clear that we need more, much more police on our streets and we need even more robust police action.

we will make sure that court procedures and processes are speeded up and people should expect to see more, many more arrests in the days to come.

You will feel the full force of the law

"

"

Cameron condemns scenes of violence

Tuesday, August 9 2011

The Prime Minister this morning announced that Parliament would be recalled on Thursday in order to respond to the violence and looting in London and other cities.

David Cameron condemned the scenes of violence. Speaking outside Downing Street he said:

"I have come straight from a meeting of the Government's COBRA committee for dealing with emergencies where we have been discussing the action we will be taking to help the police to deal with the disorder on the streets of London and elsewhere in our country.

"I have also met with the Metropolitan Police Commissioner and the Home Secretary to discuss this further. And people should be in no doubt that we will do everything necessary to restore order to Britain's streets and to make them safe for the law abiding.

"Let me first of all completely condemn the scenes that we have seen on our television screens and people have witnessed in their communities. These are sickening scenes, scenes of people looting, vandalising, thieving, robbing. Scenes of people attacking police officers and even attacking fire crews as they try to put out fires.

"This is criminality pure and simple and it has to be confronted and defeated. I feel huge sympathy for the families who have suffered. Innocent people who have been burned out of their houses and to businesses who have seen their premises smashed, their products looted and their livelihoods potentially ruined.

"I also feel for all those who live in fear because of these appalling scenes that we have seen on the streets of our country. People should be on no doubt that we are on the side of the law abiding. Law abiding people who are appalled by what has happened in their own communities. As ever police officers have shown incredible bravery on our streets in confronting these thugs, but it is quite clear that we need more, much more police on our streets and we need even more robust police action. And it is that that I have been discussing in COBRA this morning.

"The Metropolitan police commissioner said that compared with the 6000 police in the street last night in London there will be some 16,000 officers tonight there will be aid coming from police forces up and down the country and we will do everything necessary to strengthen and assist those police forces that are meeting this disorder. There's already been 450 people arrested, we will make sure that court procedures and processes are speeded up and people should expect to see more, many more arrests in the days to come.

"I am determined, the Government is determined that justice will be done and these people will see the consequences of their actions. And I have this very clear message to those people who are responsible for this wrongdoing and criminality. You will feel the full force of the law and if you are old enough to commit these crimes you are old enough to face the punishments and to these people I would say this, you are not only wrecking the lives of others, you are not only wrecking your own communities, you are potentially wrecking your own life too.

"My office this morning has spoken to the speaker of the House of Commons and he has agreed that parliament will be recalled for a day on Thursday so I can make a statement to parliament and we can hold a debate and we are all able to stand together in condemnation of these crimes and also to stand together in determination to rebuild these communities. Now, if you will excuse me there is important work to be done. Thank-you."

"

Source: Conservatives Homepage, 10.08.2011

"Mock-Epic" Literature

The mock-epic literary genre was especially prominent in 18th century literature. Central literary figures like Alexander Pope and Jonathan Swift used the mock-epic, also known as the mock-heroic, for satirical purposes. The use of Classical forms, doctrines and imagery either to emphasise or deliberately blow trivial events out of proportion offered an efficient method for satirising and elaborating on the object of their critique. THis could by illustrated by the quite similar excerpts from The Rape of the Lock by Pope (1712), Swift's The Lady's Dressing Room (1714) and Description of a City Shower (1710).

The Rape of the Lock and The Lady's Dressing Room both describe aspects of the ladies' toilet by using Classical myths and literal methodology. Where Pope draws parallels between the rites of beauty and the rites of mass, Swift uses imagery from Greek and Roman mythology (such as the myth of Celia and Strephon and the myth of Pandora's box). While Pope draws further parallels between Belinda's toilet and the Classical armor of a hero, the entire mock-epic satirically expands the petty squabble of two Catholic families into an epic struggle in the manner of the Iliad.

Swift's Description of a City Shower evokes biblical, diluvian imagery to rain scorn upon what he considers to be a corrupt and doomed city. Political conflict, which was slowly tipping in Swift's disfavour, prompted him to make use of imagery from the Aeneid, drawing parallels between Aeneas and Dido and Tories and Whigs sheltering from the weather. Also, the use of biblical references, such as describing dust (the biblical material for the first man) as evil further marks this out as a mock-epic.

Sources:
The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Volume C: The Restoration and the Eighteenth Century, 8th edition, New York and London: Norton, 2006
Goring, Paul: Eighteenth-Century Literature and Culture, London: Continuum, 2008

Nick Clegg Looking Sad

Poor Nick Clegg. Stuck in an abusive relationship with a man with a shiny head. It doesn't help that he looks sad by default. A bit like Elijah Wood in most of his films, really.

Sad by default

This blog taps into that brilliantly with pictures and captions that can't fail to appeal with their pathos. Here are some of my favourites.

"

Nick Clegg clicked on 5 iPads to win a free iPad, but there was no free iPad, and now when he tries to open his work stuff loads of arses come on the screen instead.

Nick Clegg made a lasagne but it was far too big, and now he has to eat it all week because he hates throwing away food, and he doesn’t even like lasagne that much.

Nick Clegg sent a girl flowers, but she thought they were from another guy who she liked already, and then the other guy said it was him and took the credit.

Nick Clegg got told by Miriam to tidy the garden when he was already going to do it as a surprise, so now it’ll just look like he did it because she said to

Nick Clegg wanted to listen to Radio 4, but Miriam put on Chris Evans and said if he didn’t like it he could bloody well walk.

Nick Clegg heard a song that reminds him of when his cat was ill.

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Remind you a bit of the Chuck Norris facts, don't they? I, for one, have added a new RSS feed to my blog...

Sources: 1, 2 and as given. Thanks to K

Literary Characters - The Country Gentleman

Just as the rake and the fop were seen as dichotomies of masculinity, the Country Gentleman formed a dichotomy with the Cit. In addition the country gentleman became the object of an "internal dichotomy" where two representations highlighted the conflicts in an increasingly partisan political milieu.

The country gentleman first appeared in Horace and Virgil and was equated with the "good man" in Renaissance and 17th century literature. He embodied qualities like independence, freedom, moderation and earnestness. He is a character fundamentally in opposition to the city; he resents the fashions, customs, characters of and foreign influence on the city and, most significantly, is opposed to centralised politics. Whereas the character stays much the same throughout the 17th and 18th century, its use and the nature of its traits changes depending on which party is in power.

The Whig party in the making embraced the qualities of the country gentleman. They were opposed to the Stuart court and its Catholic, foreign affiliates. They conservatively and nationalistically celebrated country gentleman's Englishness (later representing him as Addison and Steele's Sir Roger de Coverley and John Bull) and saw him as a representative of the landed gentry whose ancestors made King John sign the Magna Charta. In Whig literature, like Buckingham and Howard's The Country Gentleman, the country gentleman visits the city, finds faults with city politics and particularly with the fops and their French excesses and returns to the country to avoid the corruption of the city.

The court, soon-to-be-Tory, party on the other hand supported the Stuarts, a hierarchical understanding of society and embraced foreign impulses (which neatly tied in with the Stuarts' inclination towards Catholicism). The Tories saw the country gentleman as a failed man; a rustic, cowardly, uncouth "booby" who failed to participate in society. He was clearly linked to the then vanquished roundhead Puritans in Aphra Behn's The Rover and The Roundheads. Here, the country gentleman is subjected to the wit and masculinity of the cavalier rake and fails to avoid being bested in all respects.

The Whig country gentleman's oppositional aspect did complicate matters following the Glorious Revolution and the protestant succession, however. To oppose the new government became synonymous with supporting the ousted Stuarts and so the Whigs washed their hands of the country gentleman. Fielding's Tom Jones features Squire Western, a brutish country gentleman in contrast to the polite de Coverley. As the Whigs switched sides, the country gentleman became more of a threatening Tory figure.

There is a further twist to this confusing story. The decline of the Tories was followed by a fragmentation of the Whig party. Robert Walpole's absolutist tendencies met with opposition from members of his own party who saw these as Tory characteristics. Thus, the negatively depicted country gentleman would simultaneously be used to criticise Walpole's government (as Fielding did) and to criticise those political elements in the city which were in opposition to this government. (Colley Cibber's country gentleman's central characteristic, as portrayed in The Provok'd Husband; or a Journey to London, is wrongheaded opposition to politics and politicians).

Towards the end of the 18th century, with the rise of the cult of sensibility, saw a softening in the treatment of the country gentleman. In Henry Mackenzie's The Man of Feeling, the he is presented in a more favourable light. In a number of tableaux, the country gentleman Ben Stilton and later Harvey, the eponymous protagonist, are more in tune with morality and virtue than city characters they encounter. Although this corresponds to the properties of sensibility it also destroys the country gentleman or leaves him at a consistent disadvantage.

John Bull - the francophobic country gentleman

In addition, a more masculine, active, rough and ready country gentleman rises to prominence towards the end of the century. The John Bull character became an oppositional response to threatening developments in France and this form of the country gentleman would become the precedent for many of the country gentlemen of the 19th century. From Austen to Wilde, the happy completion of a plot would often involve settling in the country and becoming a country gentleman.

Source: Elaine M. McGirr, Eighteenth-Century Characters: A Guide to the Literature of the Age (Houndsmills: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007)

The Least Bad System, Pt. 1 - Nick Clegg's Disproportional Democracy

In a speech before the House of Commons in 1947, Winston Churchill said that "democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time"(i) and recent events from the British Isles bring those ominously relevant words to mind.

On the 11th of May, Tory David Cameron was confirmed by the Queen as the new PM of the United Kingdom ending the hung parliament through a coalition deal with Lib Dem Nick Clegg. Indeed, the identity of the future occupants of no. 10 Downing street has hung very much in the balance as Lib Dem negotiators have spent long hours in talks with both sides. With 306 seats for the Conservatives and 258 for Labour there was no overall majority and the initiative fell to Clegg's 57 Liberal Democrat seat. Although the first-past-the-post system admittedly gives Lib Dems fewer seats than a popular count should suggest and several voters did not manage to cast their ballots due to long queues, this reveals one of the flaws which might have figured in Churchill's mind in November 1947.

Tory PM David Cameron and Lib Dem Nick Clegg

(source: BBC)

The basic principle of democracy was perhaps best put into words by Abraham Lincoln in his Gettysburg Address; a "government of the people, by the people, for the people". However, this principle might be unattainable in real life. In the UK some citizens did not get to vote because of queues. Those who voted for the Tories probably did not expect them to compromise on some of their issues or abandon some of their candidates to make room for Lib Dems. Likewise, although many Lib Dem voters will rejoice in the cabinet seats gained, there is bound to be some protests in the electorate of a party which traditionally is more enamoured of Labour than Conservative ways(ii). The rub, though, is that the party, which by the current system got the fewest seats and at least in theory the fewest votes, is the one which decides the immediate political future of the country.

William Hogarth's 1758 engraving from "Chairing of the Members"

Admittedly, the UK form of democracy is an awkward one and has been for some time, as the Hogarth engraving above can satirically testify, but this political twist is not exclusive to the isles. In Switzerland for one, the concordance system has lead to constant coalition governments from 1959 onwards (iii). Coalition governments are responses to situations like the British one, where no party gets a clear majority in parliament and must broker a deal with other parties in order to achieve political legitimacy. They occur mainly in states where parliament is elected on a proportional basis rather than through electoral colleges, as is the system in the US. However, a number of issues arise in such a power constellation.

One such is the issue of voter fidelity. The coalition government should ideally be composed of as few fractions as possible. This is in order to avoid internal struggles which weaken the government by estranging their electoral bases and leave the coalition open to votes of no confidence. As is the case in the UK, future conflicts on issues like how to deal with the economy and the for now largely ignored issue of voting reforms might estrange voters and leave the road open for a Labour comeback.

Another issue which could arise is the one of political effectiveness. While coalition governments perhaps reflect the political composition of the electorate, they also present a veneer of unity. Two outcomes might result from any disagreements within such a coalition; either the issue at hand is not properly dealt with because of internal discussions, often prolonging the government's response time or the issue is not properly dealt with for the opposite reasons. The need to present a united front silences any necessary discussion and leaves the issue haphazardly handled. In both cases both government and state suffer from such occurences, and Mr. Clegg and Mr. Cameron will have to tread very carefully to avoid this in the times to come.

UK national seats, coalition on the right

(source: BBC)

Finally, coming full circle to what I above defined as the rub, there is the issue of proportional division of power. As I will discuss in the next instalment in this series, as soon as the voter has cast his vote political power has effectively moved from him to the elected representative. This means that ideally decision power in the new government should reflect the populace. In the recent UK election, however, the basics for this decision power proved to lie in the hands of the roughly 7 million Lib Dem voters. They indirectly got to choose whether the voice of the 8.6 million Labour electorate or the 10.7 million Conservative electorate should be the dominant in the UK political future. This way, each Lib Dem voted effectively ended up with more political power than any other voter.

What remains to see now is how the Lib Dems will act on issues where they politically stand closer to Labour. Will they openly oppose the Tories or will they bury their hatchet and preserve the appearance of unity? If so, for how long will the hatchet stay buried? In many aspects the political future of the UK now very much rests with the Lib Dems and their disproportionally powerful electorate.

Stay tuned for Pt.2 in this series

Endnotes:
(i) http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Winston_Churchill
(ii) http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/election_2010/8669991.stm
(iii) http://www.vimentis.ch/d/lexikon/299/Zauberformel+.html

Sources
http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/27/070.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/election_2010/8675265.stm
http://www.dagbladet.no/2010/05/11/nyheter/storbritannia/utenriks/11682523/
http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/buruma37/English

Images
http://declarationsandexclusions.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8345239a669e2010535d9fa82970c-800wi
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/election_2010/8675265.stm