'Time to Think the Unthinkable? Here's a Few - Just for Starters ; Opinion: Thepensioner

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WHY did the chicken cross the road? And why is it the only creature that can never cross a road without its motives being brought into question? Lately, it's not just chickens - it's politicians. Whatever they do nowadays, the question raised is not "Was that a good thing to do?" but "Why did he do it?" It's just happened to Obama. He scrapped one of George Bush's daftest-ever ideas, the Star Wars initiative. Bush dreamed that one day he'd be able to keep everybody dancing to America's tune by threatening to blast their countries to smithereens. Even if it had ever got completed, it would have been no more use against terrorists than Israel's nuclear arsenal is against Hamas. Scrapping it was commonsense.

But we've all grown so cynical that nobody believes anything politicians say. We look for the hidden motive. Up to a point that's healthy scepticism, and I've certainly done my share. But maybe it can go too far. I've got a nasty feeling the next election will have the lowest voter turnout since records began. That's a bit scary. Elaine Morgan thepensioner I remember when the answer to "Why did he do that?" seemed obvious. If he was on the Right, it was because he believed in the virtues of free enterprise and the stultifying effect of too much state interference. If he was on the Left, he believed that a benevolent government could prevent the rich from grinding the faces of the poor by taking over the means of production, distribution, and exchange.

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'Time to Think the Unthinkable? Here's a Few - Just for Starters ; Opinion: Thepensioner

Both were sincerely held convictions. Both have suffered a severe loss ...

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