Thoughts about Election 2023

Oliver Neighbourly Lead from One Tree Point

Here we go again
Election time is coming
And this time it's prone to be
More disinformative than ever
Now that lying has become acceptable

We're mad, and we're angry
And deep inside we all know too well
That something is going horribly wrong
We don't know what to believe and who to trust
Let alone what to do and where to start
We're craving simple answers
To ever more complex issues
We're falling for them yet again
Roll it all back, lock them all up
Blame the other guy who's somehow different
Let loose the flood of abuse
From the anonymity of our keyboards

Actually, we know exactly what to do
We have all the tools we'll ever need
It's inconvenient, it's uncomfortable
Nobody wants to be the first to admit
How wrong we got it in the past
Our greed for bigger, faster, more
Three and a half times our fair share
When even too much is never enough
And every second word is growth

A while ago we got a glimpse
What life could be like
Then we wasted another crisis
On buying stuff and revenge travel
And selling houses to each other
Build back better became bounce back harder
Pre-pandemic levels within reach
We push it all to and past the limits
And then complain about the prices
Permanently unhappy again

The media keep us all in line
With the well-established tropes
The same five economists every week
With nine different opinions
Why this is good or bad or anything in between
And why we need more unemployment

Some of us say it's time for a change
Same old same old in a different colour
More roads to nowhere, more tunnel vision
More of the same that hasn't been working
We get to choose between Chris for our king
A two-horse race with dismal odds
No future either way, no chance to win

Change is coming anyway
Faster than we might think and like
A year ago there was no managed retreat
Now some of us are already begging for it
Pay us off, bail us out, let us go
We can't take it anymore

People under pressure don't do better!

So what if we provided the basics to everyone
Would that be worth paying a bit more tax?
Would that be worth sharing a bit more wealth?
Imagine the boost to our mental health
To our collective well-being
Doing better with less, so we all get more
In the safe green zone of the economic doughnut
Not out of bounds, not in the hole
No more jumping through countless hoops
Not having to fricking worry all the time
Could be the best investment we ever made
And might almost pay for itself

Or would we rather spend instead
On fences, walls and barbed wire
Security cameras and guards
Enjoy our freedom from behind bars
Protect our castles and trusts of gold
And keep the hangry mob at bay…

So is it about what's in it for me
Or are we rather in it for us?
Is it ok to just let it derail
Or are we getting back on track?
Do we take it over the top
Or do we take it back a notch or two?
The time to act is now
As it has always been