Godfrey Bigot gets back to basics

Godfrey Bigot gets back to basics

The major parties are lining up for a law and order policy auction, each seeking to make the highest bid. They will trade in pseudo-solutions that prey on the public's fears and shape public debate so it focuses on scapegoating the weak and powerless, rather than on the real issues.

 If there was any fairness to our legal system, then much of our political establishment would be behind bars. As would the mega-rich, who don't pay tax, along with the multinationals destroying the planet, not to mention our corrupt major parties which accept huge financial bribes called “campaign donations”.

And let's face it, the Wood royal commission proved that the real centre of criminal activity in this state is the police service itself.

It is the structure of society that is corrupt.

The political establishment, the ALP and the Coalition, are completely dysfunctional. They are a hindrance to freedom of thought, parasites on the carcass of our “democracy”. Their policies on issues like law and order are often more suited to selling margarine than any philosophical vision for society.

The entire political process has been debased. Politics is increasingly operating through constructed images of deception aimed solely at manipulation. We are fed heavily filtered simplicities; complex issues are reduced to mindless, misleading slogans.

An insane political system needs an “insane” response. One strategy to draw attention to the insanity and inanity of the political process is satire.

That's where my creation of Godfrey Bigot comes in.

Satire is a legitimate extension of existing democratic politics. The more the public is reminded of the illusions of politics, the better.

With satire, the political establishment's absurd manipulation of image and symbols can be countered with its equally absurd mirror image. It is exposed by being exposed to itself.

Using humour, people can be shown very serious political problems that are not being adequately addressed, and thereby be encouraged to think more critically about the world we live in, the world that we are all responsible for.