Jesus wept. You just can not make these things up.
In three weeks time various desperate, creepy, touchy feely Brussels communications types (you know who I mean) are hoping to gather “young people” together in European cities to deliver an Isley Brothers-style shout to Europe.
Let us forget for now (suspending disbelief is part of everyday life here in Brussels), that the message already came through loud and clear from France, the Netherlands and Ireland.
Those “shouts”, popular votes, went unheard. But, hey, never mind. That was real politics this is just advertising puff for the European elections.
The “shout” is part of an MTV campaign (three spots, cost of EUR2.3 million) to “encourage young people throughout the European Union to share their feelings, ideas and concerns”.
The ads “feature young people hanging loudspeakers in London, Paris and Rome and aim to encourage young people throughout the EU to express themselves, to make their voices heard”.
“Young people will then be encouraged to make themselves heard politically, by taking part in the European Parliament elections in June.”
Appropriately enough, there is activity planned on Twitter too.
All this excitement comes to a shattering, juddering climax on April 30 with an “EU-wide ‘Can you hear me’ sound wave“.
“Join us for the biggest shout in Europe. Ever. A roaring soundwave that can be heard from the North of Finland to the South of Spain.”
“Yes, that big. Yes, that loud.”
“Do it yourself or with friends – on the street, in town, at home, from a window or on the internet through a webcam.”
“We will film the event for a TV special that will be shown across Europe on MTV.”
Better keep your ears peeled or you might miss it.
Needless to say, behind all the breathless, gushing PR prose is the cynical appreciation that “young people” must be bribed to secure their involvement in such a dreadful and moronic exercise.
“Make your voice heard now and you could be shouting at a top MTV gig somewhere in Europe,” says the website.
“You and a friend could be off to a top MTV event. Capture or record a shout telling us how you feel about being part of Europe; your experiences, travels, culture – whatever you want to shout about! Get your mates involved or make it more personal.”
This is all typically patronising and commitment-lite, an indication of the low expectations and true contempt in which “young people” and the rest of us are held.
It is European politics for cretins. “Whatever you want to shout about”, it doesn’t really matter what, it can be a swivel-eyed Eurosceptic rant, it can even be your holiday snaps, just as long as you do and as long as you do it with the EU for MTV.
It is a circle jerk. This is the kind of mindless activity that really can make you blind.
People, young or old, should not vote in the European elections unless they think they are being offered a manifesto that directly addresses politics – for the EU, to reform it or against it.
It is better not to vote than to perpetuate a ghastly sham. If low turnout reflects a lack of political engagement with the EU project then so be it.
It is certainly better to do nothing than to indulge the creepy, vampire-like proclivities of the political living dead in their restless search for youthful affirmation via stunts like this.
In terms of how the EU functions and its practices, you can shout all you like. Changing things requires politics.
How much politics, outside the empty, exhausted posturing of mainstream national parties or little England-type nationalists, will there be on offer in the European elections?
Mindless stunts and exhortations to vote (it’s your choice) are no susbstitute for politics and illustrate how little real choice there is.
The EU, and most public authority at the national level for that matter, leans heavily on structures that lift policy to a technocratic realm above politics and maintain a public free zone for officialdom and diplomats.
Time for politics for a change. To quote the great Gil Scott-Heron:
“The revolution will not go better with Coke. The revolution will not fight the germs that may cause bad breath. The revolution will put you in the driver’s seat. The revolution will not be televised, will not be televised, will not be televised, will not be televised. The revolution will be no re-run brothers. The revolution will be live.”
You won’t find the revolution on MTV, especially when it comes from the EU communications people.
#1 by Wessel van Rensburg on April 9, 2009 - 8:04 pm
Well Mr. Bruno Waterfield, just checked the site, and one of the shouts say “The EU is a corrupt dictatorship. Reject it at the elections. No to Lisbon.”
That’s hardly politics lite.
And another ” EU “ends” in Portugal not on South of Spain. Change your Shout intro and of course Pt will shout loud!” and the rather nationalistic “Portugal : Shout so loud, that maybe the russians will hear you !!” and not to mention “Romania : Shout so loud that even the authoritarian rulers clinging to power in Moldova could hear the voice of Europe!”.
OK full disclosure – I was part of the team that built the site.
We were surprised that the EU accepted the idea. Because whatever the markatese on the site, the functionality – the bit that really matters – is open and very democratic.
The EU should be congratiolated, and so should MTV.
#2 by Seymour Mclean on April 10, 2009 - 10:12 pm
Dear citizens of Europe,
The spiritual and cultural objectives of the European Union is to form an ever closer union of peoples and nations, without a direct approach to this question matters will be little advanced while endless debate rages, during the recent G20 meeting in London, the Queen of England refused to present President Obama with digital copies of six of the Ethiopian Manuscripts from her Royal Library, that the Amarican’s may still be in spiritual darkness and money madness, for the love of money and power is the root of all evil.
In Europe after World Wars and political freedom, Europe has a responsibility not to return to the failed policies of domination of the poor by the rich, and the practice of spiritual wickedness in high offices of authority in Europe.
The Ethiopian manuscripts looted from the Church at Magdala on 13 April 1868, and in England today are an example of that denial of spiritual and cultural education by past colonial masters, no citisen in Europe today can be proud of the morality exposed in the Church of Rome and the Church of England, sacrelidge is no simple matter, and the guilty will not go to the grave unjudged. Elizabeth 2nd Queen of England is one such spirit, because sacrelidge committed by Queen Victoria is accepted by Her, given a chance to repent at the G20 meeting in London she entrenched her position in front of World opinion, will the voters of the European elections have rights over their own spiritual and cultural destiny, and what is the opinion of elected representatives?
#3 by Seymour Mclean on April 10, 2009 - 10:29 pm
President Hans-Gert Pottering of the European Parliament, and President Barroso of The European Commission are two European leaders with knowledge of this matter of the Looting of the Ethiopian Church on 13 April 1868, and the looted church property in England today, valued at over 3 Billion sterling by British newspapers, can the Presidents of Europe or any elected member of Parliament coment on this matter before the elections? If the Queen of England choses to go to her grave with looted church property she will not take the peoples of Europe who have suffered world wars because of British Government policies to dominate the World, today the peoples of Europe must guard against another period of War’s in Europe and the rest of the World, spiritual and cultural education opens the vista and provide foresight to human beings.
#4 by zeleneye on April 15, 2009 - 12:20 pm
Poor Bruno. You are an angry little man. Do you wake up every day and wonder what inane initiative you can find to criticise?
Can I just ask, you often claim to be “pro-European” but “anti-EU”. What does that mean? What is your realistic alternative?
When you have finished up in Brussels, what will be your purpose in life?
Is politics in Britain any better? Certainly not judging by the quality of our media.
#5 by Bruno Waterfield on April 15, 2009 - 4:09 pm
Hey Zeleneye. I am very mellow. I wake in the morning thinking of coffee before slapping Gil Scott-Heron or something on the turntable and brewing up a double shot on my Gaggia.
I am pro-European (from the enlightenment, libertarian, internationalist and Marxist traditions) by inclination precisely because of the limitations and moronic qualities of what passes for politics in Britain and elsewhere in Europe.
I do not see the EU as anymore representative of Europeans than, say, the British head of state, HMQ, is representative of Britons.
I am a critic of EU to the same extent, and largely for the same reasons, that I am a republican who supports a proper democratic constitution in Britain. Brussels and Whitehall is the same game.
Can I refer you to here
http://www.manifestoclub.com/euessays
Re: politics for cretins, behind my rant at the inane PR puffery is a serious point about how the EU institutions tend to regard citizens.
As for Brussels the city, I love it. After sipping my coffee of a morning I have to pinch myself to make sure its real… then I get down to the day job.