Member Kieran Sawdon reflects on the current political climate…
Eight years ago, I sat in my bedroom, turned on my TV and tweaked the volume down low to disguise the fact that I, as a twelve year old on a school night, planned on pulling an all-nighter to watch the election results that saw one Barack Obama elected as president of the United States. I was at that time starting to go through a journey of self-discovery, and I remember how much hope Obama’s election gave me. To this day I cite that night as one of the major reasons that I’ve ended up so political.
Once again this year, I pulled an all nighter, and once again I was in tears by the end - but this time for all the wrong reasons. Terror. Division. Hatred. These are the themes that characterise Donald Trump’s campaign to the White House. America deserves better than this, but America isn’t alone in this fight - the world deserves better than this.
What we are seeing before us is another justification for division, discrimination and downright bullying. In these islands, it’s a double whammy for us. Our recent referendum opened the doors to some of the most horrific ideologies in our society: they feel as though their causes are now justified. I don’t blame everyone who voted Leave, I accept that there were credible arguments for leaving. But what the Leave Campaign cannot ignore is that they were supported by some of the most deplorable sects in our society, including the abhorrent Britain First.
The easiest way to sum all of this up is in one simple sentence: the world’s gone nuts.
What’s going on?
So how have we allowed ourselves to get into this position? What is going on? It is quite simple really - people are sick of their problems and struggles being ignored. The status quo isn’t working for them, they’ve been left behind whilst a small minority has excelled. In America, just as in Wales, people are simply crying out for change. They don’t care what comes with it, they don’t care what it justifies, in their eyes nothing can be worse for them than it is now.
Brexit and Trump are the people’s way of rebelling against the establishment that has treated them with such contempt. From growing up in a valleys town where the local community centre just up the road doubles as a food bank, where my neighbours struggle to afford to live due to attacks on everyday life such as the Bedroom Tax, I must be honest when I say I don’t blame them.
It just screams one answer: the status quo needs to change, and fast. This is where us in Plaid Ifanc and Plaid Cymru as a whole should come in. Anyone who has had any involvement with us knows for a fact that we are all about smashing that status quo to pieces.
We know that Labour couldn’t care less for us, no matter how cuddly Corbyn seems. And we also know that the mess that has been Labour of late has solidified Tory rule for a good foreseeable future. Just like the peoples of the US, the people of Wales believe that they’ve only ever had a choice between bad or worse. All people want is hope of a better future.
Remember Leave’s motto Take Back Control? You’ve got to hand it to them, that was a captivating message. It really made people emotional, everyone who felt as though they had no say and that no one cared resonated with it, and I believe that was one of the major reasons Leave won. Similar to Trump, those who supported him welled up at the sight of his caption Make America Great Again, I can easily see a parallel between the two. It’s a shame really that those two messages of hope were used for campaigns that gave a free run for the divisive far-right.
A vision for Wales
So I say this in an open, inclusive and positive way - Let us take back control and make Wales great. We in Plaid believe in a Wales that can control her own destiny, that looks out for their neighbours, that allows people to truly succeed in life and that will never leave a person behind. That is what we consider as in integral part of being Welsh, an identity that extends to anyone and everyone who wants to play their part in Wales’ story.
A Wales that is a part of the world stage can exemplify prosperity and inclusivity as one and the same. A Wales where we, the peoples of this nation, decide what we do and how we do it. A Wales where we are freed of the shackles that hold us down and limit our potential. A Wales where we smash the status quo and replace it with a positive, multicultural and prosperous society.
All people want in their lives is to be happy and successful in what they do, for us to be able to do that in Wales, we must give our country the power to allow it.
Regardless of race. Regardless of gender. Regardless of sexual orientation. Regardless of how you identify. Regardless of language. Regardless of where you come from. Everyone has their part to play in Wales’ story.
This is the message that people need to hear. That there IS another alternative to the status quo. That we can succeed in a positive and acceptive society and be a beacon of hope across the world while we do it. The power and the ability is in our hands, we just need to share the dream and grasp it. We need to build a movement that calls out the far right fascists for what they are, and shows people an alternative agenda to the far right’s divisive ways.
This must be our plan now. To spread this message. To smash the status quo and put the far right in their place whilst we do it. I say this to everyone - join us. Help us spread the message. Don’t weep, mobilise!
