You live in total darkness when it comes to politics..
Belly,
Politics is darkness, I suppose that's why you can't see it ! I don't know 49% of the population but I know what they're up to, I can see it throughout every Term of Govt. It's actually not 49% of the population, it's the wrong population making up 49 %, the rest are fairly sane !

indy thanks for the entertainment, you have me rolling on the floor laughing but let the thread die
It only highlights the fragile nature of your links to reality
Thanks for the contributions but let it drift away, see you in another thread

Fester and Runner- Interesting comments- Thanks.

Racism just got an unwitting ally in NZ. The exploitation will begin in earnest very soon !

Individual- I agree that in democracy education (the cause and effect of power in different contexts) in a broad sense is really important for the electorate to have a high level of understanding in order for the system to work effectively and efficiently. This is one of the reasons why free speech is so critical- rather than political correctness. There is a risk with free speech that emotive issues will sway the electorate- with education the electorate will be able to approach issues more rationally- and will be less influenced by shock tactics.

I've been trying to get through Plato's Rhetoric which outlines how politicians used influence in ancient Greece (but it's really boring- I'll have to push through the boredom one day to get to the end- I'm sure there is wisdom for budding Philadelphia Lawyers in there somewhere ;) ).

Hopefully with a better understanding of rhetoric I can understand better how to offset undue influence in debates- I think this was Plato's intent.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philadelphia_lawyer

Thanks for your comments Individual. Always interesting.