Petitions: Hear me out and read it first!

Well...

Granted it's been a while since I expressed an opinion, revealed a drunken story or made some other statement which is usually invalid to most people's views or understandings, but I'm back.

Why haven't I posted anything for over a month?

Because I haven't had anything to write about. I've been in a sort of idea desert. I've tried to find stuff to write about but nothing really stood out and I thought it would better to not write anything at all rather than to write something not worth reading. That way I don't waste time writing it and you don't waste time reading it.

So!

What is this fantastic, revolutionary and inspiring topic I have picked to divulge your minds and alter your philosophical output?

Petitions.


Yeah, petitions.

I have built up all of this to talk about sodding petitions but don't despair, click the small x on your screen or press the lock screen on your phone because I actually, I think, have a point.

When I was a kid petitions were the weapons of door-to-door campaigners. They were the little pieces of paper on a clipboard that usually asked for a signature so that the new road wasn't built near your cute little town and thus give you a bit of extra traffic.

Now, however, they seem to be the only way people wish to 'get back' at the government.

Nowadays I can't go onto Facebook without being bombarded with petitions asking for this or that.

The most popular one I saw recently was the 'Block Donald J Trump from UK entry', and this got me thinking.

Donald Trump is, to be polite with my description, a bit of a tosser. I don't particularly think he is a wise or even balanced individual but he is somehow running for the presidency of the US of A, and with strong support too!

This lead to some idiot wishing to create a petition to ban the billionaire barnet disaster from entering the UK.

This is to state that the UK public would BAN the next possible President of the United States.

Trump's a dick but my god! You can't just ban a man from entering the country because you don't like him or his views!

If the world acted like that most people wouldn't get anywhere!

What's even more worrying is that, on last count, the petition has received 579, 077 signatures!

That means that the House of  Commons HAS to debate it.

What a waste of time in the Government's already busy schedule.

Now before people get on my back and state that we have to have some way of raising issues to parliament, hold your horses!

I get it, we need them. They are very important and necessary but leave them for important issues like the NHS, welfare etc.

After looking at the most popular petitions I am genuinely confused.

The second most popular petition is

Stop all immigration and close the UK borders until ISIS is defeated.

THIS! is second to the Trump one. This petition is stating EXACTLY what Trump wants in the USA but people don't want him here? Ridiculous.

There's a few more on immigration and asylum seekers and predictably one on making cannabis legal, another stupid thing to raise in government. There's bigger issues than whether you can buy a bit of green in your local newsagents.

What I think people need to realise is that petitions are actually quite serious things. Only sign a petition if you really feel passionate about it. Otherwise you're just going to waste time in parliament. What's more, use them rarely so there use is more prominent. Don't just make a petition because you had a bad McFlurry and want more smarties in it.

Think about this way. If you get hundreds of Valentines cards every year you won't pay much attention to them. If you just get the one, you might want to read it with a little more care and consider what is being said.