DEMO-KRETINACY
The running stand up comedy festival that is our legislature is now in session.
The politicians have all come back from their tax payer funded fact finding trips to Paris, London and Hawaii. Refreshed and ready to apportion our nations wealth in a just and judicious manner and make wise legislation to make our nation strong, prosperous and uphold democracy. No really. Thats what we are told their job is.
By text book definition, a democracy is a system of power where the citizenry (as in 'we the people') hold the power. Naturally, we are all too busy eking out survival wages to take too much interest in unimportant decisions like how much more money we will be asked to spend on things we did not ask for. So, we chose to delegate that power to our elected officials. The idea being, if we do not like being the most taxed civilised nation, we can do something about it.
In return we get nice things like the assurances that we will not be shot in the head by the security organs, receive the right to a fair trial when accused of a crime. Minor policy decisions like going to war would be done after a due legal process and for just reasons.
In the unlikely scenario in another universe where all those things would come to pass and democracy would be in peril, democracy's protectors would step forth. The journalists of the mass media would rally to argue for the truth.
The opposition parties in the legislature, would act to protects our basic human and democratic rights.
As I am writing this, our Australian senate has just had its right to question the government curtailed. A basic tenant of Democracy. Transparency and accountability have been diminished. I for one, trust the current government not to abuse that power. Its record speaks for itself. Therefore there is no need for its decisions to be questioned. I for one, welcome our new Liberal overlords.
We may rest assured though, that if everything else fails there is a way out.
A failsafe inherent in the system of Democracy.
The 'electorate' will vote the disqualified out of power.
Sadly, this does not work too well in practice.
One hundred years ago Gustave LeBon said in his book The Crowd, "In the collective mind the intellectual aptitudes of individuals...are weakened. ...The decisions made by an assembly of men of distinction...are not sensibly superior to the decisions that would be adopted by a gathering of imbeciles.".
In essence saying, a mass of highly intelligent people generally make decisions akin to a huge mentally retarded animal.
It may well be, that our idea of what Democracy is, does not actually mean when we think it means. As in, "...That word, 'Democracy' you keep using, I do not think it means what you think it means." Hugo Chavez, a Democratically elected president of Venezuela has been recently thought of very badly by the US.
What is his sin? This cardinal 'Evildoer of the day'?
He used the oil wealth of his country to help the poor.
Evil, pure and simple.
In the words of one US official, 'His concept of Democracy is at odds with the prevailing understanding of what democracy is.'
Naturally, being democratically elected means little. Some people in the past, recent and distant have been democratically elected. I shall refrain from the mentioning the names least my rethoric be defeated by the virtue of Godwins law. True in the eyes of some, democratic elections mean little given that some consider the politicians can simply be be bought (or at least leased) by vested interest or outright steal the election.
Still, most people believe that the notion of having our bags randomly searched in public transit is what makes us free.
"Our forefathers chose to die in wars past to preserve our freedoms. We choose to die of fright to lose our freedoms.". Biographer, take not of this, its an imminently quotable Wulfism.
Our government is going to convene shortly to come up with more measures to preserve our basic human right of being alive. The position they take is that certain freedoms must be sacrificed to preserve our democracy. I think this is an excellent idea.
Worth immortalising for the future generation on a monument (or a tombstone) of Democracy. Something along the lines of "Making you less free to keep you free."
I restate, we must have faith in the system.
It has proved over and over again that it can be trusted.
It has never deceived us.
Is has never made mistakes.
Under the new anti-terrorism laws we will be safer.
Innocent people have nothing to fear from living in a 'freedom managed' (like that euphemism?) system.
Unless of course, you are running late for a train and do not stop when the police shout at you to stop. Why would you stop? You know you are innocent, they can't be shouting at you.
*BANG*
*BANG*
*BANG*
*BANG*
*BANG*
*BANG*
*BANG*
The politicians have all come back from their tax payer funded fact finding trips to Paris, London and Hawaii. Refreshed and ready to apportion our nations wealth in a just and judicious manner and make wise legislation to make our nation strong, prosperous and uphold democracy. No really. Thats what we are told their job is.
By text book definition, a democracy is a system of power where the citizenry (as in 'we the people') hold the power. Naturally, we are all too busy eking out survival wages to take too much interest in unimportant decisions like how much more money we will be asked to spend on things we did not ask for. So, we chose to delegate that power to our elected officials. The idea being, if we do not like being the most taxed civilised nation, we can do something about it.
In return we get nice things like the assurances that we will not be shot in the head by the security organs, receive the right to a fair trial when accused of a crime. Minor policy decisions like going to war would be done after a due legal process and for just reasons.
In the unlikely scenario in another universe where all those things would come to pass and democracy would be in peril, democracy's protectors would step forth. The journalists of the mass media would rally to argue for the truth.
The opposition parties in the legislature, would act to protects our basic human and democratic rights.
As I am writing this, our Australian senate has just had its right to question the government curtailed. A basic tenant of Democracy. Transparency and accountability have been diminished. I for one, trust the current government not to abuse that power. Its record speaks for itself. Therefore there is no need for its decisions to be questioned. I for one, welcome our new Liberal overlords.
We may rest assured though, that if everything else fails there is a way out.
A failsafe inherent in the system of Democracy.
The 'electorate' will vote the disqualified out of power.
Sadly, this does not work too well in practice.
One hundred years ago Gustave LeBon said in his book The Crowd, "In the collective mind the intellectual aptitudes of individuals...are weakened. ...The decisions made by an assembly of men of distinction...are not sensibly superior to the decisions that would be adopted by a gathering of imbeciles.".
In essence saying, a mass of highly intelligent people generally make decisions akin to a huge mentally retarded animal.
It may well be, that our idea of what Democracy is, does not actually mean when we think it means. As in, "...That word, 'Democracy' you keep using, I do not think it means what you think it means." Hugo Chavez, a Democratically elected president of Venezuela has been recently thought of very badly by the US.
What is his sin? This cardinal 'Evildoer of the day'?
He used the oil wealth of his country to help the poor.
Evil, pure and simple.
In the words of one US official, 'His concept of Democracy is at odds with the prevailing understanding of what democracy is.'
Naturally, being democratically elected means little. Some people in the past, recent and distant have been democratically elected. I shall refrain from the mentioning the names least my rethoric be defeated by the virtue of Godwins law. True in the eyes of some, democratic elections mean little given that some consider the politicians can simply be be bought (or at least leased) by vested interest or outright steal the election.
Still, most people believe that the notion of having our bags randomly searched in public transit is what makes us free.
"Our forefathers chose to die in wars past to preserve our freedoms. We choose to die of fright to lose our freedoms.". Biographer, take not of this, its an imminently quotable Wulfism.
Our government is going to convene shortly to come up with more measures to preserve our basic human right of being alive. The position they take is that certain freedoms must be sacrificed to preserve our democracy. I think this is an excellent idea.
Worth immortalising for the future generation on a monument (or a tombstone) of Democracy. Something along the lines of "Making you less free to keep you free."
I restate, we must have faith in the system.
It has proved over and over again that it can be trusted.
It has never deceived us.
Is has never made mistakes.
Under the new anti-terrorism laws we will be safer.
Innocent people have nothing to fear from living in a 'freedom managed' (like that euphemism?) system.
Unless of course, you are running late for a train and do not stop when the police shout at you to stop. Why would you stop? You know you are innocent, they can't be shouting at you.
*BANG*
*BANG*
*BANG*
*BANG*
*BANG*
*BANG*
*BANG*
posted by Wulfy | 9:49 PM
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