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Berzerker
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topeka, kansas,USA
May 1999
time: 23:30
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This country has become a "democracy" inspite of the Constitution's guarantee of a republican form of government. The result? Just about every policy matter is brought down to a common denominator - opinion polls. If the majority wants something, then the policy makers pushing what the majority wants will use opinion polls to tell us that "the American people" want this or that (and to hell with the minority who doesn't).
Advocates of "democracy" can't complain when this happens since they have to be willing to live with being in the majority sometimes and in the minority at other times. But this is a recipe for disaster, wars no longer need overwhelming support, just the majority. Laws and proposed laws no longer need overwhelming support, just the majority. If people are roughly divided on an issue, then the media and policy makers will try to sway enough people to their side so they can claim "the American people" want what they want...and presto...they now have the "moral authority" to screw the minority as well as their immediate targets.
Case in point - the drug war, perhaps not every aspect like asset forfeiture or minimum mandatory sentences, has the support of a large majority. But %65-75 do support some form of drug prohibition - and that general support leads to further, greater evils like the above (give politicians and bureaucrats an inch and they'll try to take a foot). That's why tobacco lawsuits and smoking regulations are gaining traction, because as smokers become a smaller percent of the voting population, "activists" and the politicians who support them have less reason to fear a political backlash with politicians getting booted from office by smokers.
If that's all it takes to pass a bunch of laws with the Constitution no more than a rhetorical device for deceitful and willfully ignorant ideologues, then it's no wonder why the USA has such high incarceration rates. But such laws breed dis-respect, not just from drug users, but the rest of us who oppose prohibition. If you can't get the support of ~%99+ of the people for a law, what's the point? That's why alcohol prohibition failed, far too many Americans still believed in freedom and ignored the law.
Then there's war. Would the USA run around waging wars every decade if not for "majority rule"? Would Bush have pushed for an invasion of Iraq prior to 9/11? No, the few trial balloons sent up by his administration would have been popped and he would have realised he didn't have the majority on his side. But after 9/11 and the obvious anger was there waiting to be tapped into for an invasion, all that was needed were several mis-representations to get the majority's blessing and that's all he needed. Naturally, media pundits who supported an invasion were glad to repeat the lies ad nauseum and constantly let us all know once the majority threshhold was achieved. I'm tired of people who tell us that the majority supports what they want only to abandon "majority rule" when they find themselves in the minority...
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Ned
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of Aptos, CA
Oct 1999
time: 21:30
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Bezerker, true in a way. I can't wait to see the new Mel Gibson movie on the crucifixion of Jesus. The thing that is startling, is that this was the routine way the Romans executed criminals. And yet the justice system was woefully lacking in due process - arrested at 12, tried at 3, scourged at 6, crucified at 12, died at 3.
When something similar occurred in Starship Troopers, I was deeply shocked at the extreme lack of due process. But only later did I realize that the movie and the book seemed to be a modern reincarnation of the Roman Empire and its ethos.
But this is way off topic. I think democracy is great. I have become somewhat convinced that "representative" government is not as good as it is fundamentally corrupt. Perhaps the role of the legislature would be to flesh out the details of legislation once authorized in principle by the people through a proposition system.
Wouldn't it be great, for example, to have a procedure where the president would have to bring questions of war or peace to the people for a direct vote?
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Soul Survivor
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UChicago
May 2003
time: 05:30
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People in general don't know whats best for them
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Soul Survivor
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UChicago
May 2003
time: 05:30
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quote:
Originally posted by Ned
sole survivor, you're not a communist, are you? |
no not at all.... i'm quite anti-left
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11-08-2003 03:23
I hate elitist trolls. The US has never ben a democracy, it IS a republic because people are to apathetic to keep Washington from Politics as Usual. The US will not be a true democracy untill politicians are no longer in the pockets of Special Intrests and the power of Party Politics is eliminated.
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