Democracy. The word is bandied about these days. It’s election season in my country, and democracy is on the ballot. At least, that’s what both sides are saying. I speak of both sides because elections in the U. S. inevitably become binary.
Them or us.
To hear each side tell it, voting for the other would have apocalyptic consequences. A win on that side-- the other side, would be the end of democracy. The claim seems to ring hollow for a vast segment of the U. S. electorate.
Two hundred and thirty-seven years ago one of the authors of the U. S. Constitution, Ben Franklin, said about our newly-minted government, it “...can only end in despotism, as other forms have done before it, when the people shall become so corrupted as to need despotic government.”
Scene at the Signing of the U. S. Constitution
Image credit: Howard Chandler Christy: Public domain
Are we so corrupted?
There are anomalous signs. People are screaming that they want their vote to be counted. They want the election to be honest and fair. So it seems they do want democracy, or at least a representative government.
But then when a candidate promises to tear up the Constitution, the foundation of government, the document that guarantees the right to vote, these same people are unconcerned.
When a candidate promises to be a dictator “on day one”, these people are once again not alarmed.
When a candidate promises to consolidate power in a unitary executive, to personally take charge of the Justice Department and the military, to strip the Civil Service of its neutrality—the same people are encouraged.
The electorate wants its vote, it wants representation, and yet when there is a promise to strip government of the buffers that guarantee these things, that stand between the people and autocracy, there is applause.
What do I make of these anomalies? The people are not deaf. They do hear. Do they lack understanding? Do they labor under the misguided belief that when the buffers are removed only others will suffer, but their rights will be protected?
Perhaps that’s where Ben Franklin comes in. Perhaps that’s where the corruption resides. People are willing to take away the rights of others, as long as they themselves are protected.
And that’s where the ignorance comes in. If we create a tyrant, if we create a unitary executive with no protection of our rights, then we have forfeited democracy.
As I write these words I wonder, how did it come to pass that so many of us are willing to cede power to one individual?
The Battle of Trenton
More than two hundred years ago we wrested power from a tyrant, a monarch. We were a disorganized band, a heterogeneous people. We were not even unified in purpose. But we fought and bested a more powerful enemy.
We won with a great expenditure of blood and tears.
The government formed from the struggle was imperfect, to be sure. Once again I turn to Ben Franklin's words for illumination: “... there are several parts of this Constitution which I do not at present approve…”. The Constitution was a compromise. Neither the new country nor the authors were unified. One of the miracles of the document was that it was the product of different factions. It was designed to change as the country changed. It could accommodate the needs of a growing nation and conform to the shape of an evolving culture.
People, collectively, the electorate, amended the Constitution over the years--sometimes peacefully, sometimes through a bloody struggle. But never did a single individual, one person, decide that the document would not serve. Not until today were we ever threatened with such a possibility.
But now the threat exists, and a sizable chunk of the electorate not only tolerates but encourages this rupture with our history, and our birthright.
How did such a thing come to pass? Although supporters of this individual come from all walks of life, and all socioeconomic strata, I fault two essential entities. One is the power elite, a group of individuals who understand exactly what the autocratically-inclined presidential candidate promises. Members of this power elite support the candidate's success because they will profit if he wins.
I turn to the acknowledged father of a free market economy, Adam Smith, for elucidation of my proposition. Here are germane excerpts from his book, The Wealth of Nations : “Masters are always and everywhere in a sort of tacit, but constant and uniform combination…” and, “People of the same trade seldom meet together, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public, or in some contrivance to raise prices.” or, “Whenever the legislature attempts to regulate the differences between masters and their workmen, its counselors are always the masters.”
Adam Smith
The candidate in the 2024 presidential election who promises to tear up the Constitution is the very candidate who promises to lower taxes for those whom Smith describes as ‘Masters’. These are the captains of industry. These are the billionaires, the owners of global business enterprises. Billionaires are strong supporters of the autocratically-inclined candidate. Billionaires own the media engines that propagate the candidate’s message, gloss over his flaws, and clean up his image.
Just this week, two billionaire owners of major newspapers overruled their editorial boards. The boards wanted to endorse the autocratically-inclined candidate's opponent. There were resignations from the editorial boards in protest, but that didn't change anything.
Acting alone, members of the Master class could not sway the election. But there is another entity, another block that is comprised of less successful, more poorly educated individuals. Members of this group are generally not well-schooled in history.
Edmund Burke (1729-1797), an Irish philosopher who has been described as the “philosophical fountainhead of modern conservatism”, believed that a well-ordered society has at its head a ‘natural aristocracy’. It is the function of the aristocracy, according to Burke, to govern the masses.
A large percentage of those who support this year's autocratically-inclined candidate would be relegated to the broad category described as 'the masses' by Burke. It would be their proper place in society to be ruled by the elite.
Why don’t people, Burke's 'masses', understand this? Why don’t they see that the faction in politics they support will work against their interests? The 'masses' are empowering an individual who is allied with interests that are contrary to their own.
A specific instance of this? Adam Smith explains how the organization of laborers--i.e., a union--is necessary to balance the combined power of employers. He states: "We rarely hear, it has been said, of the combinations of masters, though frequently of those of workmen...But whoever imagines, upon this account, that masters rarely combine, is as ignorant of the world as of the subject."
And yet, the autocratically-inclined, Constitution-shredding candidate favored by many in the working class has bragged about his history of union busting.
History, philosophy, political science—these are education disciplines disparaged by many, even in post-secondary institutions. In dismissing these subjects the question is asked, “What do we need them for? What is their utility?”
Vocational training, job preparation—this, it has been suggested, is the true purpose of education.
If that is true, if when we educate our children we funnel them through vocational programs without training their minds, then what we end up with is a population that can fix things and do things but that cannot think critically.
I turn to a British politician from the nineteenth century, Davies Giddy, for a Master class perspective. Giddy believed that education should be withheld from the poor. A poor person who was educated, according to Giddy, would not be a willing servant. Education would teach the poor to “...despise their lot in life, instead of making them good servants in agriculture and other laborious employments to which their rank in society had destined them.”
Davies Giddy
In 2023 U. S. News and World Report published an article entitled A National Concern: Student Scores Decline in History and Civics. In 2024 the same periodical published an article entitled, Alternatives to College. The article points out that the cost of a four year education was so high in the U.S. that it would never pay for itself over the lifetime of an average student’s career.
Given higher education cost, it does not seem a viable choice for many lower and middle class students. College is increasingly becoming a luxury reserved for the elite—those who are children of the Master class and who are being groomed themselves for life as a member of that class.
The rest of the students? Those in vocational programs? Davies Giddy might describe them as “good servants...(preparing for) laborious employments to which their rank in society had destined them.”
When these good servants, these laborers hear the drumbeat of a would-be autocrat, a true fascist, will they recognize the echo of a Mussolini, a Hitler? Without a schooling in history, will they recognize the tin promises of prosperity and order? Will they remember the tropes from the past that scapegoated groups, segments of the population labeled as a despised 'other'?
I fear they will not. Those echos reverberate in my country today. I recognize the same old arguments, the ones that worked in past governments, in another time--the ones that were reinforced by a cooperating media and a supportive oligarchic business class.
Democracy is indeed on the ballot this year, the presidential election of 2024. I don’t know if it can be saved.
Image credits:
Image 1, Signing of the Constitution: Howard Chandler Christy: Public domain
Image 2, Battle of Trenton: Charles McBaron, US Military Museum. Public domain
Image 3, Adam Smith: John Kay. Public domain
Image 4, Davies Giddy: Henry Howard, painting. John Thompson, engraving. Public domain
Very well written. I don't hide my politics, but I also don't explicitly highlight them very often around here just to avoid disagreement and arguments with most of Hive, as the prevailing political direction of most people around here always seems quite opposite mine. But as @azircon puts in one of the comments below "speaking up is required". That is always true, but it is becoming more and more true as we reach a critical point. I should also be more vocal. This is a great post.
I think this is a great community (Rant, Complain, Talk) for expressing political opinions. As I looked around for an appropriate forum I was comfortable posting it here. I had to go back and edit to make sure I wasn't painting people on the other side with an overly broad brush. I tried to keep my piece deliberate and fact-based.
Thanks so much for commenting and supporting. These last days before the election are nail-biters.
I can be very frank with you here. I work for Big Oil in Texas, and this is common knowledge here on chain. As you can imagine I have many friends and co-workers who will vote the Republican ticket. I typically have great open discussions with them. Most of them are very nice and can take a bullet for me. I even have a few with 'bunkers' and I kid you not. If the end of the world comes, I know where I am going with my family. The reason I said all this is having an opposing political view is NOT a problem, it was never been a problem until recently. Now a lot of people are so dug in that they are beginning to tune out the other side, which is a shame. We are all Americans regardless of our political views, background and ancestry; in this great country, and we can have a conversation regardless of our political view. We need to promote this, which almost have become a 'novel concept'! That is the sad thing about it.
I moved into my current house about a year ago. My next door neighbor--we share a fence--introduced himself. Then, a few days later he brought over some goodies with a note. He told us his name and his wife's name. He gave us his phone number. If we need anything, call. He is a notary, he informed us. He would be happy to offer his services if we needed them. He is the nicest person, a great neighbor.
A while back, my neighbor put out a flag, a huge flag, announcing his preferred candidate for presidency. I was shocked. How could such a nice person think that way? Then I realized how foolish and narrow I was. People have different opinions. I don't understand it, but I accept it.
He's still a lovely man, but I'm not telling him who I'm voting for :))
Or maybe some nice spring day next year you may want to invite him for a dinner or maybe make a dish for him. Maybe you will find a lifelong friend. People are usually good and we are supposed to build bridges not burn them.
On a related note
This is because in today’s world silence is taken as weakness. If you are empathetic it is taken as weakness. If you are immigrant earnings 10X national average and paying 20X in taxes you are asked to “go back”! America is called an occupied country! I wonder how many Americans actually seen and lived in an occupied country or even read about one. It is so easy to feed lies to people these days! They enjoy it and cheer! What happened to my country?
Democracy is at stake in the United States because these people want to stay in power, together with the businessmen to continue manipulating the people, who cannot study because of the high cost, this power struggle is regrettable. In my country elections were made and we all went out to vote in a democracy disguised as a dictatorship because one of the candidates was declared winner without showing the results for each state, they gave a final result and we are still waiting for them to publish the results on the website of the National Electoral Council as they always did in past elections, and the vast majority we reject the results, but the one who opposes this is arrested, I hope you have an excellent weekend friend for you and your family.
You recognize the danger in the U.S. because you are struggling to get back your democracy. Many people in my country don't realize how easy it is lose democracy and how it is to get back.
I hope you have peace my friend and a better future in your country. Also, have a great weekend with your lovely family. I love the pictures you share of them :)
This is brilliantly researched and laid out, @agmoore. As you know from the article I shared with you that I posted on Medium, I agree with you completely that democracy is on the ballot. A significant percentage of the population believes so. To your point, both sides are saying it for different reasons. But the arguments of the left-leaning folks stand up to criticism and fact-checking, whereas the others do not.
As we count down the days, I just hope more and more people come to their senses, and feel a terrible sense of discomfort when they consider the possibility that the angry, vindictive felon in the MAGA hat could be back in control again, and — even better — feel a sense of joy and anticipation that a woman with lengthy experience as a champion for all could make history as Madam President.
I tried to anchor it in facts (as you did in your essay). I intentionally don't name anyone. I just cite egregious acts. If readers can identify an individual with those acts, well, case closed.
I like the sound of that
Thanks very much for reading. I haven't given up hope yet.
How is Kamala a good candidate or president when she’s done quite literally nothing for the current term in her vice presidency? Before Biden was exposed as too unfit for anything she was the most unpopular Vice President in history, which is data (supposedly) from democrat people. What changed? She had zero policies that she stands on, she can’t hold her own if there’s no written speech for her. She has gotten caught numerous times on a teleprompter and has had massively edited, pre-recorded interviews. If you were saying Tulsi I could think you are absolutely on the mark - she’s a fantastic, strong woman and an excellent candidate. Harris is an absolute disaster and her running mate is surprisingly worse than she is. Being friends with school shooters? Seriously?
I’m by far more of a Ron Paul guy than I am Trump but in no way shape or form could I support a corporate puppet like Harris. She has absolutely zero qualities about her.
What has Harris done to “help out everyone”? Keeping people in jail to help fund the prison labor scheme that she did as AG? Casting the deciding vote on the fleecing of Medicare in the stimulus bill that screws seniors in a couple years?
I don’t know of any real examples of Harris in a positive light that is not just BS hopes and dreams. We need substance.
I'm not an argumentative person, @cmplxty. So if you're looking for an argument, don't look here. You are entitled to your opinions.
But I will share a few things.
First, here's an article sharing Kamala Harris's achievements: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/07/26/kamala-harris-vice-president-accomplishments/74534954007/
Second, here's the article I referenced above, which goes into deep detail about why Trump should be disqualified from ever running for office, and why I believe Kamala Harris is going to make an excellent president and will help our country come together again: https://medium.com/@jaynalocke/u-s-election-2024-undecided-independent-pick-the-candidate-with-the-moral-compass-189f2775bb08
And finally, I have a question for you. Without looking it up, can you list the achievements of Mike Pence? Maybe you can. It's mainly a rhetorical question to get you to think about how much we ever even hear about what a vice president is getting done. They tend to be behind the scenes.
I love Kamala Harris's vision, her integrity, what she stands for, the plans and policies she has laid out, her belief in women's rights and civil rights, and the fact that she intends to be a president for all U.S. citizens. I also love Tim Walz. (He's my governor and I think he's amazing.) And for the record, I am passionate and unwavering about my stance on all this, and have already voted.
All the best to you.
Demandingly persuasive and brilliantly argued.
You’ve hit the nail firmly on the proverbial head! I wish that this article could be syndicated throughout the world. I wish that all the “masses” had an opportunity to read your wonderfully wise words because your words cut through the chaff! Your words would make all the minions THINK!
Thank you my friend, @itsostylish.
It is so clear to me. The campaign of that person is a classic scam. I don't say the name because it is a trigger. I figure, if readers can guess who it is, by merely reading a description, then the folly of their choice will become clear. Who promises to tear up the foundational document of a democracy? Madness. Who promises to be a dictator? Unthinkable. But people hear the words and if they are associated with someone by that name, the words become acceptable.
I appreciate your endorsement. If only you could vote😂
!PIZZA
I just watched it 🌟
Thank you very much :)
I find the animation quite instructive, and a group in the German-speaking world has dubbed the whole film to make it accessible here too, great work the film.
Can I ask you what you think of Trump? What do you think of his programme? Trust the Plan.
Hi.
I'm not sure what 'programme' and 'Plan' you refer to. He will not have my vote. An explanation for that decision may be found in my response to a comment by @mobbs, above.
You live in Germany? What is your impression of the election over there?
Thanks for stopping by and adding your perspective.
Thank you for your reply.
Yes, I am from Germany and tend to be a non-voter. I became aware of your post because for some years now I have had the feeling that democracy has never existed since I have been on this earth, but that in this system that the private banking society has set up, it only serves to appease the people in order to pretend to have a possible choice. These parties are as little different from each other as they were 100 years ago, they are one and the same only in a different colour. It's the same in the USA as it is here in Germany.
I look at your elections from a biblical perspective, because if Trump wins, then he may be the beast from Revelation that suffered a wound and then rises to great power and gives it to another beast.
That could be A Elon Musk - technocrat
or Pope Francis who is a Jesuit just like Trump and they make common cause with the cabalistic sect from Russia just like our German government.
I think the combination of the richest man in the world--someone who controls satellite transmission, space travel and a powerful media platform--with an imperial US.president, that is a thing to be feared.
Yes, I agree - the combination sounds like a global catastrophe.
I'm pretty good at seeing what's not immediately obvious, so I can recognise these dark structures very well.
I already didn't like the old world order where they rained bombs on us, and I don't like the current show of New World Order psychological warfare either.
There have been some observations in recent years that I have been able to research, about laws that I find very questionable and about the arming of the Fema camps. can you tell me more about this?
(National Defense Authorization Act and USA PATRIOT Act)- They devalue the constitution in the name of national security, but what if the enemy is in the ranks that decide this and see themselves in danger to protect themselves with the sentences?
An interesting read and you make a fine case against democracy:)
Burke, and Giddy, and most politicians through the ages would agree with you. If they let people vote at all, it probably wouldn't be you or me (not rich enough and wrong gender 😄)
Thank you, @theinkwell 🌷
I’m a Ron Paul guy the more I age than anything.
I think you may be potentially blinded by the fact that the massive corporate donors have switched sides. It used to be republicans that got the giant businesses but now it’s by far the democrats and it’s taking a lot of people by surprise but also as many identify with the party more than the candidates, they are unprepared to face the truth that the left is not what you think it is.
Can I also say that this is all bullshit - left, right, democrat, republicans. It’s all a farce. We are fucking Americans regardless and that is supposed to be above all. We can disagree on things for various reasons but at the end of the day we all live here and we have FAR more in common than we do not in common. Sadly this two party shit is the ultimate control mechanism - much easier to get people to fight if it’s just two sides and no options. If there’s 5 sides then it’s not as easy to control people.
I think the issue as well is people keep calling this a democracy. It’s not it’s a republic and that’s sadly forgotten.
At the end of the day, the average citizen loses either way because of these two pre-selected candidates. I have a little hope that if Trump wins we lose slower than if Harris does. Harris is an abysmal chameleon and has zero substance. No policies that are good and her own, she’s actually copied a lot of Donald’s which is comical and kind of pathetic.
I’m wondering - do you have an issue right now that the country is absolutely NOT run by the president? He is clearly compromised, mentally and physically. It really disturbs me that the facade of a president is pushed so heavily but we have one right now that is so incompetent that he lets his wife run meetings that historically have only been a presidential task. He’s sleeping around 4PM which is a clear sign of “sun-downing” in dementia patients. If we get attacked at 3am, is that failing human going to be able to step up? Absolutely not. The managerial class is running the country right now and it’s actually quite terrifying because they are NOT elected for that task - yet they do it. I know there are hundreds and thousands of appointees that are needed to run the day to day so it gets managed regardless but at least with others, there is a semblance of ruling where this dude is completely toast.
Wow! You are angry.
I don't know if I would call it angry, I am tired of the gaslighting and intentional destruction of the country. It's the uniparty at the end of the day, and who is the current spokesperson of it. Harris is the current spokesperson and will be replaced by some other shmuck.
We are having everything siphoned off of us. Hundreds of billions to a country like Ukraine - yet Maui residents get 750$ to compensate them for the fucking destruction of their entire life? North Carolina residents the same? Ohio people got basically nothing after the destruction of the chemicals from the train.
I am tired of the citizens being dead last in terms of priority for their well being and stability. Harris and her ilk have offered absolutely nothing except abortions and some foolish words that mean nothing at the end of the day. Harris has ZERO substance to her policies and strategies, that is what disturbs me the most. "How are you going to control food prices?" is a basic question, yet we get a non-answer. Price controls, by the way, are a communist strategy and fail every single time.
Hello @complexity,
I can't respond to broad, generalized statements--ex: gaslighting and intentional destruction of the country; citizens being dead last in terms of priority for their well being and stability--but when you raise specifics I can look into that.
I checked the FEMA site. As of August, 2024, these are the numbers:"To date, FEMA has approved over $56.1 million to help 7,141 people recover through the Individual Assistance program, including more than $33.8 million for Housing Assistance and more than $22.2 million for Other Needs Assistance paid directly to survivors." Also, "on track to provide approximately $3 billion towards Maui wildfire recovery. This includes more than $1.3 billion in mission assignments to expedite recovery through debris removal and disposal, temporary housing, school construction, and infrastructure repair." There might be issues with accounting and distribution, but no amount of figure fiddling would bring the sum down to $750.
As of Oct 16, 2024, these are the numbers from the FEMA site. " More than $100 million in FEMA individual assistance has been approved for North Carolina households affected by Tropical Storm Helene." Also, "FEMA has made individual assistance available to 39 North Carolina counties and tribal members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.
FEMA’s Individuals and Households Program has approved over $102 million including: $18.6 million to help homeowners and renters to pay for emergency home repairs, home replacement or other housing needs. $83.6 million to help with other serious disaster-related needs, like moving expenses, childcare and disaster-related dental, medical or funeral expenses". Again, one can manipulate numbers, but no way that would turn out to be $750 per person.
Additionally, you write that Harris, et al.:
You out of hand dismiss a profoundly important issue. You dismiss what for many is the single most important issue in this election. The impact of the Dobbs decision (result of Trump's deliberate policy) has shaken women across the nation. It not only endangers the health of every woman of child-bearing age (who may become pregnant), but even has extended to potential travel restrictions. It affects not only women, but their daughters, nieces and grandchildren. It affects the men who are related in some way to these women. The ramifications of Dobbs are life-altering.
I don't like arguing. It's why I didn't become a lawyer. I'm a peaceful, deliberate person, but I do have passionately held beliefs. For a more extended explanation of why someone might vote for Harris over Trump, you could read my reply to @mobbs, on this blog.
I hope we both one day get the government we and everyone else deserves. I don't see that government anywhere in the world today.
Peace to you, @complexity, and me too :)
It's such a difficult choice in America right now as neither candidate will fix the economy and both are lying through their teeth.
Each voter has to decide who will do the least harm to the economy. And each voter will have to decide, even with the lies (they are politicians), who will do the least harm them (the voter). That's what it comes down to in every election, doesn't it?
The past few election cycles certainly seem to lead us to such a conclusion of avoiding the worst instead of choosing the best. The issue is there are only two somewhat equally terrible options and roughly half the country will be disappointed in either scenario. It's nice to be from a country where you can vote for a coalition government when presented with such a conundrum.
I personally don't think they are equally terrible. I think one is far more potentially harmful than the other. One at least promises an agenda I agree with. The other does not. One does not threaten to pull down the structure of government, the other does threaten this (Civil Service, Constitution, etc.). On promises to try and make abortion and healthcare available. The other has managed to take the right to abortion away from millions of women and threatens to undermine our national health insurance program. One wants tax cuts for the middle class. One wants tax cuts for billionaires.
Neither may get these initiatives through, but at least we can vote for what they promise to do.
They are not the same, actually.
Clear sources and arguments. Having said that, Trump won in an avalanche and it will all be ok...
Democracy won't end in America for sure...
I hope you are right. I'll do everything I can to see that it doesn't.
By the way, not exactly an avalanche:
50.8% of the popular vote to 47.5. A clear win, but no avalanche.
When comparing to the perditions and the gap closed in traditional democrat bastions it was. On top of that all the work msm had on comparing the guy to a dictator, inventing the most absurd lies and arguments while ignoring they tried to kill him TWICE! I think people outside the states clearly sense that only reason and good scene prevailed and that he is not the threat portraited in the media. You guys are back to prosperity and sane policies, nothing wrong will happen it is clear to the rest of the world! Stay strong bro
I am a deeply political person but if you read my blog traditionally you won’t get that feel. I have kept it mostly out of hive, even during Covid (mostly). However, perhaps that is not a good idea. Perhaps we should speak up more regardless of the platform or location. We knew what happened during 2016 campaign. I think we sort of gave it away that year by not voting enough. We thought it would be easy and “deplorable” won’t be able to pull it. We were dead wrong and we created this monster by leaving the stage empty. Now it is so much harder.
I haven't been political on Hive at all. I really don't like conflict. But I have to take a stand, not a stand that is confrontational but one that elucidates a rational position. This won't move any votes. But I had to say it. When I read your post last night I was glad I had drafted this (it took a couple of days to write, to get the resources and quotes).
If we want other people to stand up, then I guess we have to be prepared to take the flack.
Thanks for commenting. Wishes us luck this year, although I am quite anxious about the signs out there.
(Made a mistake and upvoted/commented as Inkwell first😮--I was curating a story in that community)
Speaking up is required!
In that case I totally support your efforts - good luck, US deserves a better way
Thank you! We need it :)