When We Wake Up November 7th... Nothing Will Have Changed

Writing is often cathartic for the writer. Indeed, it is often what causes the pen to move, although few writers will admit creating material for publication as an outlet for the pain they suffer. I confess at the outset that what follows is more for me than for you. I need to write this to deal with the angst associated with debating, or trying to debate, those who, for no good or apparent reason, are ready to sacrifice their credibility on the altars of the campaign rhetoric of mainstream candidates. What they are apparently not willing to sacrifice is the time it takes to read anything substantive on the history and stated policies of the Bobbsey twins, Obama and Romney.

My latest frustration began with a post on Facebook and the soliloquy that followed (name changed to protect a friendship):

Jim: Voting is the illusion of influence in exchange for the loss of freedom.

John: So, what would be the alternative to voting for what a person feels will improve the situation in their arena?

Jim: Traditional thought that assumes a large parliamentary democracy is the only alternative, one that has failed, would necessitate a revolution of some kind with a view to beginning again, which ultimately would fail again due to the dynamic of the tyranny of the majority. To wit, no document or contract can (over the longer term) stop the majority from becoming the dictator in a large democracy. But there are alternatives. "Democracy is by definition a collectivist system. It"s socialism through the backdoor. The basic idea behind it is that it is desirable and right that all important decisions about the physical, social and economic organization of society are taken by the collective, the people. And the people authorize their representatives in parliament - in other words, the State - to take these decisions for them. In other words, in a democracy the whole fabric of society is geared towards the State. Clearly then it is misleading to claim that democracy is, somehow, the inevitable climax of the political evolution of mankind. That"s just propaganda to disguise that democracy represents a very specific political orientation, for which there are indeed plenty of reasonable alternatives." Take a look at Beyond Democracy by Karel Beckman and Frank Karsten. It is available as a book or an e-book at amazon.com.

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