WOOOOO! I have come to firmly believe that other than tyranny, democracy is the worst form of government to ever grace the earth. I usually joke around, but not this time. What I have to say is quite lengthy, read if you want. It likely doesnt matter anyway. :) Politics are bad, very bad. Leaders do not care about the good of the people,they care about power, which in turn puts us in a similar situation as slaves under a master who claims to be benevolent because he goes easy on the beatings. Democratic politics are completely sundered from wisdom being the guiding light of mankind. A flawed government will destroy the people, and flawed people will destroy a government. The two CANNOT be separated in a democratic society. Democracy brings moral confusion, discord, creates fetishes for images and commodities, and basically causes people to live out their lives for meaningless illusions. People in democratic societies gradually lose the will to live for any purpose whatsoever. I was reading platos critiques of democracy this week, and it really hit home. It was written 2500 years ago, but depicts what is happening to our society to a tee. Seriously think about this: 1. our leaders are elected based on popularity rather than merit. The simple fact that one gets elected by popularity is disturbing, when your think about it. We vote for politicians who project an attractive imagine. Who is most competent seems to be of little concern. Politicians promise things to get them elected, then cater to the wishes of the majority (or what they think is the majority) rather than doing what is RIGHT to stay in office. They focus onshore term goals rather than long-term needs to win elections. They cant afford to do what is in the best long-term interests of everyone. They seek to minimize short term pains at the expense of long term needs (which might require asking for sacrifices from the people) to get in and stay in office. It is always favorable for the politicians to give to the people rather than ask them for personal sacrifice. E.g., give them goodies and ostensible promises to gain their favor, and votes. Any politician who calls for personal sacrifices from the people for the good of the country will get himself/herself thrown out of office very quickly. 2. Debate in politics are very superficial. They tend to focus on imagery, and how they want things to appear in order to gain favor rather than how things actually are. We the people favor the sensational over important matters. Look at the meaningless garbage in TV that serves one purpose and one purpose only: To get your money. The main emphasis on political candidates is how they present themselves. It wins elections. Ronald regains political consultant won ADVERTISER OF THE YEAR! This problem is built right into the very fabric of democracy! It wallow in images and appearances. Seriously, look at the things we spend out hard on money on. Most of it is meaningless garbage that serves to purpose whatsoever other than to grant a quick sensation or increase social status. 3. Emphasis is placed on emotion over reason when determining the proper course of action for pressing matters. E.g., one side tells us If we dont do this, we are doomer. The other says If we do that we are doomed. The truth usually lies somewhere in the middle, but each party arguing in favor of their own agenda always tries to convince us that our very lives depend on following them. 4. Societies in which imagery and appearances are the norm are easy prey to those who are skilled in manipulating public opinion to their advantage. If there is no substance, only fleeting fads and fashions, people bounce from one shiny thing to the next, stay in a state of existential sloth, and are easily pulled toward anything that grants even momentary sense of purpose. Seriously, what genuinely good purpose could media consultants, advertising agents, spin doctors, lobbyists, public relations agents, etc. serve? NONE. All they are good at is lying and making people believe warped versions of reality to further their own agenda. In such a society, skilled manipulators are destined to rule the roost. We all stay glued to the TV. Manipulations of images serve only the purposes of special interests groups who seek to manipulate public opinion for their own private gain. Easy prey. 5. Plato said in democratic societies, people would tend to eat poorly. We do not care about the nutrients of our food, even though we now have great means of assessing its health value. We care only about how it looks and tastes. We rarely stop to think about what kinds of chemicals, chemicals and who knows what else they put in it that we cant see with out eyes. We order lemon juice for salads. They give us a container shaped like a lemon which contains only chemicals, no juice, but we put real juice in floor wax? Huh? What the hell? When people live like that for so long, it is normal…… 6. People in democratic societies will overtime, loose any sort of shared values. Citizens in a democracy want to go their own way, do what they want when they want (regardless if they have the means to do so or not), and usually do not worry about the effects it has on society as a collective. Values differ from person to person, which increases disagreements, which brings about disorder and strife (as we see everyday on the news). Democratic citizens usually become absorbed with their own personal interests. We are less willing to make sacrifices for the common good of everyone. Being this way brings about massive social problems (watch the news). Crime rises, distrusts of authority and government (for good reason) increases, generation gaps become more pronounced, etc. We have an endless amount of fads and fashions. I.e., things which capture public attention for short periods of time then fade away. When there is a loss of shared values,this happens. People gravitate toward anything to fill the vacuum of nihilism such a shallow way of life creates. What kind of people rises to the top in such a society? Dishonest people, cold hearted people, skilled liars, skilled manipulators, power hungry people, etc. What we have created is a society that favors the dishonest, and self-interested people who have no remorse in exploiting everyone else for their own gain to rise to the top of the food chain. And people of such character fill gaps everywhere between top and bottom and make life hell for the rest of us.
Posted on: Fri, 10 Oct 2014 03:08:55 +0000
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