I think it's time for me to start ignoring the news again. I'm only posting one article here, mostly because it's so ridiculous that it almost makes me laugh. A fellow procrastinator just wrote to me over email: "yeah, if it wasn't for extraordinary rendition, secret detention centers, preventive arrests and police tasering 12 year olds, the 1st world would be much superior...."
Forget democracy, I want benign dictatorship.
I know I am being simplistic but I wopnder if one major problem with demoracy is that in trying to please the majority, one actually has to please a wide specturm of minority groups (and sub groups) and what you end up with is so many compromises that you have policies that are neither here or there ...
ReplyDeleteMakes me think of the imagery (from Daniel) where the feet is made our of iron and clay. Strong and yet brittle.
I get so confused.
:) i'm not sure that is being simplistic even though i'm not a political theorist myself. watered down compromises may not always attract the majority vote but it does seem like that's what democracy produces!!!
ReplyDeleteone compelling criticism leveled against democracy is that it is a war of the majority against the minority, and it does raise good questions. under democracy, the minority has to live with the "majority" vote, regardless of what the moral outcome of that vote is. this alone is enough to give us pause!
there is a lot of good in the system but it a flawed system nonetheless. i'm tempted to read up on it but as it is i already have long lists of "books i must read SOON."
i, for one, am not convinced that democracy is part of god's design. :):):) i like much better the model of consensus building (where everyone finally agrees) but that would be impossible to implement on a national level. there's always that one stupid person who could vote "no" and ruin everyone else's hard work . . . . :):):)
I try to limit my news intake, too. There's just so much negativity and sensationalism... I try to just get enough so that I'm abreast of what's going on, or just listen to NPR and what not.
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