I recently wrote and posted a column challenging the notion that democracy is all it's cracked up to be. That doesn't mean I am anti-democracatic, I would still prefer a system with at least some semblance of popular sovereignty than one without, but there are other systems that could work as well.
A limited constitutional monarchy, such as Britain operated under for centuries doesn't seem like such a bad idea, and traditional societies such as the Ibo of West Africa operated quite well under a system without a leader at all, that is until the British came and imposed their system. Ancient Greece is considered the birthplace of democracy, but it was limited mostly to one city-state, Athens, and even that was limited to white, male citizens with property. Ancient Rome was a republic that became in effect a dictatorship, yet the Roman Empire thrived under that system for a couple of centuries in its heyday. China seems to be doing pretty well under a communist/capitalist hybrid, and India has a very messy and corrupt democracy, and might have been better off had Nehru been appointed sovereign for life, and then been able to turn the ship over to his daughter Indira Gandhi.
The point is, there are many ways to skin a cat, or to rule over a people, and there are numerous factors to consider. Democracy is one option, probably the best idea yet tried, but it's not the only way to do it.
One reaction I got to the posting was typical in that it was a defensive reaction, as if I was attacking America itself, which I suppose prompted me to write this column. I think America is a great place to live, and that my country has done much good over it's history. Yet, our nation is also with many faults, and much of the criticism that we receive around the world and from within is quite justified. So why is it that anything that challenges the status quo is automatically considered to be an attack? Why do many Americans feel threatened by other cultures and other systems? Why do many Americans feel it is their patriotic duty to tear down religions that differ from that of the Christianity of most, or to assume that anyone who doesn't buy into the company line is subversive? I don't have the answers to these questions necessarily, but I think that they are interesting to pose and consider.
I didn't choose to be an American, any more than I chose to have brown eyes or a big ass, it just happened. I'm glad it did, I feel fortunate to live somewhere where I can pursue my options and live a lifestyle that is the envy of much of the world, especially the developing world. But I can't help but think that if I had been born say, a Bangladeshi, I would love my country too and consider myself fortunate to have the life I have.
It's easy to generalize about America and its people, but how accurate is it to make broad statements about a diverse nation of over 300 million people? Living in Arizona I am particularly and acutely aware of the dangers of over-generalizations. People outside of the Grand Canyon, or Cactus State (yes we have two nicknames) often view the state as a bunch of conservative and dim-witted rednecks, and honestly they aren't wrong. Yet there are also many intelligent and thoughtful people who live in this state, people who think as progressively as any East Coast liberal, and who oppose dumb ideas, like the immigration bill that is currently in the national, and international news.
So how do you define a single state, or city, let alone an entire nation? Quite simply you really can't, not with much accuracy anyways, and I have to think that the same holds true of other countries. Yet we often do just that, and we like to draw relatively simple conclusions about complex issues, we like to label things that often defy such easy explanation, we ignore subtle variations and lump people and places together.
I propose that happiness and greatness, however they are defined, are much less reliant on political systems and the parties that control them, and much more dependent on other factors. Personally, I think that the personal relationships in one's life make all the difference. I would rather live in primitive conditions in the mountains of Tibet or in a rural village in Mexico with my family and the people that I love and cherish, than to live in luxury in America or anyplace else without those people and the richness they bring to my life. I'm glad that I can have it both ways of course, that I can live in a land of plenty. But I still reserve the right to call things as I see them, to criticize or praise as I see fit, and the irony in many of those who are threatened by anything remotely anti-American is sadly, lost on most of those who consider themselves to be patriotic simply because they wave the flag or put a bumper sticker on the back of their car.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Throwing Cream Pies
I am beginning to think that democracy is somewhat overrated. Don't get me wrong, I like democracy, and just because something is overrated doesn't mean it is without merit. Churchill was probably right when he famously stated that it's the worst form of government ever tried except for all the others. But I'm not sure that it is really all it's cracked up to be.
We are led to believe that being a good patriot means supporting our cherished system of government, and those who propose otherwise are often demonized. Among the many epithets used against President Obama, socialist is one often thrown out, the implication being that he is anti-democratic and has secret designs to subvert our system and engineer the ultimate insider take-over. While it is a time honored American tradition to complain about the government, to suggest that the system is flawed is seen by many as heresy. So allow me to play the role of heretic for a bit.
Like many Americans, a majority actually, I voted for Barack Obama in 2008 with the hope that by putting a good man in our nation's highest office we could begin to turn around a ship that had been adrift for quite some time. I had hoped that what I had been taught in school, and in turn tried to teach to my own students, namely that elections matter and that if enough people pushed for good policies that positive change could be brought about. I knew that it was a medium shot at best, but it was worth one last shot. If Obama didn't turn out to be who we thought he was, or if the system was simply too resistant to change, then at least we gave it a shot. Well, I gave it a shot, and it isn't working, and doesn't seem likely to.
As with any result, there are always numerous factors at play. Obama himself has been weak and ineffectual from the get-go, intent on kowtowing to the right under some delusion that he could win their affections. He has been unsure of himself and unwilling to step up and lead with the confidence required, in trying to please all he has instead disappointed those on the left, failed to impress those in the middle, and hasn't fooled those on the right. He hasn't had much help in the Congress from his own party, and the opposition party has done nothing if not lived up to its name. But this is more than the shortcomings of one man, this is a systemic phenomena as I see it.
Admittedly I barely follow politics anymore, so I won't claim to be up to speed on the latest events. My reading time is almost entirely devoted to books, especially to fiction which I find to me exponentially more relevant to real life than the New York Times or any of the news weeklies. (I do occasionally take a peak at The Economist, I'm not a completely reformed news junkie) I grew tired long ago of the polemical nature of the cable news shows, and only occasionally flip over to NPR. I'm hoping that my 40th birthday will bring me Sirius Radio so that I can spend my commutes listening to the Grateful Dead channel, Stern, and the Hardcore Sports channel where they cuss and talk about the Canadian Football League. And guess what? I am so much happier not knowing what is going on, since there isn't much I can do about it anyways. Which brings me to my original statement about democracy.
Nobody asked me what I thought about invading Iraq, or what type of health care system we should adopt, or whether we should give money to banks. Nobody in our so-called government for the people is emailing me for advice on energy policy, or getting my input on immigration laws. Quite simply, I have serious reservations that my opinion on such matters, for that matter the opinion of any citizen carry any weight at all. It is a fallacy that so long as we continue to buy into, we implicitly give power to the same government that we then proceed to complain about. In my idealistic college days I saw a sticker that promised if the people lead, the leaders will follow. But as I approach my fifth decade, with a much more keen ability to see through the smoke and mirrors, I am more inclined towards the sticker that instructs not to vote because it only encourages them.
I'm disillusioned, perhaps chagrined is a better word because it's been quite awhile since I've actually been illusioned, save for the few exciting and hopeful months of the 2008 election, but I'm not bitter. Life is good, and overwhelmingly that has nothing to do with which party is in control of Congress, who is sitting on the Supreme Court, or who holds the presidency. The human condition is much deeper than electoral politics, which in the scheme of things barely scratches the surface in terms of importance and relevance. I am a firm believer that most people in the world want the same simple things for themselves and their families, they want to be happy, safe, and relatively free to pursue what they see as their options in life. To the extent that democracy promotes this, then I am all for it. But throughout the history of Western Civilization, democracy has been limited, and with the exception of India in the last 60 years it has been almost non-existent in the non-Western world up until very recently. Are we to believe that Americans are the first people to be truly happy in the past 3000 or so years? Are Americans on the whole really all that happy, and to the extent that many of us are, is it because we live in a democracy?
The writer Kurt Vonnegut once said in reference to the effect that the anti-war movement had on the course of the Vietnam war, that "we might as well have been throwing cream pies." That pretty well sums up how I feel about the effect of voting and political activism on the course of politics and policies in our vaunted democracy. What we do, say, and think about it all doesn't really amount to much, what those in power want to do they will in all likelihood do regardless. And that's fine with me I suppose, especially since it wouldn't matter if it it wasn't fine with me. Besides, I can spend my time contemplating more important matters, like where my son will attend college in a couple years, what musical theatre group my daughter should audition for, or how I can convince my wife that the bushes can wait another weekend to be trimmed. And if I get all that figured out, there's always the matter of whether Saskatchewan will be able to cover the seven point spread over Ottawa this weekend.
We are led to believe that being a good patriot means supporting our cherished system of government, and those who propose otherwise are often demonized. Among the many epithets used against President Obama, socialist is one often thrown out, the implication being that he is anti-democratic and has secret designs to subvert our system and engineer the ultimate insider take-over. While it is a time honored American tradition to complain about the government, to suggest that the system is flawed is seen by many as heresy. So allow me to play the role of heretic for a bit.
Like many Americans, a majority actually, I voted for Barack Obama in 2008 with the hope that by putting a good man in our nation's highest office we could begin to turn around a ship that had been adrift for quite some time. I had hoped that what I had been taught in school, and in turn tried to teach to my own students, namely that elections matter and that if enough people pushed for good policies that positive change could be brought about. I knew that it was a medium shot at best, but it was worth one last shot. If Obama didn't turn out to be who we thought he was, or if the system was simply too resistant to change, then at least we gave it a shot. Well, I gave it a shot, and it isn't working, and doesn't seem likely to.
As with any result, there are always numerous factors at play. Obama himself has been weak and ineffectual from the get-go, intent on kowtowing to the right under some delusion that he could win their affections. He has been unsure of himself and unwilling to step up and lead with the confidence required, in trying to please all he has instead disappointed those on the left, failed to impress those in the middle, and hasn't fooled those on the right. He hasn't had much help in the Congress from his own party, and the opposition party has done nothing if not lived up to its name. But this is more than the shortcomings of one man, this is a systemic phenomena as I see it.
Admittedly I barely follow politics anymore, so I won't claim to be up to speed on the latest events. My reading time is almost entirely devoted to books, especially to fiction which I find to me exponentially more relevant to real life than the New York Times or any of the news weeklies. (I do occasionally take a peak at The Economist, I'm not a completely reformed news junkie) I grew tired long ago of the polemical nature of the cable news shows, and only occasionally flip over to NPR. I'm hoping that my 40th birthday will bring me Sirius Radio so that I can spend my commutes listening to the Grateful Dead channel, Stern, and the Hardcore Sports channel where they cuss and talk about the Canadian Football League. And guess what? I am so much happier not knowing what is going on, since there isn't much I can do about it anyways. Which brings me to my original statement about democracy.
Nobody asked me what I thought about invading Iraq, or what type of health care system we should adopt, or whether we should give money to banks. Nobody in our so-called government for the people is emailing me for advice on energy policy, or getting my input on immigration laws. Quite simply, I have serious reservations that my opinion on such matters, for that matter the opinion of any citizen carry any weight at all. It is a fallacy that so long as we continue to buy into, we implicitly give power to the same government that we then proceed to complain about. In my idealistic college days I saw a sticker that promised if the people lead, the leaders will follow. But as I approach my fifth decade, with a much more keen ability to see through the smoke and mirrors, I am more inclined towards the sticker that instructs not to vote because it only encourages them.
I'm disillusioned, perhaps chagrined is a better word because it's been quite awhile since I've actually been illusioned, save for the few exciting and hopeful months of the 2008 election, but I'm not bitter. Life is good, and overwhelmingly that has nothing to do with which party is in control of Congress, who is sitting on the Supreme Court, or who holds the presidency. The human condition is much deeper than electoral politics, which in the scheme of things barely scratches the surface in terms of importance and relevance. I am a firm believer that most people in the world want the same simple things for themselves and their families, they want to be happy, safe, and relatively free to pursue what they see as their options in life. To the extent that democracy promotes this, then I am all for it. But throughout the history of Western Civilization, democracy has been limited, and with the exception of India in the last 60 years it has been almost non-existent in the non-Western world up until very recently. Are we to believe that Americans are the first people to be truly happy in the past 3000 or so years? Are Americans on the whole really all that happy, and to the extent that many of us are, is it because we live in a democracy?
The writer Kurt Vonnegut once said in reference to the effect that the anti-war movement had on the course of the Vietnam war, that "we might as well have been throwing cream pies." That pretty well sums up how I feel about the effect of voting and political activism on the course of politics and policies in our vaunted democracy. What we do, say, and think about it all doesn't really amount to much, what those in power want to do they will in all likelihood do regardless. And that's fine with me I suppose, especially since it wouldn't matter if it it wasn't fine with me. Besides, I can spend my time contemplating more important matters, like where my son will attend college in a couple years, what musical theatre group my daughter should audition for, or how I can convince my wife that the bushes can wait another weekend to be trimmed. And if I get all that figured out, there's always the matter of whether Saskatchewan will be able to cover the seven point spread over Ottawa this weekend.
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