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.