America is erroneously often called
a democracy; erroneously as it is a Constitutional Republic. There is a
reason why it was not made, and why the founders had a general contempt for
democracy. Ben Franklin quipped that democracy is two wolves and a sheep
voting on dinner. The base of democracy is composed of 2 parts: 1st, the
etymology of the word being demos and kratia, meaning ‘power to
the people’; 2nd, majority rule. Though, today it heralded as a proper
form of government and something that should be ‘spread’, we will see that it
is at best a poor base from which to have a system of government. In its
purest form democracy itself is not just a poor base of government it is
actually - true to its name - tyranny of the majority.
What must be done first is a review
of the components of democracy. If it is truly ‘power to the people’, who
are the people? What is this power that is supposed to be wielded by ‘the
people’? What falls under and out of the
purview of democratic power? What means of ensuring obedience can the
majority place upon the minority? A State/government being a democracy
includes its – whatever was decreed – infiltration into law, so what is ‘willed
by the people’ comes with legal force.
By its nature, the deciding factor
of democracy is amorphous: the people. The Classic Greeks who devised
democracy did not grant to all individuals a right to vote, as it was only to
males, and not just males but a certain class thereof. Practically every
culture and religion has given men a superior position in moral and legal
standing as compared to women. Additionally, various cultures have
qualifications regarding race/ethnicity/religion, whereby some individuals are
more morally and legally than others. Definitions are important, for
though each may be an organism, there is a great difference between a wolf, a
sheep, a tick and a man. The question remains: who is to be considered
‘the people’?
For sake of argument in this, the
fullest granting of ‘the people’ will skip superficial distinctions and will be
given to include all adults who have attained majority: male/female, regardless
of race, religion or socioeconomic status (SES), as long as the member of society
is at least 18yrs of age. Granting this, in any practical manner, what
difference does it make? Whether one was born with a different skin
color, genitalia, adheres to a different or no God, or is in a different income
bracket, the issue remains a larger group decides for all. Whether the
dividing line is based upon a superficial characteristic, or a behavioral, it
is the will of the masses pressing upon the will of the minority. Ayn Rand remarked that the smallest minority
is the individual. By definition, there
is not a whole unit that is less than 1.
Moreso during election years, but
also outside of them, we see the results of polls regarding public opinion on a
given topic whether it is abortion, legalization of drugs, gun control,
prostitution, gambling, along with numerous other issues where individual
liberty is placed against government control. Those who follow democratic
principles and agree with the majority want to have their preferences made law,
for ‘it's the will of the people’ and after an election ‘to the victor go the
spoils’. The minority of any number, especially the 1 be damned.
Let us briefly combine these points
and see how ridiculous they are as a basis for governmental action. From
what basis is public opinion to be used for what should be legal? Of
this public opinion, how representative of the whole population is it who cast
the vote? – the last election had the lowest turnout in decades, not even being
40% of the voting population. Of those who did vote, how many of them
were knowledgeable of that which they were voting? Of those who thought
they were being knowledgeable, how many were actually fooled by the promises of
politicians who in trying to get elected said ‘no new taxes’, ‘if you like your
plan, you can keep your plan’ and ‘we have to pass it for you to find out what
is in it’? Regardless of mass
manipulation or ignorance, all are to follow those results.
Politicians lie to get votes, and
disregard those who gave them once received. George Carlin’s quip is
appropriate “Think of how stupid the average person is, and then realize half
of them are stupider than that.”
Opinions change, especially when
people come to a better understanding. There are also other ways the majority may change through immigration and emigration (national and state borders), as well as birth and death rates. In addition, regardless of how a
topic may be defined, if the precedent has been set it can be changed; a sword
once forged can be handed to (or be taken away by) another. Which brings
us to the next point: we don’t really vote on much as we elect members to
government and they are supposedly our ‘representatives’. The same issues
happen at the lower level (local as well as national) of electing
representatives: only so many voted for each representative and of that only so
many knowingly voted for what the representative truly represented.
Furthermore, at both levels, to go
beyond those who vote against those who do not vote or vote unknowingly there
are the special interests – those who have the ability to sway the vote or
representative to push for specific legislation. These special interests
can be through individuals, companies, corporations, unions or politicians
themselves; these categories are not mutually exclusive. Kelo ruling,
Uber being pushed out of areas, The PATRIOT Act, Affordable Care Act (ACA, AKA
Obamacare) and any of the supposed ‘Wars on’ [Drugs, Poverty, Terror] are prime
examples of public opinion, vague definitions and changing aspects around the
precedent, to result in bad law that can get worse depending upon who is
wielding it.
However, we all know that we don’t
get to vote upon the issues that really affect us most. Was there any
vote offered to the people regarding going to war in Vietnam, Korea,
Afghanistan, Iraq, about the drone programs, the NSA spying upon everyone, the
militarization of the police, the general wars on ‘terror’, ‘poverty’ or
‘drugs’? Was there a vote for the citizens to decide which firearms are
allowable, what ammo and how much ammo is allowable, or about abortion being
legal and at what point a fetus is deemed too developed to be aborted?
Though there may have been polls asking about whether a change in healthcare
was desirable, was there any vote that specifically Obamacare (ACA) should be
made law? - though fear made it so The PATRIOT Act was something in a vague
symbol that should be passed, how many voted for the components such as ‘roving
wiretaps’, ‘sneak and peak’ warrants, an extension from giving material support
to giving advice/assistance to those deemed terrorists – a definition made by
those who have power, not those who vote.
It is by design that those who will be chained to the law are not the
ones who vote for it, or have the full costs revealed to them. Remember, the bills are thousands of pages
and to be voted upon in a couple days… so we can ‘find out what’s in it.’
For all the bluster about power to
the people, the people actually don’t make the decisions; we have elected
representatives, and from being elected they are to be the extension of the
will of the people. However, whether it is for a program or for a
representative the issue remains that there is to be a legal standard whereby
those who do not want or agree with the results are to abide by them. We
shall use a tool quite favored by politicians for the next point: polls.
Even if we granted that our elected representatives do represent our interests
– a literal impossibility for ‘we the people’ have diverging if not mutually
exclusive interests – in the highest offices, those with the most power
[congress and the president], have approval ratings where strongly approve and
approve combine to be only around 40%. There have been times where
strongly approve has remained in single digits.
A colloquialism which is quite apt
in politics is: you scratch my back, and I’ll scratch yours. Who gets to
scratch what for who? Those who have something to trade, and in politics
it is those who have legal influence and power to trade for gains of another
type – not limited to, but most especially – contributions, trading amongst
each other. Those who are not elected use non-election means to influence
elections or skip them altogether by buying elected representatives. This
can be done by corporations, companies and unions. Uber becoming a
problematic competitor?-taxi companies try and get politicians to pass
licensing requirements to eliminate Uber. Don’t want your child to go to
public school for education, the teacher’s union tries to limit the
availability of charter schools. For all its bluster about trying to give
everyone lower-cost healthcare, Obamacare (ACA) doesn’t actually control costs
(for costs have increased), as it just covers those costs through State
funding, all with the biggest supporters of the program being insurance
companies who now have guaranteed clientele, and got them by contributions
using lobbyists.
We’re not done looking at the
representatives yet. What is another thing these representatives have
done with their power that is supposed to represent the people?-created various
programs and organizations with appointed members who have been given legal
authority. Though the agency wasn’t created by a vote of the people, the
EPA has the legal authority to prevent people from building on their own
property, and fine them heavily if they do build without permission. Pick
any agency, and the same pattern will follow – non-elected members of
non-elected group holding legal authority over the lives of the people in some
way. One of the biggest – and most damaging – examples is The Federal
Reserve, as it follows the pattern of non-elected members of a non-elected
group, however, its power is over monetary policy, and it presided during every
great recession/depression in US history, as the value of the dollar decreased
by more than 90%. Vote for the value of your money decreasing?
These issues are not limited to the
present time. By what standard can one generation place debts and rules
upon another generation? The very nature of the national debt is in one
generation accruing expenses that the next will have to pay. Some level
of debt has existed since the beginning of the country [US], and while the
first century went to pay for the formation (war for independence, land
purchases, etc), the national debt now is mostly going toward what is called ‘national
defense’, including keeping thousands of troops on hundreds of bases across the
planet, none of which was voted on in original set up or keeping there, and
toward entitlements (individual e.g. taking out much more in social security
than was paid in and corporate e.g. ‘too big to fail’ bailouts), and of course ‘spreading
democracy’. The national debt currently being passed down is more than
$18 Trillion; include unfunded liabilities, and that skyrockets to more than
$100 Trillion. Don't worry, the youth will clean it up... as
designed. The thought is, as it has been, to ‘kick the can down the road’;
however, the road has to be built but the funds are out and the road will end.
These issues are not limited to the
national level. By what standard can your state, county or city place
restrictions upon you, or you place upon others based upon passing a legally
recognized line of demarcation? Where at least in time, all currently
existing should be affected by the law the same, this other type of groupthink
does not mean all are affected the same. This ranges from the
aforementioned categories to be pitted against each other in ‘tax free zones’
in New York State, where they are trying to get businesses to come; for those
who are approved, they get the benefit, but for those who do not qualify (get
approval from members of government) or for those already there, they have to
pay full price; want to smoke pot, or even cigarettes, don't cross state lines
for you can get arrested for the pot and be seen as selling black market if
moving what has been deemed sufficient cigarettes from a low-tax area to a
high-tax area; even supposedly nationally recognized rights (e.g. 2nd
Amendment) have been made piecemeal, such as Shaneen Allen (legally owning a
pistol in PA) volunteered that she carried a gun when pulled over for a traffic
issue in NJ, and she was charged and faced up to three years in prison - Gordon
van Gilder faced up to 10 years for having a flintlock pistol in his glovebox
when he crossed NJ state lines.
Finally, the nature of democracy is
that, in some form, might of numbers makes right. Whether it is from
direct vote, or from the elected officials [often bought with lobbyists] who
are to be the representatives, it makes no difference. The result is the
same, as is the base: rights are granted by the State and those who make it, so
rights can be taken away. Rights are not deemed inherent. We need
look no farther than homosexuality, firearms and abortion (among countless
other topics) - regardless of where one has a personal preference on these
issues, does that preference change because a new numeric change tilted which
side has the majority? Even if not outlawed outright, but nudging people
to a behavior by having a ‘sin’ tax, the issue remains of others dictating your
behavior, as Daniel Webster opined “The power to tax is the power to destroy”.
New York has more than $4 in taxes added to each pack of cigarettes - Eric Garner
was assaulted in an arrest for selling untaxed cigarettes, for people wanted to
smoke, but have trouble paying the tax; Eric Garner died from the assault.
Some more examples of laws that
exist that you can get punished in one area, but not another (proposed,
existing, or existed at one point): in MT if someone has any clothing that is
too revealing they can get a fine and be imprisoned up to five years for repeat
offenses; in CA it was illegal to play football or throw Frisbees on county
beaches; in NY it is illegal for a group of two or more to wear masks or face
coverings; in NJ you cannot pump your own gas. These examples touch on
the principles set earlier. For the last one regarding pumping gas... who
does that help and harm?-it makes sure that residents have to pay more for gas
to pay for wages for employment as going back to 1949 a station who was
charging less for people to pump their own gas angered full-service stations
who lobbied the state to pass the law. Unions pushed for similar laws to
ensure labor was paid even though it wasn’t needed: an orchestra to be paid
when a record was needed, a local driver to ride along with a driver who was
coming into the city, etc.
Though the other examples seem
innocuous, it is the same principle set that people can be treated differently
legally, some behavior is legally acceptable, while others are not (when there
is no victim) and the State can punish. Carry this principle over and it
becomes what is acceptable speech, what is a ‘sin’ and how can we tax it, who
can defend themselves and with what? More than a century ago Annette
Kellerman was arrested for violating decency laws for wearing a form-fitting
one-piece swimsuit - the same style laws that are coming back in MT; marijuana
is legal at the state level in CO, but there are politicians trying to make
sugar and transfat illegal in NY and elsewhere. With the principle set,
it will include worse examples: telling everyone to turn in their gold, slavery
and Japanese/German internment, just more examples of some people not being a
sufficient majority to hold onto their rights.
Again, the individual is the smallest minority.
The answer for us is simple: stop
the ‘laboratories of democracy’ for what basis is there that by crossing some
line of demarcation not related to private property, that one falls under new
legal system and punishments? Additionally, stop following the idea that someone, anyone or any number can have a legal right to dictate, direct or restrict the right of an individual. Democracy is not the only [governmental] system
that does this - any form of Statism follows the pattern that someone can make
your decisions for you... at the barrel of a gun. In actuality, if the
execution of a monarchy was that of the king following individual rights of the
people as contrasted to a democracy that voted to confiscate or eliminate
trouble-makers (see Socrates), who is living under a better system? If you desire and follow the majority because
you happen to benefit now from the majority opinion, beware when that changes
for the victims of old may have a grudge. The greatest evil is in
assigning others the role that they are mere means to one’s ends.
Democracy enshrines this system. If we are to be free people, to be
self-directed, it is first by recognizing the social ailment that we have and
from that proceed with the proper course of action to kill that disease.
If we do not, the disease will kill us.
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