This post first ran in July of 2005!
Is our democracy doomed?
Could be.
It even looks as if that is our course.
First let me try, again, to clear something up. The United States is NOT, I repeat, the US is not… a Democracy! We are a Democratic Republic. In a Democracy all the citizens vote on everything the government does. Everything. All legislation is passed by a majority vote of the citizens of a Democracy. In a Democratic Republic, we elect representatives who vote for us, at least that is what they are supposed to do… represent their constituents by voting the way those constituents would vote, if they were to cast individual votes, as in a Democracy. You can judge for yourselves if your representative votes the way you’d like him, or her, to vote.
Surprised? A lot of US citizens are when they learn, for the first time, the US is not a Democracy.
However, I have begun to worry that our fate will be the same as that of world democracies through out history. Here is something Alexander Tyler said over a hundred years ago. He said:
"A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves money from the public treasure. From that moment on the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most money from the public treasury, with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world's great civilizations has been two hundred years. These nations have progressed through the following sequence: from bondage to spiritual faith, from spiritual faith to great courage, from courage to liberty, from liberty to abundance, from abundance to selfishness, from selfishness to complacency from complacency to apathy, from apathy to dependency, from dependency back to bondage."
Thus said Alexander Tyler.
Do you see the parallels between Tyler’s pronouncement above and the state of the US today? Look at the European countries with their welfare states. The degradation of the US is certainly behind that of the European countries, but we are definitely on the slippery slope back into bondage. Much of our country is already at the “dependency” stage. If there is any doubt about that…look at the fight the dependents are putting up against the attempt by the Bush administration to privatize Social Security.
The US Government is the single largest employer in the United States. There is something deadly wrong about that for a country…any country. All those government employees are “dependent” on the government.
When you take the time to think about this, really think about this, the course to which the US is committed is frightening. Very frightening.
Our Government is entirely too large, and it’s reach is far to long and far to invasive. It has become so large it is self-perpetuating. It simply continues to grow for that is what it does, and does best. At some point, in the not too distant future, it will implode… collapse of it’s own weight.
Then what? Huh?
Just something to think about.
“Longstreet”
Good analysis, Longstreet.
ReplyDeleteThe only question I have is why you keep supporting the GOP when they are the worst exemplars of
looting the public treasury in history?
Good question and I'll try to give you as clear, honest, and straight-forward answer as I can.
ReplyDeleteThis "big Governmenrt" Republican Party, and this "spend like a Drunken Democrat" Republican Party is a fairly recent development. I'm hoping we can salvage our party. We conservatives have put the national organization on notice, that they must change their ways, or we will be gone. They understand they cannot win an election without us.
The second part of my answer is, I have no where else to go... at the moment. There is no way under God's sun I could become a Democrat, nor a Libertarian.
As soon as we can create a Conservative Party, which is conservative on social matters, fiscal matters, and religious matters, then I will leave the Republican Party... as will a host of other conservative Republicans. Plus, a host of Consrvative Democrats. A Conservative Party, I believe, could shoot to the top of the political heap, in the US, almost overnight.
When that Party IS created, and ready, then I'll join it and I will leave the Republican Party.
Did that answer your question?
Longstreet
Yes, that answered my question.
ReplyDeleteLooking at the conservative blogs, there seem to be a lot of disaffected conservatives out there. Do you know if there are any serious plans for a Conservative Party in the U.S.?
I know of none at rhe moment.
ReplyDeleteYou are corect that a lot,I mean a LOT of conservatives are upset with the direction of the Republican Party.
Many are considering simply staying away from the polls, in November, to send as strong a message as we can, that either the Republican Party change it's current course, or they will soon find themselves not only in the minority in Congress, but the minority party, in fact, as well.
We do not like the weak leadership in the Senate. We think it shows an inability, or an unwillingness, to lead.
The House is simply out of control with weak leadership, as well.
We knew the President was not a strong conservative when we elected him. However, we felt the Congress would hold him to a degree of conservatism we could live with. The Congress has not lived up to our expectations and as a result we have a runaway government.
Yes, we conservatives are VERY unhappy about the way our government is being run.
An example of our power was when the President nominated MS. Myers to the Supreme Court. We defiantly said this is not acceptable... in very clear terms. We then got the conservative we wanted.
It is tiresome having to continuously rein in the President and the Congress. And we are tired.
There will be no more "compassionate conservatives" elected to the office of President.
We've had more than enough.
In the meantime, I can only hope the Party understands that we will not elect John McCain to the office of President. It is very unlikely that he will survive the primaries. McCain is even less a conservative that is the President.
Longstreet
We are a Democratic Republic b/c we are supposed to elect representative and senators to represent our rights and the rights of their states. However, the fact that people continue to elect career politicians who become out of touch with the rest of us has screwed up the process.
ReplyDeleteTerm Limits would have cured that problem.
ReplyDeleteI wish there was a way we could get around the Supreme Court and constitutionally impose Term Limits on the Senate and House and, while we're at it, a term limit of 12 years on Supreme Court Justices.
We will need a Constitutional Amendment to do that. Hell will freeze solid before those career politicians, drunk on their own power, will ever pass an amendment and send it on to the President, for his signature, and to the states for ratification.
But, that would do it.
I am a long time supporter of Term Limits.
Longstreet
I think i accidentally closed the window before I posted but. in 1994 when the republicans took control of congerss Ear marks numbered just over 1,500 that year, last year there were over 66,000. We can now see who the big government spenders are!
ReplyDeleteyou say you put them on notice, if a Democrat ran on the platform of actually fixing "pork spending", would you vote for him or her? I doubt it, you are too fixed in your ways. Atleast when the Dems. spend money, they balance the budget to do it. and they do it to better everyone's situation in life. On that my friend Longstreet please ponder the situation.
ReplyDeleteI'm always pondering, Frank! Sometimes, I think I PONDER too durn much!
ReplyDelete