My Belief in Democracy has Been Shaken by the Sheer Number of Idiots

[Stevendsmith]

No, this does not mean I favor some form of authoritarian rule.

But democracy is a political system built on the Enlightenment belief in human progress and the essential wisdom of the people. And, well, let's just say there is a severe wisdom deficit in this country.

I look around me and think, are these the people I want empowered?

[misanthrope]

1. I know what you mean...

...The only reason I feel so strongly about guaranteeing self-rule for the near-morons surrounding me is that I feel I deserve the same and the only way to ensure mine is to ensure it for them.

But, I would agree that a great deal of people don't take advantage of the multitude of opportunities available to make the world a better place.

[knowbody0]

2. we need to think tank

a way to enlighten them, most are numbed by the media, and ruled by fear and consumerism

[0007]

4. Unless some poweful people can step up to the plate...

we're so screwed with this administration

[misanthrope]

7. It's deeper than that...

...Some of it is innate. Some of it is instilled in the first five years of life. And some of it is fostered by the forces you mention.

Don't forget, as social animals, homo sapiens is prone to "group-think." It's in our genes and part of the reason we made it this far.

The environment, macro and micro, that a child grows up in will determine it, too. Stimulate a kid's head, expose them to the arts and teach them to read at a very early age. It can have a large effect.

And, just as predilections for chocolate can run in a family, so can other things that are beyond our control.

The essence of human "self" is a weird and inexact thing.

[knowbody0]

11. ive shocked and awed many with photos and facts

i agree many are in the no way category.

[Old Mouse]

12. absolutely

our lack of long term planning and research is deplorable.

[neweurope]

3. The crazier the world gets the more I want the old Prussian

three-classes vote back.... PLUS a test on intelligence, historical knowledge etc. before voting.*g*

Of course: Democracy IS the best form of rule so far. Which leaves little hope *sigh*

[Desert Liberal]

5. I feel the same way

America has become the dumbest nation on Earth and WAYYYY too many Americans seem to think that it's funny or not serious.

To the Bushies: You deserve what you are going to get in the next four years (what? you didn't know how to read? couldn't see the lies spewing from the mouth of the Chimp?)...and so much longer as all GW's policies come to fruition. (and damn you all for subjecting all of us to that same fate!)

To all of us who HAVE a brain: Keep fighting the good fight. Perhaps one day before it is too late, our fellow Americans will wake up.

But I don't hold out much hope of it. It's a sad state of affairs in the good old U.S. these days. Perhaps we should take over the Blue states and then secede from the Union. Let the dumb asses get their fill of the moron in the WH.
We can do very well without them, don't you think?

[DireStrike]

6. The enlightenment is built on critical thinking.

Tell that to the media.

[Stevendsmith]

9. Good point. NT

[pscot]

8. We have representative government

and the morons are in the majority. It was bound to happen sooner or later.

[Lexingtonian]

10. Hey, that's what the Founding Fathers thought too

Which is why they constructed a government via the Constitution in which massive attempts at abuses and breaking/disabling it were assumed to be standard behavior. (After all, just about all of them served in colonial legislatures and as governors of colonies and such.) That's why they had representatives elected in everywhere, not 'direct' democracy. It used to be that Senators were appointed by state legislatures, and the Electoral College is the most prominent obvious piece of the system.

It's not that they didn't believe in progress, it's that they knew how politically bloody it is if/when not physically violent, and how slow the net rate of it is. They didn't think highly of their fellow citizens as political creatures, but did believe that the average voter did assess the minimum necessary to live by fairly accurately. So this system is always too slow, never comfortable. But what it settles, it settles for all time, and due to the high cost seems to get it right- ultimately.

[scarletwoman]

16. Not to mention -- originally, only white male landowners had the vote.

The Founders' fashioned a sytem of representative democracy (as opposed to direct democracy) that was grounded in the idea of rule by the elite. They DIDN'T envision entrusting the vote to the unwashed masses.

I'm NOT saying that I would in any way want a return to any sort of limited voting, just pointing out that our current system of universal (theoretical, at least) suffrage is a modern development, and not how our republic was originally designed.

sw

[the_outsider]

13. I disagree

40% of the electorate did not care to vote and who knows how many people who live in America are not even registered as voters. Out of 60% who voted, the difference was only a few millions of votes.

I do not think those numbers justify any depression. American citizens are smarter than you are giving them credit for. 40% do not vote because they do not perceive any meaningful differences between the choices available to them.

Either they are right: there is no significant difference between the two parties.

Or they are wrong: there is significant difference between the parties and we are failing to communicate it.

In either case, the problem is with the political parties (democratic and third parties), their leadership, media and our communication strategies. Blaming it on people is definitely not productive and I do not think it's even accurate.

It took years before there was any awareness and protest against Vietnam war. For the first time in western history, there were mass protests even before the Iraq war started. Establishment media grudgingly admitted world public opinion as the "second superpower" of the world. Moore's anti-government film was a huge success. In a Zogby poll, it was shown that 52% of New Yorkers believed that 9/11 was a LIHOP. Internet has opened up new opportunities in communicating and co-operating. IMO this is the worst possible time to feel depressed and spread negativity.

[Sterling]

14. Dumbfuckistan is growing larger all the time.

The Fundies in Dumbfuckistan are all excited because they defeated a bond issue for their schools out of spite because the schools would not allow a manger on School property.

These people live to be stupid. They are in a downward spiral of ignorance and will kill anyone who tries to get in the way.

[oldcoot]

15. Prejudice against intellectuals

I find that I have very little tolerance for people who believe that Iraq was connected to 9/11 or want to ban a book from a public school because they heard that it was a "bad book." During the "election," I found myself becoming frustrated with "undecided voters" who could not figure out who to vote for and who were apparently too lazy to do some actual research.

I think that one of the main problems with our country is that too many Americans look down on intellectuals. I have heard people repeat the old and inaccurate stereotype that college professors and other educated people have "too much book smarts" and not enough "common sense." I have even read letters to the editor criticizing Kerry because he "thinks too much" to protect the country.

We need to eliminate this prejudice and we need to start emphasizing the importance of being an informed voter. It is every American's patriotic duty to know how the U.S. government works. It is patriotic to read the U.S. Constitution. It is patriotic to learn about American policies. It is not patriotic to vote for a candidate because "he seems like a nice guy" or the other candidate "rubs me the wrong way."